The Kingdom of Fools project was organized, directed and curated by Dawn Nilo, master’s in fine arts student at the Art Academy, Basel. The project included two master pool seminars that took place during the 20014/2015 school year and culminated in a three-day «performance exhibit» at filter4 in Basel. Participating artists included twelve master’s students in Fine Arts, two master’s students in Visual Communication and two Hyperwerk graduates, all from the Academy of Art and Design FHNW, as well as twelve guest artists. filter4 and the Art Institute financially supported the project.
The intention of the project was to create a new form for making and exhibiting art. This new form, developed and named, the performance exhibit, by Dawn Nilo was intended to weave together performances and visual art into an organically, mutually supportive whole based on a performative theme.
The theme, The Kingdom of Fools, arose out of Dawn Nilo’s artistic research into the art of the fool. This is a performative art that focuses on the development of imaginative and creative capacities in individuals and groups using play, performance and practical consciousness studies within a theoretical context that values absurdity and intelligent naiveté.