Online Seminar HOW DO WE TALK ABOUT ART? by Dagmara Genda

“The art critique forms an integral part of not only art education, but a variety of professional or semi-professional arts programs, of which artist residencies are one. However, the function of a critique is misty at best. There is no exhaustive history of the so-called „art crit,“ nor is there a particular methodology to how it should be conducted. Despite the fact that art has diversified into many sub-classifications—performance, conceptual, activist, archival, to name a few—and the evaluation of quality has been relativized by the introduction of new mediums and non-European traditions, the crit still forms the backbone of many art academies.

The artist’s crit is increasingly coming under scrutiny, prompting more questions than answers: What criteria are being used and how obvious are these criteria? How are power relations in crits negotiated? Is it possible to maintain an atmosphere of experimental transgression and keep participants safe? How does the language of the crit differ from art criticism? What relationship does language have to art? These questions will be addressed in the seminar, not to answer them, but to make apparent the complex negotiation that occurs when artists talk about their work to a particular audience. The goal is to foster awareness of the changing stakes of dialogues on art and to equip ourselves with strategies to talk about what we do.” (Text by courtesy of Dagmara Genda)

More information on the Dagmara Genda Website.