Approach to Medialab-Prado: Alejandro Duque

Description and evaluation of your experience in Medialab-Prado

My involvement as a tutor during interactivos'10 was to a certain degree not as extensive as I would have liked. I willingly stepped aside on too many discussions and during feedback we were supposed to be giving. Some of the tutors played a bit too much the role of experts and while I’m not saying they are not in their particular fields, I believe such an attitude towards the group of young artists and creators was not a very horizontal one.

Instead of being supportive, things often looked like tests and examinations of their ability to pitch their ideas when most of the projects deserved more arms-length support, since the fact of having selected them meant we already trusted them to a good degree. Yes, everyone could claim we where all in a horizontal space, with time not for just meeting deadlines but also making friendships, but in my view many meetings when we sat to offer criticism and suggestions, I believe were less beneficial to the end ‘product’.

Please don't get me wrong, I regret not having had more time to listen to the workshop participants than to my colleagues on the tutor side of the table. Having said that, I think the structure should be changed in such a way that the projects don't have to undergo the pressure of meeting the experts approval as if they have to pitch and sell their ideas.

    • How do you value Medialab-Prado? What do you think could be changed or improved?

Such a generous atmosphere, in a constant process of re-definition should always be thought of as a moving target. My only comment is tied to the particular methodology of a particular interactivos. On a second level, zooming out, I believe the MLP is in a position to help us articulate a wide network that extends to the Spanish speaking regions of the world. It is perhaps the only ‘institution’ which I could consider a trustful and open process that could allow the different nodes or connecting dots to exchange on the same level.

    • How do you think it should evolve, considering its future location at the new building (the Old Belgium Sawmill)?

One thing is the physical space and I could not say, since I have no idea of it, but it should be linked to remote locations, projects and people. The MLP might be a Madrid space but it seems like it is beginning to belong to many more places, and that’s something that takes the discussion of "what is public?" to an even better and more interesting realm. That's where we are now, and that's what we have to consider exploring no doubt in our forthcoming meeting in Medellin as part of this and will investigate further this line of interest.