The Atlas Exhibition
Presented by The Atlas
(of Creative Mechanisms): [Curating–Conducting]
Senior Post-Doc Researcher Basak Senova,
Institute of Art and Art Education
The Atlas (of Creative Mechanisms): [Curating–Conducting], an
ongoing art-based research project, unfolds its performative and discursive layers through two public chapters in Vienna: Dialogical
Performances (June 12–13, 2025) and The Atlas Exhibition (June 18–July 19, 2025) at kex – kunsthalle
exnergasse, WUK.
Through comparative analysis, The Atlas maps the tacit knowledge, operating
logics, and creative mechanisms inherent in ‘curating’ and ‘conducting’, seeking to uncover shared languages, vocabularies,
positions, and methodologies within contemporary art exhibitions and concert music since 2000.
The project utilises
a range of research tools, with The Atlas Online Platform playing a pivotal role as a multidimensional interface that archives
and maps the project’s findings. The project analyses the subjective definitions and conceptual connections within these practices.
Scheduled to launch in December 2025, The Atlas Online Platform features key tools, including The Atlas Dictionary—a repository
of subjective terminologies emerging from curating and conducting practices— and The Atlas Cloud, a conceptual visualisation
tool that reveals the interconnections between these terms. Both resources are grounded in the project’s most significant
research method: The Atlas Dialogues, a series of in-depth paired interviews with 88 distinguished curators and conductors.
As the first public chapter, Dialogical Performances, curated by Basak Senova and David Chisholm, creates dialogical
communication channels by facilitating and experimenting with the findings and outcomes of the research process.
As the second public chapter, The Atlas exhibition, curated by Basak Senova, is one of the key components of this
research, showcasing various positionings, reflections, and visual/auditory notes from the six Agents of the project.
Further details can be found in the press release.
12.-13.06.2025
DIALOGICAL PERFORMANCES
Basak
Senova, The Centre for the Less Good Idea, Christian Wolff, David Chisholm, Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, Ilan Volkov,
Karl Salzmann, Lore Lixenberg, Microtonal Music Studios, Rebecca Minten, Susanna Gartmayer, Thomas Lehn, Timo Tuhkanen
Curated by Basak Senova and David Chisholm
18.06.-19.07.2025
AN EXHIBITION BY THE AGENTS
Bronwyn Lace,
Hristina Ivanoska, Ilan Volkov, Isa Rosenberger, Timo Tuhkanen, Yane Calovski
Curated by Basak Senova 
