Professional round table discussions
The aim for the discussions is to talk about relevant issues concerning the actors on the contemporary art field, and also to make networking and encounters during the fair more facilitated and organized. It is an excellent opportunity to increase knowledge and share thoughts as well as get to know the situation in other countries. We can look together at where we are, and what we do in our practices. Every round table will be held by 1-2 professionals/facilitators, information about the conversations you can find in description to every discussion below.
Please, choose the topics you would like to discuss in the round table discussions from the options below. There are only 8 places in each discussion, and in each round table from one to three hosts with their points of views starting the conversation. You will receive an email confirmation regarding your participation on Mon 22 May.
Thu 25.05.17 at 12:00-13:00
Crossing borders – chasing dreams. The relevance of being international in Finnish art today
In today’s world where people travel frequently and are always online, being international has changed its definition and relevance. When everyone has a global reach, what does it mean to be international?
Sani Kontula-Webb – Art historian and freelance lecturer with a background in public diplomacy and cultural exchange. Worked as a Cultural Affairs Officer for the Finnish Consulate General in St. Petersburg, before returning to Helsinki last year.
Katarina Lopatkina – One of the founders and the former deputy director of the contemporary art department of The State Hermitage Museum. Art historian specialising in the history of 21st century art. Lives in Helsinki since December 2016.
Thu 25.05.17 at 16:00-17:00
Art and Science
From ancient times thinking, sensing, and exploring have come together in a field shared by art and science. Maxim Iliykhin from Too Much, and Pia Lindman and Bart Vandeput from Aalto University will be looking at how art and science encounter now, inviting the round table participants to see what can still be revealed.
Maxim Iljukhin – Artist working at the intersection of various media and of institutions from Moscow
Pia Lindman – Professor of environmental art at the Aalto University
Bart Vandeput – Doctoral candidate, of Arts, Design and Architecture at the Aalto University
Fri 26.05.17 at 12:00-13:00
Institutions and initiatives – the alternative to what?
When you define something as an “alternative” (art scene, market, art practice, organization etc.) it follows from a certain understanding of tradition and conventions. But all of a sudden the alternative has become tradition, and you find yourself as part of a conventional context just as you saw yourself as an altenative actor on a redefined stage. So what is “institution” now, and what are the alternatives? We would like to discuss views on establishments in art and which strategies to follow in order to challenge them.
Jens Andersen – Artist from Denmark who is part of artist group QWERTY
Fri 26.05.17 at 16:00-17:00
Curators as actors within art residencies
In the recent years we have seen residencies multiply in amount and reach. They have become an integral part of the art world, offering a space not only for experimentation and alternative practices but also for consolidating institutional roles. The Round table propose to discuss the role of the curator in the system of art residencies, focusing on what does this type of curating requires and what it has to offer.
Anastasia Skvortsova – Independent curator from Saint-Petersburg. She worked as a curator at Nepokorennie open studio. Anastasia has collaborated with Loft project Etagi and galleries in Saint-Petersburg and Moscow, to include Winzavod Contemporary Art Center for Manifesta 10 and Moscow Biennale of Contemporary art.
Marina Valle Noronha – Curator at Helsinki International Artist Programme (HIAP) in Helsinki, where she focuses on the residency events and communications.
Sat 27.05.17 at 12:00-13:00
Limits and borders in the art field and ways to step out of them.
Kateryna Radchenko – Is a curator and a photographer, who has just recently conducted a Odesa / Batumi Photo Days
Sabina Westerholm – Director of Pro Artibus Foundation
Sat 27.05.17 at 16:00-17:00
Artist-run spaces in Russia and the West
While there is still no adequate Russian translation for the term ‘artist-run space’, quite a few institutions, practices and initiatives seem to have embodied this phenomenon in Soviet and contemporary Russia. During the round-table, we want to contextualize them within the broader, well-established Western tradition of the artist-run spaces. What are the social and aesthetic conditions and ingredients of the phenomenon? How and where is it evolving to? How have Facebook and other such networks affected the practice? Does it still matter? In short, the guests will discuss the historical, social, aesthetic and political dimensions of the phenomenon in Russia as it is connected with the West.
Andrey Shabanov – Art historian and independent curator. Currently, Andrey is a Research Fellow and Lecturer in the Department of Art History at EUSPB. Since 2013 Andrey has been curating the summer project Local Library Window: contemporary art about everyone for everyone.
Toni Ledentsa – Independent curator and producer currently based in Helsinki, Finland. Also semi-active as a spoken word artist. Currently organizes exhibitions and events in various places as a freelancer and act as a board member in Checkpoint Helsinki.
Sun 28.05.17 at 12:00-13:00
Multifunctionality in galleries
Galleries outside the capital areas struggle with the accessibility nationally and internationally. How to make your gallery attractive? Multifunctionality seems to be the common thing in artist-run galleries working outside the capital.