20/20 VISION: FROM CHICAGO TO PALESTINE

We’re compiling the programme of this month’s 20/20 Vision screening in solidarity with our colleagues at Video Data Bank in Chicago.

Founded in 1976, Video Data Bank is a pioneering media archive and a key player in the preservation and distribution of contemporary video art today. Like argos, it manages a collection of over 6000 works, dating from the 1960s to the present and featuring 600 artists. On 12 November 2025, three of the five employees of the organisation, which is part of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, were let go. This makes daily operations of the organisation unsustainable and leaves its future uncertain.

We are renting four short films by Basma al-Sharif from their catalogue, to screen alongside The Sun and the Looking Glass - for one easily forgets but the tree remembers by Miléna Desse from our own catalogue.

You can find an extensive article regarding the layoffs in the Chicago Reader. Other articles can be found at Artforum, Artnet and Filmmakers Magazine.

A group of concerned stakeholders, alumni from the school, and artists whose work is distributed by VDB started a petition, demanding to reinstate the fired employee.

• We Began by Measuring Distance (2009) 19'
• The Sun and the Looking Glass - for one easily forgets but the tree by Milena Desse (2020) 19'
• Deep Sleep (2014) 13'
• Farther Than The Eye Can See (2012) 12'45"
• The Story of Milk and Honey (2011) 9’54"