of publics, pedagogies and academies:

 

 

a conversation in a garden

 

friday 5/6/09 irish pavilion, venice biennale 10:30-12:00

 

Hosted by art in the contemporary world, ncad, and gradcam

 

In recent international practice and debate there is simultaneously a recognisable turn to pedagogical models across a range of curatorial projects and art practices, and a resurgence of debates on the public sphere and the nature of ‘counter-publics’. Increasingly, the art academies have sought to re-position themselves with respect to the broader field of practices beyond the academy – thus, the engagement by the National College of Art & Design, Ireland in supporting the realisation of the Irish pavilion in Venice 2009. There is at the same time an increased use of terms such as ‘knowledge production’ and ‘public engagement’ prompting the need to rethink the terms of the engagement between contemporary practice, educational institutions and the critical agendas of recent debates. In this larger context, this conversation seeks to unpack some of the issues entailed by the intersection of publics, pedagogies and academies in the spaces of contemporary art.

Participants in the conversation will be invited to approach a range of questions including:

  • What is the relationship between the question of ‘public-ness’ and the appeal to models of pedagogy in recent art practice?
  • What are the potentials for institutional change, renewal and revision within the academies presented by the convergence of these discourses?
  • In what ways might these developments require us to abandon institutional perspectives in favour of a resolute turn to informal and convivial dynamics beyond institutional domains and agendas?
  • Should we rather foster counter-pedagogies aligned with counter-publics beyond the academy?
  • What are the risks of institutionalisation and co-option in this arena?
    • o What are the issues that most demand consideration in this context?

 

The MA programme Art in the Contemporary World, at The National College of Art & Design (NCAD) and the Graduate School of Creative Arts and Media, Ireland, welcome you to a conversation around the currency of pedagogical models in recent art practice and curatorial strategies with particular reference to the renewed attention to the question of publics and counter-publics in contemporary cultural and critical debate. This event builds on earlier discussions and events that have taken place in Dublin and London. This enquiry is also informed by a book project under development between de Appel, Open Editions, and GradCAM, co-edited by Paul O'Neill and Mick Wilson, and due for release in Autumn 2009.