LOOP PROFESSIONAL MEETINGS Title: A Two-Way Street: Cultivating Collections Through Cooperation & Inquiry1 Lead by: Rachel Rits-Volloch Founder, Momentum Isabel de Sena Curator, Momentum Participants: Montse Badia Curator, CAL CEGO Collection Elina Gault Artist Beomyun Jung Technical Supervisor, Seoul Programmer International New Media Festival Kenichi Kondo Curator, Mori Museu Kadri Laas Project Manager, Estonian Art Development Center Elizabeth Markevitch Founder and CEO, IkonoTV Masha McConaghy Curator / Founder, ascribe Melanie Jane Taylor Artist / Co-Director, Australia Thai Artist Interchange Jen Yannho Kim Art Director, Seoul Programmer International New Media Festival 2
Meeting report by Victoria Sacco
TOPICS: Collaboration between institutions, collectors, galleries and artists; copyright and ownership issues, strategies to reach new audiences. 1. Keeping art alive: new strategies for institutions and galleries How do institutions or galleries play into the relationship with artists and residency programs? How can they keep collections alive and support artists? What would make this sustainable and what funding strategies are being developed? • •
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There is a proactive attitude in collecting today. Artists try new languages, many times encourage by the galleries. Collection, residency and exhibition are intertwined: the exchange is not only related to collect or buy, but also becoming part of the whole creative process, take responsibility and keep in touch with the artist. Some galleries invite artists to engage and they dialogue with institutions and look at works from different perspectives. Collaboration is increasing. In cases where the relationship with the artist is close, it’s organically developed. Some projects3 show how an institution might influence in the local art scene by promoting exchange and dialogue with artists. New time based-art initiatives work with donated art works in order to reach bigger audiences and make new partnerships. Some institutions work through an outset, which are philanthropic organizations, whose members pay annual fees to found productions and international projects. Everyday more and more collectors prefer to be committed to artists.
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The meeting was held on Friday 5 June 2015. The present report aims to provide a summary of the discussions that took place during the meeting. It does not aim to be a transcription of the conversations, so we emphasize its summary character. 3 Like the Estonian Art Development Center. 2
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The problem is still that exhibitions costs are covered but art production and creation are underfunded. Researches in form of residences lack many time from support. In a collection or in an archive it’s important to give the artists the possibility to engage and maintain the interest: it’s valuable and positive for both. University get also involved: online master programs give the opportunity to discuss or make questions to artists in a chat channel. Collections are a kind of tool that students can use to research and for specific projects.
2. Technology, access and copyright Digital technology allows artists and galleries to reach new audiences and experiment other ways of collecting and distributing. Nevertheless, there are still many fears related to ownership and credit issues. •
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Web pages are useful for curators and galleries to make their work known for critics or other curators, and also attract people. Short videos and descriptions are shown. It’s difficult to evaluate if digital art is openly shown in the web space of institutions, or if there should be a membership. The problem seems to be not about access, but about ownership. Internet was developed in the 90ies very fast, so technologically there is only a one-way-link: some firms4 are trying to create bidirectional links, so it’s possible to have an exhibition history listed. It’s also possible to transfer ownership, and that creates the value for future collections. New software enables to demonstrate the ownership of a digital piece of art to the world This alternative ways of understanding ownership are a clue for the artists: productions do not have to be objects or something physical, so collaborations with museums are increasing.
3. Reaching new audiences, creating opportunities How can collections be engaged and shifting? How do they give access to new publics and spread the work of new artist using technology? What limits does digital art faces when it gets to compete with real artworks? Is it possible for art to play a politic role? • • • •
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Site specific events are a way to get the works seen by curators and collectors. It’s difficult for many artists to exhibit it in museums. New technologies make it possible to find other ways of show art in different, unknown and creative ways. Digital enables artists and galleries to reach a public that has no experience with art to have a first contact. In the art world there is the belief that it’s not possible to have an art experience without being an expert, which turns to be totally unfair because even the art professional can look in a museum without knowing what they are looking at. Television channel broadcasting art 5 also brings a new opportunity, which cannot be provided by the Internet. In the web one has to be specifically interested in what it’s being searched for; if one’s not interested, other things will never appear. But zapping gives people the opportunity to find many things without introducing any word or limiting the experience through searches or key words. It’s possible to have an experience with art without knowing about it. Thanks to this experiences with TV people have the courage to go in the museum: general public needs courage. Repetition is also important to give it time to people to get used.
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Like ascribe. Like Ikono TV.
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The economic and time aspects are also areas in which digital tools presents advantages: it’s possible to build an exhibition in incredibly short periods of time, and to dispense the constant presence of an architect doing adaptations and assimilations to satisfy the needs of new exhibitions. This flexibility is also a help for many artists who are not known and have to sell a portfolio, which used to be most of the times very frustrating. It can be a great tool to share and communicate a passion, also if there is the belief that it will never replace the real experience. Trying to democratize art is also a way to do politics, a way to show that art can have a power. When people know better the art of their neighbor, understanding is possible and dialogue improves. This diversity can be accepted through art, and this can have political consequences. Art has also an emotional impact. It touches people, so it’s a big opportunity to take advantage of digital exponential, distribution and reach to show it can be useful in a political way. In terms of the experience, some people believe that digital seems to be incapable to produce the strong sensations of the real.
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Collaboration between institutions, galleries and artists is growing. There is a proactive and responsible attitude. TV and Internet play a very important role in catching bigger audiences and can also help democratizing art by having a political influence through sensibility. Many collectors and artists still distrust technology in matters of copyright. Strategies to prove ownership in digital art allows collectors and galleries to expand the access to new audiences who are normally not related to the art world. In terms of the experience, for some people digital seems to be incapable to produce the strong sensations of the real.