Gradcam
This unique event comprises a week-long series of symposia, workshops, conference presentations, performances and exhibitions in Dublin for the week 15-19 February 2010. Participants and contributors are invited to join us for the entire week – or to select those elements of our programme that are most relevant to their interests.
For example we have a particular focus on design and animation on Monday (15/2/10); music on Tuesday (16/2/10);culture and citizenship on Wednesday (17/2/10); and arts research and publics on Thursday (18/9/10) and Friday (19/2/10).
The conference will also feature a series of exhibitions and perfomances including: Critique of Archival Reason and Re : Public.
The conference addresses the state of development of contemporary research in and through cultural practice. It makes particular reference to questions of the public interest, and of the broad purposes, that arts research may serve. This five day major international programme of discussion, exchange and presentation builds upon the hugely successful ‘Art Research: The State of Play’ that took place previously in Dublin in 2008.
This conference will be of interest for anyone concerned with the current state of development in contemporary arts research. It will be of special interest to anyone concerned with the relationship between the development of creative research and the possibility of public culture – and questions as to what ‘public(s)’ might now be possible in the contemporary world.
At the heart of this timely international exchange of perspectives are the questions:
In the most basic terms, this conference opens a dialogue with arts researchers in order to ask: ‘who for? what for?‘
The conference is organised in collaboration with the European Art Research Network and associated partners including: Academy of Fine Arts Vienna (AU); Academy Sint-Lucas Brussels (BE); KUVA Helsinki (FI); UAIV Venice (IT); MaKHU Utrecht (NE); University of Lisbon (P); University of Malmo (SW); University of Gothenburg (SW); Slade UCL (UK); and Leeds (UK)
If you wish to be placed on a mailing list for this event mail conference2010(at)gradcam.ie
Bookings can be made to attend the conference for the whole week (15-19 feb 2010) OR on a per day basis.
In order to enable shared and meaningful participation in the dialogue of the conference, we are restricting bookings to approximately 100 per day. Refreshments and light lunch are included in this cost.
Given the exceptionally low cost, and the limited number of spaces available, we strongly recommend early booking. If you have enquiries about attendance at the conference please contact us with your queryconference2010(at)gradcam.ie
Speakers and presenters at the conference will include (partial list only):
Friday 19/2/10
Monday15 Feb 2010 |
Tuesday16 Feb 2010 |
Wednesday17 Feb 2010 |
Thursday18 Feb 2010 |
Friday19 Feb 2010 |
| mon morning | tues morning | wed morning | thurs morning | fri morning |
experimental film + animation symposium |
music research symposium |
media research seminarnetwork cultures + online publics: media 2.0? |
art research and its possible publicseuropean art research network symposium |
keynoteute meta exhibition and dissemination of arts researcheuropean art research network symposium |
| mon afternoon | tues afternoon | weds afternoon | thurs afternoon | fri afternoon |
design research symposium |
music research symposium |
culture & citizenship |
remit / relevance / radicalityeuropean art research network symposium workshops |
cultural networks / research networkseuropean art research network symposium |
| mon evening | tues evening | weds evening | thurs evening | fri evening |
screening programme |
opening (tbc) |
keynote address:anton tradfutures performance event |
critique of archival reasonexhibition launch event |
re:publicexhibition launch event |
monday 15th morning
The increasing use of animation within broadcast design, motion graphics, advertising, video games, visual effects, visual arts practices means that animation “appears” within a range of social and cultural discourses and to a variety of commercial and specialist audiences. What does this integration of animation into cultural practices mean for the future study, theory and research of animation as a discipline? What are the current research topics within the study of experimental film and animation?
Enquiries and proposals to elaine.sisson(at)iadt.ie
monday 15th afternoon
This session makes particular reference to questions of the public interest, and of the broad purposes, that design research may serve, addressing the questions:
Enquiries and proposals to godsonl(at)ncad.ie
tuesday 16th all day
Defining an evolving aesthetic & innovation mechanism for Traditional & Improvised Music in Europe is of increasing importance to performers and researchers active in the traditional and improvised music field across Europe today. These research undertakings are underpinned by the understanding that traditional & improvising musicians today operate from a perspective based on a multiplicity of reference points demonstrating complex cosmopolitan histories of cross over and cultural cross-fertilisation which, as yet, have not been fully appreciated and understood. Our challenge is to confront the ‘nation state’ paradigm and to offer an aesthetic based on the experiences of musicians today demonstrating the ‘fluidity’ in how our traditions and cultures are in ‘real terms’ experienced and understood.
Enquiries and proposals to n.ofionghaile(at)gradcam.ie
wednesday 17th morning
The development of network culture in recent decades has prompted many commentators and academics to speak of the need for ‘media studies 2.0′. While themes such as social networking, the commons, crowd-sourcing, immaterial labour, and the precariat have become pervasive in discussions of network culture and digital media, there is as yet no clear agreement on the priorities for future research on media practice. This session will specifically focus on the question of current research orientations and agendas for network culture with particular attention to the contemporary re-thinking of the nature of ‘media audience’ and ‘public-ness’.
Enquiries and proposals to martin.mccabe(at)gradcam.ie
wednesday 17th afternoon
This session will discuss the possible ways by which cultural production and research might address deficiencies in engagement and agency among citizens – artists and non-artists alike. Is it reasonable to demand of cultural producers that they promote civic responsibility? How might this promotion be done? By whom and in whose name? Is it possible to differentiate between some notion of responsibility, whether as a citizen or to a public, and various methods of accounting for the economic value of culture?
This session is also part of an ongoing series called ‘after the economy‘.
Enquiries and proposals to timothystott(at)hotmail.com
thursday 18th morning
This plenary session examines the possible ways in which questions of public-ness, participation, and audience might be approached with respect to arts research. Presentations of 30 minutes length are invited from researchers, research supervisors, and practitioners who have a specific perspective they wish to introduce with respect to these issues. Presentations which draw upon concrete examples are especially welcome, however, we recommend that presenters make particular reference to the overarching question of ‘public-ness’ as a key contemporary problematic.
This strand of the conference builds upon a variety of activities undertaken by the European Art Research Network and by the Graduate School of Creative Arts and Media which has sought to foreground the importance of current critical contests over the very possibility of a properly ‘public’ culture – however, we might now wish to define the contested term ‘public-ness’.
Enquiries and proposals to mick.wilson(at)gradcam.ie
thursday 18th afternoon
Competing interpretations of arts research provide different accounts as to who are the key beneficiaries of the research. There is, on the one hand, a widespread concern to avoid a crude bureaucratic instrumentalisation of arts practices. While, on the other hand, there is the question of public funding for research and the nature of the possible public interest/good served. Some commentators prioritise the researcher(s) themselves, while others point to larger societal and economic agendas such as inclusion, diversity, creativity and innovation. Others point to the contribution to the broader contemporary art field made by arts research and the complementarity between arts research and the current orientations for critical arts practices beyond the academy.
This workshop invites exploration of these questions based on a consideration of an international cross-section of specific doctoral research projects. Four researchers will be invited to make a 30 minute presentation of their work as follows:
15 minutes: outline of the overall project
10 minutes: positioning of the project with reference to the question of remit: ‘who is this for?’
5 minutes: short discussion with audience
After four presentations there will be a break followed by a discussion session. All participants in the workshop will be asked to contribute to an extended discussion of the issues raised by the presentations and the question of who benefits from arts research. (A rapporteur will produce a report for presentation to the plenary session on the following days.)
Enquiries and proposals to mick.wilson(at)gradcam.ie
thursday 18th afternoon
The question of the relationship between new work within a field, and the already extant work within that field, is a standard issue within doctoral education in general. Doctoral practitioners are typically asked to indicate how their work contributes to, relates to, and has relevance for, a broader field of work beyond their own immediate enquiry. But the question of relevance can also point to the ways in which work is often produced in response to problems and situations that arise within the world outside the established terms of any given discipline, practice or professional field.
This workshop invites exploration of these questions based on a consideration of an international cross-section of specific doctoral research projects. Four researchers will be invited to make a 30 minute presentation of their work as follows:
15 minutes: outline of the overall project
10 minutes: positioning of the project with reference to the question of relevance: ‘how is this relevant?’
5 minutes: short discussion with audience
After four presentations there will be a break followed by a discussion session. All participants in the workshop will be asked to contribute to an extended discussion of the issues raised by the presentations and the question of who benefits from arts research. (A rapporteur will produce a report for presentation to the plenary session on the following days.)
Enquiries and proposals to mick.wilson(at)gradcam.ie
thursday 18th afternoon
The last three decades that have witnessed a widespread growth in doctoral arts research and in research-oriented undertakings within contemporary practice. There has been a consistent series of claims made for the ‘radicality’ and even ‘exceptionalism’ of arts research. This is complicated by the ways in which twentieth century avant-gardism, which espoused various forms of ‘radicalism’, has been subject to a critical debunking since the 1970s, while still demonstrating an appeal for many contemporary commentators working in the first decade of the 21st century.
The theme of ‘radicalism’ is of course hugely problematic, and further complicated by the various intersections and even ‘mis-encounters’ of cultural and political radicalism. By asking the question – ‘will this change anything?’ – this workshop seeks to place the question of radicality more firmly within the terms of transformation and agency. Is there a transformative agency possible within the terms of arts research? Again, the questions here are initially approached through examining specific cases, so as to avoid the tendency for overly abstracted or excessively rhetorical treatments of these issues.
This workshop invites exploration of these questions based on a consideration of an international cross-section of specific doctoral research projects. Four researchers will be invited to make a 30 minute presentation of their work as follows:
15 minutes: outline of the overall project
10 minutes: positioning of the project with reference to the question of relevance: ‘will this change anything?’
5 minutes: short discussion with audience
After four presentations there will be a break followed by a discussion session. All participants in the workshop will be asked to contribute to an extended discussion of the issues raised by the presentations and the question of who benefits from arts research. (A rapporteur will produce a report for presentation to the plenary session on the following days.)
Enquiries and proposals to mick.wilson(at)gradcam.ie
friday 19th morning
Exhibition is a key strategy employed by arts researchers. It can serve a role in the first stages of formulating a research project by working to construct and refine the initial terms of an enquiry. It can serve a role in mediating, manifesting, demonstrating and disseminating an enquiry, its outcomes and its basic orientation. Indeed, at any point within a research process, exhibition can serve a variety of functions. However, exhibition itself as a format is a controversial arena, and has been reconstructed in a variety of ways throughout the history of twentieth century, and subject to an extensive renewal of energies since the 1990s and the attendant reorientation of curatorial discourses. Thus, for many curators engaged in arts research, exhibition-making itself necessarily becomes an object of enquiry, rather than a taken-for-granted mode of production.
This session will focus on questions of exhibition within contemporary arts research, taking advantage of the realisation of a series of exhibitions as part of the conference programme. This session will use these exhibitions as a point of departure. The exhibitions include:
Critique of Archival Reason at the Royal Hibernian Academy, curated by Henk Slager
Re:Public at Temple Bar Gallery and Studios, curated by Daniel Jewesbury
to be announced at Broadcast Gallery.
The discussion, will not be restricted to a consideration of the conference exhibition programme, but will also include broader discussions of exhibition and dissemination strategies in arts research. We welcome proposals for short papers of 20 minutes duration that address questions of exhibition-making and contemporary arts research.
Enquiries and proposals to mick.wilson(at)gradcam.ie
friday 19th afternoon
The benefits of informal networks for cultural practitioners is well-understood within the everyday working practices of artists, curators, critics and other professionals within the art field. In a related manner, cultural institutions and academies have long utilised networking as a key strategy for pooling resources, cross-fertilizing initiatives and generating visibility. The European Art Research Network is itself a framework for open and flexible international exchange, cooperation and development. However, it is grounded in the desire to provide a critical self-organisation and enabling nexus for creative researchers which is not subject to crude bureaucratic imperatives or cynical exercises of self-promotion. Both Ned Rossiter’s critique of network cultures and the increasingly central role of initiatives such as e-Flux recommend careful scrutiny and reflection upon network tactics across both cultural and research activities. What forms and tactics can a critical self-organisation initiative adopt? How do networks achieve mutuality and integrity while retaining the potential of friendly-criticism? How are open-ness and viability be achieved without creating inhibiting and uncritically self-perpetuating organisational structures? What do we want our networks to become? How is individual agency, identity and value-system maintained within network exchanges and dynamics?
Presentations of 20 minutes duration are invited which address any aspect of networking across cultural practice and research. Speakers are encouraged to address the issues identified in a way that draws upon concrete experience in networks in a frank and open manner in order to help the conference participants develop a clearer understanding of the opportunities and risks entailed in network initiatives.
Enquiries and proposals to mick.wilson(at)gradcam.ie
