Empowering and promoting the artist in the digital ‘market’ place

Meeting report Empowering and promoting the artist in the digital ‘market’ place1, lead by David Gryn / Artprojx Participants: Daniela Arriado (Co-Founder Artrepublic) Irene Kotnik (Co-Founder Artrepublic) Carolina Grau (Curator), Silke Wittig (Head of Communication and Public Program, Neuer Berliner Kunstverein) Meeting report by Guadalupe Parraga In the current art market dominated by the flow of work created by and for the many art fairs around the world, it is important to create the proper contexts for audiovisual materials to circulate as a central part of the art scene, always adapting the ideas as intended by the artists to better reach audiences in so many different contexts. As an international curator it is important first of all to build a name based on the responsibility of your practice and the trust and confidence you inspire in and around the artists and their work.

There are series of compromises to be made when dealing with exposing audiovisual work that are to be determined by the nature of the space in which these works will be shown. From technical details to problems with content in public space and censorship, several examples come to mind in how to deal with such situations on a case by case basis. For instance in the case of work projected in public spaces, one faces the problem of technical complications working with the proper sound system for the dimensions required by the specific works, but also is possible to encounter city regulations that determine the kind of images allowed in public spaces, in that regard it is a problem to show for example videos that contain nudity, political or religious imagery. In some of these cases there has to be a compromise on the selection, but other cases can be resolved by working with the artist to adjust a specific piece to function in a public space, and maybe work on a version of a piece that fits a specific standard for public viewing. Other times the city will adapt to certain works, even very provocative ones,and will bypass the law, showing maybe very incendiary political content disguised as something else. It is all about compromise and working one on one with the artists.

There is also the ethical issue on collaborations and remuneration. As the curator there is responsibility on your part to overview that artists get paid fairly for the work they do, it is important to make it really clear for institutions to understand that under you everyone gets fairly remunerated. Overall, it is important to understand that there is a human connection to all projects and work, it is the human that makes, spreads and participates and how well you treat each other is paramount. Artists and students for instance, are both eager and vital participants of these type of events and should be venerated, as their presence and involvement adds a special ingredient to the success of any art event.

1 The meeting was held in the Framework of Loop Professional Meeting on Friday 6 June 2014.

NOTE: The present report aims to provide a summary of the discussions that took place during professional meeting. It does not aim to be a a transcription of the conversations, so we emphasize its summary character.