17/04
Pogon Jedinstvo, Zagreb
Croatia
Happy Hour of Renouncing Ambition emerged out of experimental research team Anomaly (Barbara Gregov, Ana Bedenko, Adrijana Gvozdenović, Maximilian Lehner, and Dunja Plazonja) rethinking concepts of failure, ambition, and mediocrity.
During an evening dedicated to showcasing some of Kurziv’s reparative experiments and methodologies, the team members hosted an interactive and participatory performance in the format of a pizza party.
In their own words:
We have been meeting on Zoom since September, almost every Sunday afternoon, to discuss what failure, whether personal, political, or collective, meant for us. Often overworked and exhausted, we have also used this space to share our current flops, annoyances, or frustrations with jobs, careers, ambitions, and the art world.
As the project is reaching its end, we hope to share our thoughts and process with the audience in what seems to be the format most similar to our heavy, but joyous Sundays – a pizza party.
— Anomaly team
Imagine we’re at a pizza party, and we’re playing spin the bottle. The bottle cap keeps pointing at you, and you must tell the truth.
Question Round N. 1:
Have you ever attempted something that ended up being a disaster? What was it? Are there any successful failures that you can now laugh about? What about those that are not a laughing matter? In your opinion, who defines what a failure is and why?
Question Round N. 2:
If you were to star in a reality TV show about pursuing your most ambitious goal, what would be the title? Are there ambitions that you had to give up? Which (un)healthy ambitions would you happily renounce?
Question Round N. 3:
Do you like pizza? Do you enjoy Enya? How about Kenneth Branagh? Where do you stand on Cowboy Carter? What is your go-to basic stuff?
Are you a proud basic bitch?
If not, we invite you to join us and become one!
During this happy hour of thinking, talking, list-making, and pizza-eating, we hope to collectively rethink our ambitions and failures, and embrace our plain, natural mediocrity.
This program was organised in collaboration with the Pogon – Center for Independent Culture and Youth, an associate partner of the Testing Ground project, co-financed by the European Union.