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 
