Examples of public projects

Educational forms such as lectures, discussions, panels, debates and other practices play a role in supporting contemporary art exhibitions

The educational process becomes an object of curatorial and artistic production. The ‘curatorialisation’ of education refers to the reorientation of difference as a mode of ‘production’ through its widespread adoption (Wilson & O’Neill, 2010).

We were divided into three groups. I was grouped into Art world/contemporary art specialists and industry professionals to discuss FACT as an example.

1. What aspects of the programme are orientated towards your target audience?

Within FACT there is the Educators’ Event, aimed at educators and those interested in participatory art practice, which includes a tour of the exhibition The programme includes a tour of the exhibition “The Other Side” and a short presentation on the participatory work done by FACT. Second, Studio/Lab Masterclass: Melanie Crean, interdisciplinary artist Melanie Crean led an interactive workshop and presented her practice. Thirdly, Studio/Lab Workshop: Sound Art, an experimental sound workshop run by Liverpool-based sound artists Mali Draper and Beau Beaumont.

FACT WHAT'S ON

FACT building

2. What types of events/activities/happenings are included?

1.Exhibition 2. Studio/Workshop 3.Families activities 4. Seminar 5. Daily tour guide 6. Panel talk  7. Film

Studio/Lab Workshop: Blender 101

Educators' Event

3.How are these activities funded?

1. The FACT charges participants for admission. For instance, Cinema in the City: The Little Girl of Hanoi，Cinema in the City: Ran Dong (The Breaking Ice)，Studio/Lab Masterclass: Melanie Crean ect.
2. Donations from individual supporters
3. Donations through corporations
4. Trusts and foundations
5. People who choose to include FACT in their wills

4. How would you change or further extend this programme to further support its engagement with the target audience?

1. Increase masterclass workshops and laboratory activities
2. Establish partnerships with universities and research institutes to co-organise conferences and seminars and to attract academics and professionals to participate in collaborative projects
3. Create customised professional development programmes or artist residencies for arts specialists, offering practical experience and learning opportunities that are directly relevant to the needs of professionals
4. Offer specialised seminars that provide in-depth research into the latest trends and technologies in media arts, providing insights that appeal to professionals in the field.

5. What is the timeframe for the programme and what is the reasoning?

Schedules are often seasonal or planned around specific events and launches. The reasoning behind such schedules is usually aimed at maximising participation by keeping in line with cultural calendars, public holidays or major events in the arts and technology sector, ensuring that the project stays relevant and attracts sustained public and professional interest. Films are shown in the evenings and there is no time to come to the films until after office hours.

 

References:

FACT. (2024). FACT Liverpool. [online] Available at: https://www.fact.co.uk/.

Wilson, M. and O’Neill, P. (2010) ‘Curatorial counter-rhetorics and the educational turn’, Journal of Visual Art Practice, 9(2), pp.177-193. doi: 10.1386/jvap.9.2.177_1.

Mar 29, 2024

I will be commenting on ten of your blogs that you have written so far.

First and foremost, each of your blogs clearly expresses the theme of the weekly teaching in the classes and you combine theory and examples through your own independent research to convey the ideas in a simple but accurate way. Secondly, the coherence of your paragraphs and the way you present your reflections is clear. In addition to this, your references to theories are clear. This is crucial for effective blogging and makes it simpler for a wide audience to access your content.

With regards to structure, I think your article is very well structured, as an example of your latest blog, you have divided your article into, pre-class preparation, after-class content and after-class investigation. This very much fulfils the teaching objectives of the lesson.

In terms of content, as I said above, your blog posts are very well structured, but I think that this logical structure can make your blogs wordy and exceed the word count requirement. For example, in Week 8, your blog contained classroom resources to read and after-school independent study, as well as classroom workshop notes, and I think the classroom workshops you could have spread out into a separate blog post to record them. In week 6 of the blog, it is the same problem of too many words. I think your research topic is very interesting. But I would like to give you some advice is that you could try to reduce some of the descriptions of your thinking process. For example, ‘This case inspired me to think….. essence of ephemeral art?’, ‘Whether the…lost due to commercialisation remains to be considered.’ In addition to this, I have seen your research on the art of archiving, and I would suggest that you could research this in the context of the literature we have in this class.

Here are some articles/books for your reference:

Zanella, F., Bignotti, I., Modena, E. & Scotti, M. (2015) MoRE, an archive of signs and traces of artistic practices: creating a tool for research in contemporary art and curatorial practices. Archives and records (Abingdon, England). 36 (1), 56–70. doi:10.1080/23257962.2015.1015260.

Claudia Friedrich (2017) State of the Art Archives | International Conference on Archives Documenting Modern and Contemporary Art. 27 July 2017. Art market studies | Kunstmarktforschung. http://amskoeln.hypotheses.org/1050.

Gül Durukan, S.N. & Tezcan Akmehmet, K. (2020) Uses of the archive in exhibition practices of contemporary art institutions. Archives and records (Abingdon, England). 1–18. doi:10.1080/23257962.2020.1770709.

In addition to this, your blog is very informative and I can see in your content an independent investigation of documentary theory that connects your approach to the field of contemporary curatorial theory and practice.

Regarding the design of the blogs, you have inserted relevant images and videos in each of your blogs and described them correctly. Next, you have customised the blogs as continuous texts, reflecting even more the continuity of your learning process.

In some blogs your posts will be less rigorous. For example, in week 8, the first paragraph，‘However, how do you ensure that art projects…. rather than simply using the community as the context or object of art practice?’I think it exposes the challenge of achieving this understanding in practice: how to avoid the potentially…..is something that must be seriously considered as site-specific arts continue to evolve.’ This content is redundant, it does not support the ‘Place-specific art not only taps into repressed histories and provides greater visibility to…..but also interrogates place’s social and historical dimensions.’, this viewpoint.

Overall, I see that most of your blog is about research and reflection on classroom topics, and although I see that you have mentioned how you will reference the content of your research into your curatorial project, I think it is possible that you may need to do more targeted research on your curatorial theme, form, and location. So I would suggest that you could do some specific research on your curatorial project in the next blogs to make your final curatorial project proposal more accessible.

Mar 27, 2024

Talbot Rice Gallery Site Visit

The University of Edinburgh’s Talbot Rice Gallery is a renowned public art gallery that combines a modern white cube space with a historic 19th-century former natural history museum. Its goal is to investigate the possible benefits that contemporary art may have on society, both now and in the future. The gallery is well-known for its innovative group shows that tackle important political and social themes, as well as its solo exhibitions that let foreign artists interact with university holdings and research. Therefore, I want to take it as my individual project location.

Funding：

University of Edinburgh：

As the public art gallery of the University of Edinburgh, Talbot Rice Gallery benefits from the university’s infrastructure, resources, and academic environment.

University of Edinburgh, Old college

Freelands Artist Programme：

This program, supported by the Freelands Foundation, aims to support artists and cultural institutions, broaden audiences for visual arts, and enable youth engagement with art creation and enjoyment.

Freelands Artist Programme

Cultural and Educational Partnerships:

The Talbot Rice Gallery has established partnerships with other cultural and educational institutions to enhance its planning and outreach efforts. These collaborations may lead to additional funding opportunities or in-kind support, further enriching the Gallery’s resource base. For example, Monash University Museum of Art has established partnerships with organisations such as the University of Edinburgh. The Edge and Andrew Brownsword Gallery in Bath, through touring and co-productions.

Public donation

The gallery welcomes public donations, which can provide a flexible funding stream to support all aspects of the gallery’s operations, from exhibitions to educational programmes.

 

References:

The University of Edinburgh. (2018). Gallery scheme lets artists make their mark. [online] Available at: https://www.ed.ac.uk/arts-humanities-soc-sci/news-events/news/current-news/gallery-scheme-lets-artists-make-their-mark [Accessed 21 Mar. 2024].

https://freelandsfoundation.co.uk. (n.d.). Freelands Foundation. [online] Available at: https://freelandsfoundation.co.uk/partnerships/freelands-artist-programme/ [Accessed 21 Mar. 2024].

www.trg.ed.ac.uk. (n.d.). About | Talbot Rice Gallery. [online] Available at: https://www.trg.ed.ac.uk/about.

 

 

Mar 21, 2024

Site-specific

The term site-specific refers to a work of art designed specifically for a particular location and that has an interrelationship with the location. If these components are taken out of their original context, they lose their essence or significance(Tate, 2017).

Adam Chodzko, Better Scenery (1999), Tate

On the other hand, Hayes (2017) pointed out that site-responsive art involves performances that react to a specific space or environment, adapting to its unique characteristics and dynamics.

Compared to site-specific art, this kind of art responds to the environment more adaptably. Furthermore, site-sensitive art exhibits a strong bond with and reliance on the area, illustrating how creative processes are shaped by and customised for certain settings (Mikou, n.d.).

Nick Kaye(2013) points out how we can read a site-specific work of art in relation to geographical, aesthetic, political, and/or institutional discourses.Hence, it is possible to conceptualise site-specificity as a process and the resultant aesthetic qualities and meanings that arise from the interactions between an item or activity and its immediate surroundings. Since the locations and the artworks have a strong relationship, relocating the latter implies “re-placing” or drastically altering the former.

All in all, in my opinion, place-specific art can transform the way we perceive a location, adding layers of meaning and interaction that enrich our experience of a place.

 

References:

Hayes, L. (2017). From Site-specific to Site-responsive: Sound art performances as participatory milieu. Organised Sound, 22(1), pp.83–92. doi:https://doi.org/10.1017/s1355771816000364.

Kaye, N. (2013). Site-Specific Art. Routledge.

Mikou, A. (n.d.). Site-Specific. [online] Dancing Museums. Available at: https://www.dancingmuseums.com/artefacts/site-specific/.

Tate (2017). Site-specific – Art Term | Tate. [online] Tate. Available at: https://www.tate.org.uk/art/art-terms/s/site-specific.

 

 

Mar 15, 2024

Scotland national museum

Edinburgh will host the return of Game On, the largest interactive exhibition dedicated to the history and culture of video games. The exhibition, which takes place at the National Museum of Scotland from June 29 to November 3, 2024, features well-known figures and video games from Space Invaders to Sonic the Hedgehog and Mario to Minecraft.

It is the largest interactive exhibition of the history and the culture of video games.

Associate curator at Game On, Patrick Moran(2023) said: “The world of games has had an undeniable social, cultural and technological impact. Games have transcended the boundaries between art and technology and become part of popular culture.

Life – NewCastle (14) – Photo credits Richard Kenworthy, 2015

Bienal de São Paulo, 2017-2

Interactive contemporary art exhibitions in Scotland

Do Ho Suh | Tracing Time

Until September 1, 2024, at Modern One, this exhibition by South Korean-born, London-based artist Do Ho Suh focuses on drawing and paper’s foundational role in his work, featuring thread drawings, architectural rubbings, and large installations. Additionally, there is an immersive installation of the well-known “hubs” by Suh, which are life-size sculptures made of vibrant, translucent fabric that mimic actual settings. This creative reworking of locations significant to the artist and his life is open for visitors to enter and navigate.

Do Ho Suh:Tracing Time,Marvel at larger-than-life thread drawings

 

References:

National Museums Scotland News. (2023). Major video game exhibition to open in Edinburgh next summer. [online] Available at: https://media.nms.ac.uk/news/major-video-game-exhibition-to-open-in-edinburgh-next-summer [Accessed 21 Mar. 2024].

Sanderson, G. (2023). World’s largest playable video game event coming to Edinburgh. [online] The Herald. Available at: https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/23943988.game-edinburgh-video-game-exhibit-museum-scotland/ [Accessed 21 Mar. 2024].

 

Mar 14, 2024

Thinking of the key reading and above, how might curatorial practice activate ‘nonnormative time’?

McMahon (2023) argues that the curatorial practice is an innovative way of activating ‘non-normative time’ through techniques such as disorganised archives and participatory discursive history. It focuses on the work of filmmaker Onyeka Igwe, who uses archival material to challenge traditional narratives and time frames imposed by colonialism. Igwe’s films, such as No Dance, No Palaver, use experimental techniques that subvert linear time to rework colonial archival footage, to give voice to marginalised historical narratives, and to explore black feminist perspectives. This reconceptualisation not only questions historical accuracy, but also highlights alternative possibilities and suppressed stories, effectively using the archive as a site of contestation and potential transformation.

Research on Archives

Contemporary art plays an important role in the transformation of the contemporary archive and the archival framework. When analysing archives, it is important to note that the work of artists, even if involuntarily, has helped to shape the distinction between collection (the storage of documents) and archive (the organisation of documents). Contemporary art has had a significant impact on the transformation of modern archives and their shift towards a new way of creating and presenting documents (Titus i Soler, 2013).

In Glasgow Women’s Library, holds historical and contemporary artefacts and archive materials that celebrate women’s lives, histories and achievements.Feminist contemporary art is held in the Glasgow Women’s Library. The library’s online website documents an interview with the Guerrilla Girls, a new way of presenting documents.

Guerrilla Girls. Courtesy the Artists

References；

Brown, N. (2021). Art Night 2021: An interview with the Guerrilla Girls. [online] Glasgow Women’s Library. Available at: https://womenslibrary.org.uk/2021/06/11/art-night-2021-an-interview-with-the-guerrilla-girls/.

McMahon, L. (2023). Disordering archives: Onyeka Igwe and Black feminist speculative histories. Screen, 64(4), pp.377–400. doi:https://doi.org/10.1093/screen/hjad036.

Titus i Soler, A. (2013) The influence of contemporary art on the modern notion of archive. DigitHVM revista digital d’humanitats. (15), 40-. doi:10.7238/d.v0i15.1790.

Mar 8, 2024

Curating gap

What curatorial discourse ignores or forgets is the place and experience of the audience, and the concerns facing curatorial practice in terms of how to (re)define artistic experience in relation to political issues, social practices and the production of new forms of knowledge are often theatrical in nature. Theatrical cues ‘help the audience to engage fully with their sense of reason and intelligence’. When seeing something that has already happened, one becomes more attentive to the sensory impact of the eye and the field of vision (Eckersall & Ferdman, 2021).

 

TYPE: PHYSICAL INTERCTIVE EXHIBITION

The exhibition—in this expanded, extended sense—works, above all, to shape its audience’s experience and take its audience through a journey of understanding that unfolds as a guided yet open-weave pattern of affective insights, each triggered by looking, that accumulates until the audience has understood the curator’s insight and, hopefully, arrived at insights previously unthought by both (Smith, 2012).

“Interactive art is an opportunity for self-discovery; it is an invitation to explore one’s own body in an interactive process”(Simanowski, 2011).

Interactive art creates spaces and moments that open up dialogue. Much of this dialogue is conceived of as an embodied dialogue, usually with other interactors, but also with oneself. Interactive art is conceptualised as a place to get in touch with one’s own body, to connect with an inner dialogue in a way that is independent of the limitations and inner dialogues instilled and developed over the years(Simanowski, 2011).

References:

Eckersall, P. & Ferdman, B. (eds.) (2021) Curating dramaturgies : how dramaturgy and curating are intersecting in the contemporary arts / edited by Peter Eckersall and Bertie Ferdman. London: Routledge.

Simanowski, Roberto. (2011) Digital art and meaning : reading kinetic poetry, text machines, mapping art, and interactive installations / Roberto Simanowski. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.

Smith, T. (Terry E.) (2012) Thinking contemporary curating. Second edition.. New York, NY, Independent Curators International.

Mar 6, 2024

Bedel (2021) considered that publishing is the new home studio – multifunctional, portable, accessible, a ‘print community’. Hindley (2019) pointed out that today’s Art Book Fair is not only a venue that represents an independent, previously published scene, but also a central forum for constructing and nurturing communities around publishing as an artistic practice.

In ‘Publishing as artistic practice’ Anne (ed.) explores the evolving role of publishing in contemporary art and culture. It provides insights into how publishing has transcended its traditional boundaries to become an independent form of artistic expression. The discussion includes the shift in publishing practice from physical books to integrated digital platforms, conceptualising publishing as a creative process and a medium for artistic innovation. Key themes include the interplay between text, authorship, and the public sphere, with publishing as an important tool for artistic and cultural engagement. This nuanced view of publishing challenges conventional notions and positions it as a powerful participant in the broader artistic and cultural dialogue. Curators extend their influence beyond the arrangement of works in traditional gallery spaces. Extending the curatorial impact to include: the relationship between the discursive possibilities of artwork and time around artistic practice will have an impact beyond duration.

As does LUX Scotland, a not-for-profit organisation dedicated to supporting, developing and promoting the moving image practice of Scottish artists. Its Artists’ Moving Image Festival: Demonstrating How Publishing Extends the Life and Discourse of Festivals Beyond Their Temporal Boundaries aims to provide a platform for the discussion and presentation of artists’ moving images, demonstrating forms of production and research through screenings and discussi

 

References：

Anne Gilbert (ed.), Publishing as artistic practice, (Berlin, Germany: Sternbery Press, 2016), Introduction pp. 6-39

Bedel, D. (2021). Publishing as Artistic Practice. [online] Medium. Available at: https://medium.com/@delphinebedel/publishing-as-artistic-practice-9a80153abd73 [Accessed 30 Apr. 2024].

Hindley, V. (2019). Publishing as Artistic Practice: In Conversation With Michalis Pichler. [online] The MIT Press Reader. Available at: https://thereader.mitpress.mit.edu/publishing-as-artistic-practice/.

luxscotland.org.uk. (n.d.). Artists’ Moving Image Festival. [online] Available at: https://luxscotland.org.uk/programme/projects/artists-moving-image-festival [Accessed 30 Apr. 2024].

Mar 1, 2024