New Contemporaries 70th Anniversary Conference – keynote speaker

Marking its 70th anniversary this year, New Contemporaries will celebrate its legacy and future direction with a two-day conference with The Research Forum Courtauld Institute of Art in London.

Along with Elaine Shemilt, contributors include Erika Balsom (academic and critic), Leah Capaldi (artist), Sacha Craddock (writer and curator), Adham Faramawy (artist), Ryan Gander (artist), Sunil Gupta (artist and curator), Lawrence Lek (artist), Alastair MacLennan (artist), Haroon Mirza (artist) and Irit Rogoff (writer, academic and curator).

Collaborating with The Research Forum at the Courtauld, the conference programme will address the development of New Contemporaries as it continually evolves to support the needs of emerging artists and practices. Established in 1949, New Contemporaries, formerly Young Contemporaries, is the longest-running support platform for emerging artists.

The programme will explore different aspects of representation and visibility for emerging arts, bringing into dialogue artists, curators, writers and art works from New Contemporaries history alongside contributors drawn from the Courtauld’s own alumni network of curators, artists and historians. Both days will include panel discussions, Q&As and artists’ presentations.

Day 1 will explore notions of diversity and gender politics in the UK’s art scene, along with definitions of the contemporary. Panel discussions will consider globalisation, identity and the difficulty in defining new artistic tendencies as well as what agency performance art still holds as an artistic medium.

Day 2 will focus on the future of artistic practice and the responses needed to support its continual evolution. Sessions will discuss new artwork platforms, how conventional forms of exhibition making are evolving, opportunities for artistic collaboration, and new and necessary funding models for artists.

The Courtauld conference is part of an ambitious public programme of events for New Contemporaries 70th anniversary comprising exhibitions, talks, symposia and workshops, as well as contributions from alumni in the form of performances, commissions and filmed interviews.

Timings:

25th October 2019 / Registration at 9.30 am / 10am – 5pm + After Event
26th October 2019 / Registration at 9.30 am / 10am – 5pm + After Event

Lecture Theatre 2 (second floor)
The Courtauld Institute of Art
Vernon Square  Penton Rise  King’s Cross
London    WC1X 9EW
FRI 25 OCT, 2019 – SAT 26 OCT, 2019

 

Image Credit: Original Poster for the Exhibition featuring Elaine Shemilt’s photo installation “Conflict’ (1976)