ROTTERDAM.- Witte de With presents a 3-day symposium exploring three hot issues faced by contemporary arts institutions: new sources of funding, new audiences and new locations. Key figures from the local, national and international art world will share their thoughts and experiences, in dialogue with one another and with the public.

Each day tackles a different topic and is divided into three formats of dialogue. One speaker will give a case study, an inspiring example of a concrete project or practice, illustrating the subject of the day. Two guests will be in conversation, pairing a figure from the Dutch cultural world with an international counterpart. Each afternoon will finish with a panel discussion and debate, giving the public a chance to join the dialogue and share their own ideas and concerns.

Avoiding a simple and hierarchical juxtaposition of a fixed center and unchanging periphery, this symposium seeks to create a more horizontal - perhaps relational - grouping of shifting and interconnected situations. Starting from Witte de With's own physical, financial, and symbolic position, we take 'complex' to suggest insecurity and a constellation of complexities. Rotterdam Dialogues thus explores whether contemporary art is located on the social, economic and geographical periphery.

The Rotterdam Dialogues – The Periphery Complex will take place 8 - 10 Feb 2007 Daily 1.30 - 5.00 p.m.