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 will be 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 Filmmaker 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"

20/20 Vision is our monthly micro-cinema night at argos: a shifting line-up of moving images and video works, from shorts to features, from the archive and beyond. With only 20 chairs for 20 spectators, we gather around for a programme shaped around a topic or a filmmaker. We open the bar, ladle out hot soup, and invite you to sink into a collective viewing experience. Sometimes beautiful, sometimes provocative, always a little unexpected. The programme is designed to spark conversations or maybe even disagreements.