[spectre] Fwd: 30 April & 1 May - ACAF Symposium- THE TIMES ARE CHANGING: WHAT WILL ART DO ABOUT IT?

[Andreas Broeckmann]

Von: 	Alexandria Contemporary Arts Forum <office at acafspace.org>
Betreff: 	30 April & 1 May - Symposium- THE TIMES ARE CHANGING: WHAT 
WILL ART DO ABOUT IT?
Datum: 	Sun, 29 Apr 2012 03:33:07 +0200 (SAST)


Alexandria Contemporary Arts Forum (ACAF) in Collaboration with the
Goethe Institut – Alexandria, Presents:

THE TIMES ARE CHANGING: WHAT WILL ART DO ABOUT IT?

A TWO DAY SYMPOSIUM ON THE CONCEPT OF CHANGE AND ITS RELATION TO ART
PRACTICE

30 April and 1 May, 2012

Venue: the Garage Theater, Jesuits Cultural Center
Address: 298 Port Said Street, Cleopatra District, Alexandria, Egypt

Simultaneous Translation Arabic/English will be available throughout the 
symposium
	
http://www.acafspace.org


INTRO:

It can be argued that in today's world two major notions of 'change' are
shaping human relations, productivity, and creativity. One notion is
related to technology, science, ideas of human advancement, as well as
excessive dependence on mass media for information. The characteristics
of this particular notion of change are perhaps best exemplified by R.D
Liang's famousline "We live in a moment of history where change is so
speeded up that we begin to see the present only when it is already
disappearing." The symptoms of this notion of change vary from
understanding political and economic conflicts and phenomena only after
they have already changed in magnitude and relational dynamics, to being
unsatisfied with your current smart-phone, only purchased a few months
ago, because a smarter model has just been released.

The other notion of change that seems predominant is related to the
performativity of 'change' in contemporary political and economic
rhetoric. It was perhaps in the aftermath of Obama's 'Change we can
believe in' campaign, precisely when we began noticing the countless
campaigns and political speeches that mimicked it all over the world,
that we began realizing how 'change' could become an act of
performativity that could be an essential component and driving force
behind popular political rhetoric while at the same time becoming more
vacuous and abstract. Art and the wider discourse of cultural
production, on some level, function in the same life-world of
technology/advancement/science, economics, and politics.

Thus art is touched and touches both the notion of change as a vacuous
instrument and fuel for embattled political discourses and change as the
inability to see the present properly because of the speed of
technological progress. How is art linked to these notions of change and
other notions of change that have appeared throughout history? How does
art (re)position itself in moments when a realization that change is
happening becomes obvious? How does art react to political, economic,
and social changes? These questions and more will be addressed by
fifteen international speakers and artists in the symposium entitled THE
TIMES ARE CHANGING: WHAT WILL ART DO ABOUT IT?

The symposium will be composed of three sessions, each session based on
a question embedded in the title. Session 1: 'Are the Times Really
Changing?' Invites the speakers to present their critical viewpoints on
the sometimes too easily presumed shifts that appear to be occurring in
the global economy and international political stage. Session 2: 'If the
Times are Changing, What does this Mean for Art?' asks the invited
speakers to ponder on the implications of this so called gradual shift
on the future of art production. And, finally Session 3: 'And, What will
Art do About it?' Is a series of Art-Responses to the previous two
sessions where artists will respond with a live performance,
performative lecture, or artist-talk.

THE TIMES ARE CHANGING: WHAT WILL ART DO ABOUT IT? Is supported by the
Allianz Stiftung and the Goethe Institut Alexandria and is curated by
Alexandria Contemporary Arts Forum (ACAF).

Program:

Monday 30 April

Session 1: Are the times really changing?

1:00 pmIntro

1:30–2:15pmRobin van den Akker

2:15–3:00pmAaron Schuster

3:00-3:15pmBREAK

3:15-4:00pmAhmed Naje

4:00-4:45pmFranco Berardi

4:45-5:00pmBREAK

5:00–5:45pmAndreas Schlaegel

5:45-6:30pmRoundup and open panel, moderated by Clare Davies


Tuesday 1 May

Session 2: If the times are changing, what does this mean for art?

10:00-10:45amErden Kosova

10:45–11:30amRasha Salti

11:30-11:45amBREAK

11:45 am -12:30Kristina Lee Podesva

12:30 -1:15pmTimotheus Vermeulen

1:15-2:00 pm Roundup and short open panel, moderated by Clare Davies

2:00 - 2:45pmLUNCH


Session 3: And, what will art do about it?

2:45-3:30pmBoris Ondreička

3:30-4:15pmAhmed Nagy

4:15-4:30pmBREAK

4:30-5:15pmEllie Ga

5:15-6:00pmHumberto Vélez

6:00-6:15pmBREAK

6:15-7:00pmHassan Khan

7:00-7:45pmCritical Assessment and Roundup by Clare Davies

For questions please contact: Tel.: + 20 3 487 98 70