GHABH - the poison in the gift

November 22nd, 2022 from 11:30 AM to 1:00 PM

in-person, at 2001 McGill College Avenue, Room 1203
or online via ZOOM

Taco lunch will be served at 11:30 p.m.

Jan van Esch Biography:

Jan van Esch is an Amsterdam-based multi-media artist whose practice spans performance, drawing, curation, and social engagement. He holds Masters degrees in population health from Harvard University and Anthropology from Radboud University. Drawing on his education background in social and health sciences and over two decades of work in international development aid, Jan’s work questions processes of ‘giving’ by delving into the subliminal psychological motives involved in the powerplay between giver and receiver. For six years, Jan was the managing director of cultural center ‘Nafasi Art Space’ in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Through his socially engaged art, Jan has worked with several art collectives and institutions, most recently as the community program curator with ZK/U Berlin at documentafifteen, one of world’s biggest returning exhibitions in contemporary art.

Jan is an Artist-in-Residence at the School of Population and Global Health for November. He has an open studio in room 1177 at 2001 McGill College Avenue – feel free to stop by and say hello!

Abstract:

In this talk, Jan van Esch delves into the topic of giving in a development setting and particularly on the interplay of power that is staged between ‘giver’ and ‘receiver’ by established Western networks of ‘giving,’. Jan uses examples of his artistic practices around second-hand or donated textiles to question the apparently ‘charitable’ or ‘altruistic’ impulses that underpin the work of international giving and aid organizations such as Humana and The Red Cross. His presentation will explore questions of how the actions of non-for-profit and commercial second-hand clothing recycling determine relations within and between countries? What are some of the environmental impacts of these programs for cities? How does the promotional imagery used by these companies and their actions reinforce cliché images of the other and have an impact the (mental) health through the psychological powerplay between the giver and receiver.