Information

After seven years, Primer has closed down. We are currently working on a publication which will explore, document and discuss the ideas and experiences brought about by Primer. You are welcome to contact us at primer@diakron.dk, if you have any questions about the project.

Primer was a platform for artistic and organizational development. It was located in the headquarters of Aquaporin. Primer was developed by Diakron.

After seven years, Primer closed in December 2023. We are currently working on a publication which will explore, document and discuss the ideas and experiences brought about by Primer. The experiences from developing and running Primer are continued through new projects and collaborations by Diakron.

Aquaporin is continuing to collaborate with artists. See this page for more information and how to get in touch.

Below is a description of the project from when it was still active.

Aquaporin

Aquaporin is a global water technology company, dedicated to water purification through the use of biotechnological techniques and thinking. A key component of Aquaporin’s technology is the water channel protein aquaporin which “facilitates rapid, highly selective water transport”. In short, it provides an energy efficient method of separating water from x. Aquaporin employs an open innovation business model, which in practice means that they allow for external partners and collaborators, to develop technologies, products and other application types on top of their fundamental innovation. The headquarters of Aquaporin in Kgs. Lyngby, Denmark, spans 7000m² of open factory space, laboratories, meeting rooms and offices.

Artistic development

Artists are invited to utilize Primer and Aquaporin at large as an occasion to develop their practice. With this emphasis we intend to facilitate an open model where artists can utilize the situation for developmental purposes as well as display. The outcomes have previously been exhibitions of new work, complemented by a selection of material and works curated by Primer. Going forward the collaborations will consist of long-term dialogues with open-ended effects and forms. Primer is intended as a platform for production, development and support for artists and the field of art in general, exploring its introduction into new spaces and professions.

Projects

Primer instigates thematic projects that take place across multiple formats. Developed for the site of Aquaporin, each project spans exhibition, conversations, partnerships, research, and events. The work centers on the convergence of climatic, scientific and technological developments and their societal effects, both present and future. This includes engagements with water scarcity, ecological extinction, the relation between computation and biology, the history of technology, existential risk, new organizational practices and imaginaries of the future. Drawing together disparate fields and knowledges, the projects intend to create new connections, meetings and proximities around urgent systemic developments. The thematic engagement is thought long-term, traversing all of Primers activities to create a continual production of knowledge that evolves across multiple formats and organizational setups.

Organizational development

Primer is an effort to develop a new type of organization. We believe that renewing relations between artistic, scientific, technological and business practices necessitates novel organisational forms. Primer accepts the inherited differences between said practices as a starting point, for exploring possible links and unexpected commonalities between them. Our hope is to create sustained proximity between otherwise disparate fields of practice. What this will lead to, is one of the main questions behind Primer. At present, Primers engagements include the aforementioned artistic development and thematic projects, as well as contributions to exhibitions, teaching, writing and collaborations with Aquaporin and other partners. The development of Primer as an organization is an experiment that will be documented, discussed and communicated.

Primer
Nymøllevej 78
DK-2800 Kongens Lyngby
primer@diakron.dk
+45 30 27 18 51

• Amitai Romm
  
• Aslak Aamot Helm
  
• Asger Behncke Jacobsen
  
• Bjarke Hvass Kure
• David Hilmer Rex
  

• Danish Arts Foundation
• Danish Art Workshops
• Bikuben Foundation
• Beckett Foundation
• Augustinus Fonden
• Det Obelske Familiefond
• Finlands Kulturinstitut i Danmark