ThoughtGallery.org > Whose Terms? New Perspectives on Social Practice

Whose Terms? New Perspectives on Social Practice

The impulse to work beyond art’s immediately recognizable spheres and magnify its relational aspects marks a distinct and important approach within contemporary art. This symposium, taking place on Saturday April 12, will focus on key terms that have come to define social practice over the last two or more decades, in addition to more speculative terms, with a view to critically considering the assumptions upon which such works and their reception are made possible. In particular, the symposium responds to the urgent need to build on the very rich and prolific contemporary discussions about such practices by carefully examining how, to what end, and on whose terms engagement with communities outside of art takes place. With an awareness of the ease with which social engagement can read as ethical or critical simply by deploying ostensibly democratic or nonhierarchical practices, the symposium aims to question the default read of social practice as inherently good, while at the same time highlighting practices that have worked in extremely important ways.

 











When: Sat., Apr. 12, 2014 at 1:00 pm
Where: New Museum
235 Bowery
212-219-1222
Price: $10
Buy tickets/get more info now
See other events in these categories:

The impulse to work beyond art’s immediately recognizable spheres and magnify its relational aspects marks a distinct and important approach within contemporary art. This symposium, taking place on Saturday April 12, will focus on key terms that have come to define social practice over the last two or more decades, in addition to more speculative terms, with a view to critically considering the assumptions upon which such works and their reception are made possible. In particular, the symposium responds to the urgent need to build on the very rich and prolific contemporary discussions about such practices by carefully examining how, to what end, and on whose terms engagement with communities outside of art takes place. With an awareness of the ease with which social engagement can read as ethical or critical simply by deploying ostensibly democratic or nonhierarchical practices, the symposium aims to question the default read of social practice as inherently good, while at the same time highlighting practices that have worked in extremely important ways.

 

Buy tickets/get more info now