For Fictionality III, the infamous Anna Delvey will serve as our guide and teacher. Known for posing as a wealthy German heiress while scamming New York’s elite, Delvey convinced the high society to invest in The Anna Delvey Foundation, her vision for a club and art gallery. Media outlets were quick to chastise Delvey for her swindles, but if anything, she perfectly reflected her surroundings by carefully shaping herself after the desires of potential investors. As cultural practitioners we are often asked to spark the imagination and desires of funding bodies or institutions. As Anna shows us, funding bodies shape not only the projects they fund, but also the identities and behaviours of those who seek their investment.

For the last session in our Fictionality series we will explore this together with artist Toon Fibbe, by turning our professional selves into (drag)characters. However, first the funding body needs a makeover. If we imagine funding differently, what characters and behaviours could it produce? Join us in concocting characters, criteria, speculative and perhaps absurd scenarios. Scenarios that might not be utopian, but at least will give us insight into the fictions undergirding our funding structures.

Toon Fibbe is a time-traveling cartographer of invisible economies, born on a distant planet where currency is made of laughter and bureaucracy is run by sentient clouds. His studio floats between dimensions and is usually powered by the collective sighs of overworked office workers.

Date: 05.10.2024

Time: 19:00-21:30

Location: Varia (Gouwstraat 3)

This series falls under Varia's Homebrewing research thread and is supported by the Creative Industries Fund NL.