Future Now Symposium 2023

WELCOME

Art has the power to unite and transform. It takes us to new places and introduces us to new cultures; most importantly, it reminds us of our humanity. We see creativity as a form of expression and as a way to convene and make sense of the present moment at this critical juncture in history. The Future Now Symposium brings together award-winning artists who invite you to explore, discover and engage with themes from our changing world. These wideranging topics include: the ethics of representation, mass digitisation, globalisation, diaspora and the continuing threats posed by the climate crisis.

This two-day event connects key institutions, galleries and artists to invigorate our minds and invite discussions around the most pressing topics from the creative sector. Some sessions include: Designing the Future: Advancing Technologies, Innovators of Post-Photography and The Future of Curation. Featured speakers include Hannah Starkey, Larry Achiampong, Ingrid Pollard, Stuart Semple and Yuri Suzuki, as well as representatives from, ACE, Baltic, Barbican, Jerwood, LCC, Hayward Gallery, Open Eye Gallery and more.

Future Now is a platform for idea generation and a key event in the UK arts calendar. The 2023 edition asks: how do curators make decisions? How does an idea develop into an exhibition? How can you secure artistic success? In a world where attention spans have been reduced to three seconds, how do you captivate audiences and ensure that public engagement is high?

Alongside thought-provoking debates, panel discussions and creative engagement, we are offering portfolio reviews by our experienced practitioners. We are also inviting you to the Aesthetica Art Prize Private View and the 20th anniversary of Aesthetica Magazine party on Friday 24th March. This is an amazing opportunity to meet artists, collectors and gallerists at an event that surveys today’s art world and asks important questions about the future.

Cherie Federico, Director, Aesthetica

SESSION 1 10:00 - 11:00

IN CONVERSATION: ART, NFTS AND THE METAVERSE

SESSION 2 11:15-12:15

DESIGNING THE FUTURE: VR & MULTI-SENSORY EXPERIENCES

LUNCH AT YORK THEATRE ROYAL 12:15-13:15

SESSION 3 13:30-14:30

THE FUTURE OF CURATION: WHO TELLS THE STORY?

SESSION 4 14:45-15:45

CROSS-CULTURAL AND DIGITAL IDENTITIES

SESSION 5 16:00-17:00

IMPACTS OF TECHNOLOGY: INNOVATORS OF POST-PHOTOGRAPHY

SESSION 6 17:15-18:15

REPRESENTATION AND CULTURE: WHO SHAPES THE NARRATIVE?

PRIVATE VIEW 18:15-20:15

YORK ART GALLERY, YO1 7EW

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS: FRIDAY 24 MARCH

MEET AESTHETICA’S DIRECTORS: 20 YEARS OF THE MAGAZINE 09:30 - 10:00

15 MINUTES WITH AESTHETICA ART PRIZE FINALISTS 10:00-10:15

SESSION 7 10:15 - 11:15

WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE A PAINTER IN THE 21 ST CENTURY?

SESSION 8 11:30-12:30

A GUIDE TO FUNDING YOUR PRACTICE

LUNCH AT YORK THEATRE ROYAL 12:30-13:30

SESSION 9 13:45-14:45

COLLISIONS OF ART HISTORY, SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

SESSION 10 15:00-16:00

VISUAL LANGUAGES: SOUND DESIGN AND INSTALLATION

SESSION 11 16:15-17:15

WHAT IS THE FUTURE OF PHOTOGRAPHY?

SESSION 12 17:30-18:30

THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN LANGUAGE AND THE SELF

DRINKS RECEPTION 18:30-20:30

MEDIEVAL GALLERY, YORKSHIRE MUSEUM

USEFUL INFORMATION

LIVE SESSIONS

• Your pass includes access to all sessions on either 23 or 24 March, or both 23 March and 24 March, depending on your ticket type. You do not need to register for any of the sessions, other than Portfolio Reviews.

• All sessions will take place between 23-24 March 2023.

PORTFOLIO REVIEW SESSIONS

Portfolio Review Sessions are for practitioners working across all forms and genres, including painting and drawing, photography and digital art, sculpture, design and three-dimensional art, video, installation and performance. Here, artists have the opportunity to speak with experts who can provide essential advice and guidance on their practice and career progression opportunities. Booking essential via our website. Sessions last 20 minutes.

LANYARD RETURN SCHEME

We recognise that we have a responsibility to reduce our wider carbon footprint. As part of our return scheme, please hand in your lanyard at the end of the day so that we can recycle and reuse materials at future events.

ACCESSIBILITY

The Future Now Symposium is committed to providing a safe and inclusive environment for all attendees. Please find more information below.

• Yorkshire Museum: In 2023, Future Now will take place on 23-24 March at Yorkshire Museum in York city centre. The museum is located on three floors, and there is a lift situated by the main staircase. The Future Now Symposium is held on the ground floor in the main auditorium, and toilets are on the lower floor. These are both fully accessible for wheelchair users.

• York Theatre Royal: Refreshments and Portfolio Reviews will be held in York Theatre Royal on the Upper Foyer. There are wide automatic doors upon entrance to the theatre, and there is also lift access to the Upper Foyer.

• Carers, Personal Assistants & Interpreters: Complimentary passes are available to all Carers, Personal Assistants and Sign-Language Interpreters, but these must be booked in advance. Proof of DLA or a valid CEA card is required. For further information, please contact a member of our team.

For all accessibility enquiries, please contact us below: artprize@aestheticamagazine.com

09:30-09:45 WELCOME ADDRESS

The impact that art has on society is profound. It’s transformational and invites conversations that challenge the status quo. Art offers hope and solutions to problems that are bigger than any one individual or country. Over the last few years, we have experienced profound change and, through the power of human innovation, we have adapted to situations beyond our control. In times of great uncertainty, we turn to art and culture as a universal mechanism to make sense of our times and to remember that our humanity binds us together. In this brief welcome address opening the event, Cherie Federico, Director of Aesthetica, offers an overview of the talks in this edition of the Symposium, which ask important questions about the future of technology, the curatorial process, and how art can lead to a greater understanding of the present-day.

CHERIE FEDERICO

Cherie is the Editor of Aesthetica Magazine and the Director of the BAFTA-Qualifying Aesthetica Short Film Festival (ASFF). She is also the founder of the Aesthetica Art Prize and the Future Now Symposium. Originally from New York, Cherie moved to the UK to study for her Master’s degree and founded Aesthetica, which she has since developed into an international brand distributed in 915 stores in the UK and exported to 20 countries. Cherie is a champion of new creative talent across the arts, from film and literature to art, design and photography.

Reuben Wu, Aeroglyph Variations #4 (2019). Courtesy of the artist.

Gareth Phillips, Caligo (detail), (2022-2023).

Photography Department at Swansea College of Art, UWTSD.

09:45-10:00 15 MINUTES WITH AESTHETICA ART PRIZE FINALISTS

Join us to hear from four Aesthetica Art Prize finalists, who take to the stage to share their practice for four minutes each. First up is Bea Last, whose processled creative practice has led to the creation of sculptural drawing installations that use salvaged, recycled materials and found objects. Next is Jacob Talbot, whose mixed-media work manipulates analogue and digital photography alongside fine art. Thirdly, Becky Probert uses the camera lens as a conduit to open up doors to possibilities that exist in the vastness of outer space, employing both analogue and digital techniques in the creation of Invisible Planets. Finally, Gareth Phillips examines definitions of the photobook, experimenting with them as objects, sculptures and installations. Caligo tells the fictional story of a group of humans escaping the climate catastrophe.

10:00-11:00 SESSION 1: IN CONVERSATION: ART, NFTS AND THE METAVERSE

The metaverse continues to dominate technology headlines, from NFTs to virtual and immersive reality. These explosive developments provide new forms of interpretation and experience, calling into question the intersections between art and technology. But what, really, is the metaverse? How will immersive realities influence creative spheres? How can NFTs be used by artists to discover new opportunities and reach wider audiences? Metaverse strategist Kadine James has pioneered new forms of digital content for two decades. She discusses how artists can use these tools to enhance their practice, in conversation with NFT certification platform Verisart’s Shelley Mannion, and Eric Fanghanel Santibanez, who teaches at LCC’s screen school in Virtual Reality.

KADINE JAMES

Kadine James is the Chief Metaverse Officer, Artificial Rome. She is the CEO and Founder of The Immersive KIND NFT Gallery and 3D Crypto Fashion House. Kadine is listed as one of the top 10 most influential women Metaverse Founders. She works in augmented reality, digital, fashion, immersive gaming, spatial computing and virtual reality.

SHELLEY MANNION

Shelley Mannion is the Chief Product Officer at Verisart, an NFT minting and certification platform. She has 20 years’ experience in software engineering and product management. At the British Museum, she pioneered the use of augmented reality in digital learning, building their first digital product team, which delivered its flagship mobile guide.

ERIC FANGHANEL SANTIBANEZ

Eric Fanghanel Santibanez is an artist and designer from Mexico City. Eric completed a BA in Industrial Design in 2013, and then made a move to Germany in 2015 to work in the internet decentralization field as a programmer. Eric has since become a respected educator and currently teaches at LCC’s screen school as a lecturer in Virtual Reality.

ROBIN MCNICHOLAS

Robin McNicholas (b. 1979) is the Co-founder and Director of the award-winning creative studio Marshmallow Laser Feast (MLF). MLF’s focus is investigating the world beyond our senses by applying a unique blend of creative and technical expertise. Robin has directed for XR, virtual production, largescale installations and live performances. For example, in 2021, Robin directed Dream, collaborating with The Royal Shakespeare Company, Philharmonia Orchestra, Epic Games + Manchester International Festival. MLF’s latest project, Sweet Dreams, is a collaboration with Simon Wroe and the BFI.

SADIE CLAYTON

Sadie Clayton is an award-winning artist and innovator who explores the creative boundaries between art and technology. Sadie is fascinated by innovation and has presented work at the Royal Academy of the Arts, Tate and the V&A, and has created content with Adobe films, amongst others. In 2019, Sadie became the first artist to create works of art with the robot Ai-Da at Tate Modern as part of the Tate Exhange, which explored the theme of technology and the self. During the pandemic, Sadie created three digital artworks with Ai-Da to illustrate how nature was revealed without “human pollutants.”

11:15 - 12:15 SESSION 2: DESIGNING THE FUTURE: VR & MULTI-SENSORY EXPERIENCES

Artificial intelligence. Augmented reality. Immersive experiences. Virtual reality. These technologies offer users new experiences but, as our average screen time reaches upwards of seven hours per day, the lines between “digital” and “real” worlds are becoming increasingly blurred. London-based immersive art collective Marshmallow Laser Feast cuts through the noise. In conversation with award-winning designer Sadie Clayton, Co-founder Robin McNicholas discusses the relationship between art and emerging technologies, taking us behind-the-scenes of MLF’s mesmerising multi-sensory experiences. This session is a glimpse into the future: it looks at how digital tools can spark conversations and, crucially, to bolster our connection with the natural world.

Marshmallow Laser Feast, We Live in an Ocean of Air ( 2018-2022).

13:30 - 14:30

SESSION 3:

THE FUTURE OF CURATION: WHO TELLS THE STORY?

How do curators make decisions? How does an idea develop into a fully realised exhibition? How can you ensure it is a success? In a world where attention spans have been reduced to three seconds, how do you captivate audiences and guarantee that public engagement is high? What opportunities are there for emerging practitioners in an age defined by footfall and what is “Instagrammable?” This session discusses the role of the curator in all its many forms and intricacies in the 21st century. The panellists are from the UK’s leading galleries, including Barbican, Peckham Platform, Open Eye Gallery and The Art House, and the discussion is chaired by art curator Helena Cox.

DAMON JACKSON-WALDOCK

PROGRAMME DIRECTOR, THE ART HOUSE, WAKEFIELD

MARIAMA ATTAH

CURATOR, OPEN EYE GALLERY, LIVERPOOL

NEPHERTITI OBOSHIE SCHANDORF

ARTISTIC DIRECTOR, PECKHAM PLATFORM, LONDON

LUKE KEMP

CO-HEAD, BARBICAN, LONDON

HELENA COX

ART CURATOR, UNIVERSITY OF YORK

14:45 - 15:45 SESSION 4: CROSS-CULTURAL AND DIGITAL IDENTITIES

Larry Achiampong is a BAFTA longlisted (2023) and Jarman Award (2021) nominated artist, filmmaker and musician. His projects employ archival material, film, live performance and still imagery to explore ideas surrounding cross-cultural and digital identity, class and gender. Achiampong will talk about how his body of work examines his communal and personal heritage, particularly the intersection between popular culture and the residues of colonialism. He will also discuss how dialogues around the themes of economic exclusion, belonging, displacement and cultural heritage come to light in film Wayfinder, which tracks a young girl’s intrepid journey across England.

LARRY ACHIAMPONG

Larry Achiampong (b. 1984) is a British-Ghanaian artist. In 2019, he received the Paul Hamlyn Artist award and, in 2020, he was awarded a Stanley Picker fellowship. He was a tutor on the Photography MA programme at Royal College of Art from 2016-2021. He has exhibited, performed and presented projects worldwide, including Tate Britain and Modern, London; Baltic, Gateshead, Turner Contemporary, Margate, The Institute for Creative Arts, Cape Town; The British Film Institute, London; Prospect, New Orleans; and the Diaspora Pavilion at the 57th Biennale.

Photo: Emile Holba.

Larry Achiampong, Still from Wayfinder, (2022). Single channel 4K colour film. 83 min. Courtesy the artist and Copperfield London.

16:00 - 17:00 SESSION 5: IMPACTS OF TECHNOLOGY: INNOVATORS OF POST-PHOT0GRAPHY

Anthony Aziz and Sammy Cucher have worked together as Aziz + Cucher since 1992. The duo have a multidisciplinary approach marked by a growing concern for technology’s impact on the human form and society. As the digital realm continues to invade the physical, Aziz + Cucher ask: what will become of the body? The artists have been exhibited globally, notably at the 46th Venice Biennale, with works held in collections including: the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, Los Angeles County Museum of Art and the Reina Sofia, Madrid. They will talk about representing the body in the post-human digital age and portrayals of the natural world understood through new technology.

Aziz + Cucher, You’re Welcome and I’m Sorry (2022), Installation view.

AZIZ + CUCHER

Sammy Cucher (b. 1958) and Anthony Aziz (b. 1961) have worked together as artistic duo Aziz + Cucher for over 30 years. They continue to experiment across a variety of media, including animation, digital imaging, sculpture, and video installation. Their work is marked by a distinctive concern for technology’s impact on the body and society. Aziz + Cucher have long held a cross-disciplinary conversation between the painterly and the photographic. Their more recent series encompass ideas of collective consciousness, political and social unrest and the effects of technological mediation. Some People

Tapestry Cycle (2014-2017), for example, evokes the senselessness and futility of ongoing conflicts and the anxiety of the historical moment we all inhabit.

17:15 - 18:15 SESSION 6: REPRESENTATION AND CULTURE: WHO SHAPES THE NARRATIVE?

Turner Prize-nominee (2022) Ingrid Pollard is a photographer, media artist and researcher. Pollard is a leading figure in contemporary British art. She has developed a social practice concerned with representation, history and landscape, with reference to race, difference and the materiality of lens-based media. In the 1980s, Pollard produced a series of photographs of Black people in rural landscapes, entitled Pastoral Interludes, a work that challenged how English culture places Black people in cities. Pollard will speak about her career – how she has broken new ground and forged pathways for younger generations, which has shaped Britain’s understanding of society and culture.

INGRID POLLARD

Dr Ingrid Pollard MBE (b. 1953) comes from a community arts background and trained in film, photography and printmaking. She is an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Photographic Society. Pollard has exhibited across the world, including Tate Britain, V&A and The Photographers’ Gallery, London, and NGBK, Berlin. In 2019, she was awarded Baltic Artist’s Award and the Paul Hamlyn Foundation Award for Artists. She received the Freeland Foundation Award with MK Gallery for Carbon Slowly Turning, which was nominated for the Turner Prize (2022).

Photo: Caroline Smart

Ingrid Pollard, Self Evident (1992). 9 colour light boxes, each 50.8 x 50.8 cm and 8 silver gelatin prints, each 84.1 x 118.8 cm. Courtesy of the artist.

18:15 - 20:15 AESTHETICA ART PRIZE EXHIBITION: PRIVATE VIEW AND AWARDS, YORK ART GALLERY (YO1 7EW)

Visitors have the chance to see the 2023 Aesthetica Art Prize ahead of the crowds at this private view. You can join delegates, curators and guests from the art world, alongside the Aesthetica team, for a special evening of networking. After an informative day of talks and panel discussions, enjoy the Awards Ceremony – all from the heart of York Art Gallery. The exhibition features 21 shortlisted artists whose work invites you to explore, discover and engage with themes from our rapidly changing world, including: the ethics of representation, mass digitisation, diasporic identities and the threats posed by the climate crisis. There is limited availability at this event. Please pre-register.

Gjert Rognli, What Nature Knows III , (2020). Courtesy of the artist.

CHERIE FEDERICO

Cherie is the Editor of Aesthetica Magazine and the Director of the BAFTA-Qualifying Aesthetica Short Film Festival (ASFF). She is also the founder of the Aesthetica Art Prize and the Future Now Symposium. Originally from New York, Cherie moved to the UK to study for her Master’s degree and founded Aesthetica, which she has since developed into an international brand distributed in 915 stores in the UK and exported to 20 countries. Cherie is a champion of new creative talent across the arts, from film and literature to art, design and photography.

DALE DONLEY

Dale Donley is the Production Director and Co-founder of Aesthetica Magazine and the BAFTA-Qualifying Aesthetica Short Film Festival (ASFF). The first issue of Aesthetica was published in March 2003 and since then has become one of the leading British art and culture publications. He spent his early career working as an artist before moving to graphic design. He is passionate about film, particularly animation, believing in strong aesthetics and powerful narratives that create unique visual experiences. Dale champions creativity that challenges perceptions.

09:30 - 10:00 MEET AESTHETICA’S DIRECTORS: 20 YEARS OF INDEPENDENT PUBLISHING

Aesthetica Magazine is a bastion of independent publishing, ideas and thought, founded by Cherie Federico and Dale Donley in 2003. This March, the publication celebrates its 20th anniversary. It is a true achievement, and in this session, Cherie and Dale will speak about their journey setting up an arts organisation with international reach. In addition, they will talk about what it means to make your mark on contemporary visual culture. They did not have funding, a business plan or distribution; they had an idea and a passion for culture. Hear how Aesthetica has become a world leading publication for art and design with a reach of 500,000, as well as a platform for creativity across the Art Prize, Creative Writing Award and the BAFTA-Qualifying Film Festival.

Light , (2021). Photographic print and chalk drawing, 70cm x 50cm x 3cm.

10:00-10:15 15 MINUTES WITH AESTHETICA ART PRIZE FINALISTS

Join us to hear from four Aesthetica Art Prize finalists, who take to the stage to share their practice for four minutes each. Dario Pilato is first up, whose work revives vintage toys whilst giving them a deep meaning, creating vibrant sculptures reminiscent of neo-expressionism. Secondly, Lavinia Keller discloses the invisible impact of technology in data sculptures that invite viewers to rethink their understanding of ownership and identity. Third is interdisciplinary artist Rosie Sherwood, who operates at the axis of environmental science and fine art. Immersive installation The Seagrass Walk combines light, photography, sculpture and video to raise awareness about a threatened ecosystem. Finally, Zoe Childerley studies the psycho-geography of the coast in Between the Waves, working with photography and mixed-media to interrogate landscape.

Lavinia Keller, NFMe (2022). Installation view. 200cm x 250cm.

10:15-11:15 SESSION 7: WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE A PAINTER IN THE 21ST CENTURY?

Painter, activist and entrepreneur Stuart Semple will speak about what it means to be a painter in today’s landscape. He will examine the impact the digital world has had on the medium. Beyond this, he will discuss his belief that art is for everyone. Semple is a multidisciplinary British artist working across activism, painting, sculpture and technology. He is well known for his sociologically engaged works that discuss youth politics, accessibility and democracy. Semple’s practice orbits around a handful of recurring themes: anxiety, community, connection, cultural history, freedom, society and technology. There is a clear-minded sense of utility: art itself should have a social function.

STUART SEMPLE

Stuart Semple (b.1980) is a multidisciplinary British artist working across activism, curation, painting, performance, sculpture and technology. His work focuses on anxiety, accessibility in art, mass culture and society. Over the past 20 years, his work has been the subject of major international solo and group shows. He is well known for his public art piece HappyCloud. Semple founded culturehustle.com in 2016, a long-running piece of internet performance art, and GIANT, the UK’s largest artist-run space in Bournemouth, hosting international artists.

KATHRYN BLACKER

CHIEF EXECUTIVE

YORK MUSEUMS TRUST

SOPHIE BOWNES

PROGRAMME COORDINATOR NEW CONTEMPORARIES, LONDON

MIRKA KOTULICOVA

VISUAL ARTS PROJECT MANAGER, JERWOOD ARTS, LONDON

NATALIE BRADBURY

VISUAL ARTS RELATIONSHIP MANAGER, ARTS COUNCIL ENGLAND

MIRANDA STACEY

ACTING DIRECTOR OF VISUAL ARTS BRITISH COUNCIL

11:30 - 12:30 SESSION 8: A GUIDE TO FUNDING YOUR PRACTICE

Being an artist needs to be thought of as running a business. It is important to think about how you will fund projects and develop partnerships in order to reach your goals. There are funding bodies that do support artists; however, competition is fierce. How will you make your applications stand out, and what can you do to support your practice? How can you transform your career and continue to make work that is financially viable, environmentally sustainable and creatively innovative? This session includes experts from Arts Council England, British Council Jerwood, New Contemporaries and York Museums Trust who discuss opportunities available to artists in varying stages of their careers.

13:45 - 14:45 SESSION 9: COLLISIONS OF ART HISTORY, SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

Can creatives draw inspiration from and re-imagine classical works? How can these images be brought into the digital world? How do you converse with the past? These are questions posed by London-based Israeli artist Ori Gersht, who is best known for destroying painstakingly recreated versions of classical paintings on camera. Fruit explodes and flowers shatter in slow-motion video, many of which reference classical paintings. His distorted replicas invite conversation around digitalisation, reality and virtual spaces. Gersht is interested in time periods involving revolutions – the scientific, industrial and digital – which he posits as the crossroads that define photography. In this talk, hear Gersht discuss the collision between art history, science and technology.

ORI GERSHT

Israeli photographer and video artist Ori Gersht (b. 1967) creates bodies of work that poetically explore the relationships between history, memory and landscape. Through metaphor, Gersht illuminates the difficulties of visually representing conflict and violent events or histories. His works often take the form of Dutch still life paintings and romantic landscapes. Each image is uncannily beautiful; the viewer is visually seduced before confronting darker and more complex themes, which highlight the compulsive, stark tension between beauty and violence.

15:00 - 16:00 SESSION 10: VISUAL LANGUAGES: SOUND DESIGN AND INSTALLATION

Yuri Suzuki is interested in the potential of sound to inspire, shape and connect people on a global scale, using unique combinations of digital and analogue technologies to push the boundaries of art. Interactivity is key to his practice, from community-focused installations that navigate the mechanics of communication to accessible phone applications that give people the tools to create music. In 2018, Suzuki was named as a partner of leading independent design studio Pentagram and has since shown work at The Design Museum, London, Turner Contemporary and Triennale Milano. He joins us to talk about sound design, interactivity and connection, drawing on significant projects from his studio and collaborative work with Google, will-i-am and Jeff Mills.

Yuri Suzuki (b. 1980) is an artist, designer and electronic musician. He explores sound and visual language through artworks and projects that examine the relationship between people and their environments. Suzuki questions how both visual art and sound evolve to create personal experiences. He has exhibited in solo and group exhibitions across the world, including Tate Britain, V&A, the Barbican and MoMA. As a partner at Pentagram, London, Suzuki and his team work internationally to push boundaries between art, design and sound.

YURI SUZUKI

Photo: Nick Glover

TOM HUNTER PROFESSOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY, LONDON COLLEGE OF COMMUNICATION

HANNAH STARKEY

PHOTOGRAPHER

MÓNICA ALCÁZAR-DUARTE

PHOTOGRAPHER

MARYAM WAHID

PHOTOGRAPHER

JONATHAN MAY DEPUTY DIRECTOR, PHOTOWORKS, LONDON

16:15 - 17:15 SESSION 11: WHAT IS THE FUTURE OF PHOTOGRAPHY?

Photography has had a long and eventful history – moving from wet plates to smartphones. Camera technology has changed dramatically over the years. What does the future hold for storytelling in this media? Four photographers with very different practices – Hannah Starkey, Tom Hunter, Mónica Alcázar-Duarte and Maryam Wahid – take us on a journey through the direction of photography and lens-based media. Where do we go from here? In this session chaired by Photoworks’ Jonathan May, the panellists will discuss how practitioners keep innovating now that photography is completely democratised. Everyone has a camera in their pockets, but are they photographers?

FIONA BANNER AKA THE VANITY PRESS

Fiona Banner (b.1966) often works under the moniker of The Vanity Press. She established the imprint in 1997, with her seminal book The Nam. Since then, she has published many works, some in the form of books, some sculptural, some performance based. In 2009, she issued herself an ISBN number, registering her own name as a publication. Humour, conflict and language are at the core of her “wordscapes.” Banner is the Royal Academy’s Professor of Perspective and, in 2022, she was shortlisted for the Turner Prize with exhibition Your plinth is my lap.

Helena Cox is an art historian and researcher currently working as the inaugural art curator at the University of York, overseeing a collection of over 900 artworks, including those from Barbara Hepworth, Aubrey Williams, Sidney Nolan, amongst many others. Previously, Helena worked as a curator at the National Museum in Prague, Czech Republic, as well curating contemporary art exhibitions in a freelance capacity. Helena is finishing her PhD in art history, and she is passionate about making art and art history accessible, relevant and open for everyone.

HELENA COX

Photo: Mischa Haller

Fiona Banner aka The Vanity Press. Still from Pranayama Organ (2021). High definition digital film. 10 min, 38 sec. Courtesy of the artist and F rith Street Gallery, London.

17:30 - 18:30 SESSION 12: THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN LANGUAGE AND THE SELF: IN CONVERSATION WITH FIONA BANNER

The struggle between language and its limitations is central to Fiona Banner’s conceptual approach. She has an interest in how conflict is mythologised through popular culture. Her early work took the form of “wordscapes” or “still films,” blow-by-blow accounts in her own words of feature films, from war movies to pornography, as well as intimate scenes and historical events. These works evolved into solid single blocks of text, often the same shape and size as a cinema screen. Banner later turned her attention to the idea of the art-historical nude, observing a life model and transcribing, in words, the pose and form. In this session, Banner will speak about her extensive career and recent work, in conversation with Helena Cox, curator at the University of York.

18:30-20:30 DRINKS RECEPTION YORKSHIRE MUSEUM, YO1 7FR

Celebrate with us as we mark 20 years of Aesthetica Magazine and the close of the Future Now Symposium 2023. This drinks reception, taking place in the Medieval Gallery at Yorkshire Museum, is a fantastic opportunity to unwind after a busy day of sessions, portfolio reviews and networking. Catch up with participants and delegates alike. Make new connections. Discuss key themes from the sessions you’ve attended. Immerse yourself in conversations about art. This casual social event is a great way to finish off the Symposium experience. It’s a destination for meeting attendees over a complimentary drink, which will be served on a first-come, first-served basis. All attendees are welcome. We are looking forward to seeing you there to round off the event!

PORTFOLIO REVIEWS, YORK THEATRE ROYAL, YO1 7HD HOSTED BY INDUSTRY EXPERTS (SEE FOLLOWING PAGES)

These 1:1 sessions, hosted in the Upper Foyer of York Theatre Royal (a 5-minute walk from Yorkshire Museum) are for practitioners working across all genres, including digital media, painting, photography, sculpture, video and more. Our industry experts provide essential guidance on how to develop ideas and further artists’ careers, as well as providing insights on funding opportunities and exhibition. Each session lasts 20 minutes. This is your opportunity to get key advice on any number of topics: how to accelerate your practice through digital platforms, how to approach curators and galleries, or simply discussing a particular portion of your portfolio in real time. The first review is free with your pass. Additional reviews can be booked for £25 per slot.

AMEENA M. MCCONNELL

Ameena is the Founding Director & Curator of GLDN POD, an artisanal fair that celebrates the material culture of Cacao and uncovers its historical Jamaican connection to Britain’s billion pound chocolate industry. Her work amplifies the historical and contemporary contribution of Black / African diaspora design. In 2022, she became the first British curator of Jamaican heritage to join the Design Museum’s Curatorial Committee.

CHERIE FEDERICO

Cherie is the Editor of Aesthetica Magazine and the Director of the BAFTA-Qualifying Aesthetica Short Film Festival (ASFF). She is also the founder of the Aesthetica Art Prize and the Future Now Symposium. She has developed Aesthetica into an international brand, distributed in 915 UK stores and exported to 20 countries. Cherie is a champion of creative talent across the arts, from film and literature to design and photography.

ELEANOR SUTHERLAND

Eleanor joined Aesthetica in 2017. As Creative Producer, she works across the magazine’s print and digital platforms, researching and writing on contemporary art. She loves discovering creatives and sharing their work with global readers. Eleanor strives to make art accessible through clear, engaging and assumption-free language. She studied Art History & English at the University of York and is passionate about computer science.

DAMON JACKSON-WALDOCK

Damon Jackson-Waldock is a curator, creative producer and arts programmer based in Yorkshire. He joined The Art House, Wakefield, as Programme Director in 2021. Damon’s role is to support the wide range of creative talent regionally and internationally without barriers and steer exciting exhibitions and residences in The Art House’s galleries and within the community. He previously worked at YSP for 11 years.

GRISELDA GOLDSBROUGH

Griselda Goldsbrough, visual artist and writer, is committed to cultural and creative activity in community engagement projects within heritage, science, musuems, galleries and healthcare. She is Artist in Residence at Foss Park Hospital, York, Art and Design Development Manager, York Hospital, and co-curator Aesthetica Art Prize. Goldsbrough has been involved in the Aesthetica Art Prize for several years, championing new talent.

HANNAH STARKEY

Hannah Starkey has had numerous solo exhibitions across the world. Her work has been included in Tate Modern, London; Tanya Bonakdar Gallery, New York; Turner Contemporary, Margate; Huis Marseille, Amsterdam; Schirn Kunsthalle, Frankfurt; the V&A, London; and The Hepworth Wakefield, amongst others. She has received extensive coverage in The Guardian, The Telegraph and The New York Times, amongst many others.

HARRIET COOPER

Harriet Cooper is currently Head of Visual Arts at Jerwood Arts, and she has developed her practice working with organisations including Firstsite, British Council, Yorkshire Sculpture Park, Tate Liverpool and The Whitworth Art Gallery. In her work, she is committed to supporting early-career artists and curators to develop their practices, considering the conditions and care that can create the best environment to achieve this.

COX

Helena Cox is an art historian and researcher working as the inaugural art curator at the University of York, overseeing a collection of over 900 artworks. Helena worked as a curator at the National Museum in Prague, Czech Republic, as well curating contemporary art exhibitions in a freelance capacity. Helena is finishing her PhD in art history, and she is passionate about making art and art history accessible, relevant and open for everyone.

HELENA

ITANDEHUI JANSEN

Itandehui Jansen was born in Oaxaca, Mexico. She studied film directing and has a PhD from Leiden University, Netherlands. Her films have screened at international festivals such as the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam, The Morelia International Film Festival and Slamdance, Washington D.C. and the London Short Film Festival. At present, she teaches Screenwriting and Directing at the University of Edinburgh.

KADINE JAMES

Kadine James is the Chief Metaverse Officer at Artificial Rome. She is the CEO and Founder of The Immersive KIND NFT Gallery and 3D Crypto Fashion House. Kadine is listed as one of the top 10 most influential women Metaverse Founders. She works in augmented reality, fashion, immersive gaming, spatial computing and virtual reality. Kadine’s focus is on engaging global audiences with new applications of emerging technologies.

KIT MONKMAN

Kit Monkman is a leading innovator in screen-based art and interactive media. He directed the visually experimental feature Macbeth (2018) and five-channel video installation The People We Love (2020). He is the co-founder of KMA, an artistic collaboration whose environmental installations have radically transformed public spaces across the world. Monkman has worked with renowned artists, including Prince and DV8.

Luke Kemp is Co-Head of Barbican International Enterprises (BIE) at Barbican, London. BIE have developed some of the most challenging and successful exhibitions in Barbican Centre’s history, which launch in the UK and then tour internationally. BIE aims to reframe visitors’ understanding of familiar subjects through their immersive exhibitions, allowing them to explore some of the most exciting topics in the world today.

LUKE KEMP

MARIAMA ATTAH

Mariama Attah is a photography curator, writer and lecturer with a particular interest in overlooked visual histories and understanding how photography and visual culture can be used to amplify underrepresented voices. Attah is a curator at Open Eye Gallery, Liverpool. She was previously Assistant Editor of Foam Magazine. Prior to this, she was the curator of Photoworks, and she was Managing Editor of the magazine Photoworks Annual.

MIRKA KOTULICOVA

Mirka joined Jerwood Arts in March 2022 as Project Manager. She is responsible for the administration and delivery of Jerwood Arts’ programmes that support early-career practitioners in the visual arts sector. Mirka previously worked at Arts Council England as a Relationship Manager in the Visual Arts & Museums team in London. Her experience covers grant making, relationship building, project management and artist support.

MÓNICA ALCÁZAR-DUARTE

Mónica Alcázar-Duarte is a Mexican-British multidisciplinary visual artist whose work both acknowledges her indigenous heritage and explores current ideals of progress. She examines science, new technology, and their influences over society and the natural world. She has been granted fellowships by the MEAD Foundation and the British Arts Council and is member of the board of trustees for The Royal Photographic Society.

OLIVIA AHERNE

Olivia Aherne is the curator at Chisenhale Gallery. Previous to this, she worked as a curator at Nottingham Contemporary for over three years. She has independently developed several exhibitions and public programmes for different project spaces and galleries across China, Germany and the UK. In 2018, she was one of 20 curators invited to participate in the Shanghai Curators Lab (SCL), an intensive residency programme.

OLIVIA HERON

Olivia Heron is a curator at the Whitworth, The University of Manchester. Previously at Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art (MIMA), and the Mercer Art Gallery in Harrogate, she works across exhibitions, collections and programming with a focus on feminist and socially engaged practices. Recent projects include Open House (2022) at the Whitworth and Chila Kumari Singh Burman’s Tales of Valiant Queens at MIMA in 2018.

RAQUEL VILLAR-PÉREZ

Raquel Villar-Pérez is an academic and curator whose practice focuses on de- and anticolonial discourses within contemporary art from the Global South. She is interested in the work of women-identified image-makers who address notions of transnational feminisms, social and environmental justice. She is a curator at Impressions Gallery, Bradford, and is responsible for the exhibitions programme, commissions and public events.

SADIE CLAYTON

Sadie Clayton is an award-winning artist and innovator who explores the creative boundaries between art and technology. Sadie is fascinated by innovation, has presented work at the Royal Academy of the Arts, Tate and the V&A, and has created content with Adobe films. In 2019, Sadie became the first artist to create works with the robot Ai-Da at Tate Modern, as part of the Tate Exhange’s exploration of new technology and the self.

YUEN FONG LING

Yuen Fong Ling is an artist and curator based at Bloc Studios Sheffield, and a Senior Lecturer in Fine Art and Early Career Researcher Fellow at Sheffield Hallam University. His socially engaged and performance-based art practice explores biographical connections with histories, people, places and objects. His research devising alternative forms of public monument and memorial making contributed to Sheffield’s Race Equality Commission.

JULIA FULLERTON-BATTEN

Julia Fullerton-Batten is a fine art photographer renowned for her highly cinematic visual storytelling. Unusual locations, highly creative settings and street-cast models are the hallmarks of her style. She has won numerous awards, including Sony World Photography Awards and Hasselblad Master in Fine Art. She has permanent collections in National Portrait Gallery, London and Musee de l’Elysee, Switzerland, amongst others.

ROSE MCMURRAY

Rose McMurray is an artist and curatorial assistant at Baltic: Centre for Contemporary art, and curator of the Lightbox Commission. She supports all areas of the programme, including residencies, events and exhibitions. Previous to this she was an assistant producer at D6: Culture in Transit and D6: EU. Her work specialises in the intersection between socially engaged art and working-class communities, championing local artists.

SPEAKERS, COLLABORATORS & SUPPORTERS

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Photo Credit: Jay Perry

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