International Conference on Opportunities in the Arts: Expanding Worlds

I am happy to share the news with you that I was invited as a moderator to TransCultural Exchange 2016 International Conference on Opportunities in the Arts: Expanding Worlds in Boston to chair a panel on the topic of US based Residency Programs.

Among panelist you will hear speak such an esteemed personalities as Cybele Maylone (Executive Director, UrbanGlass), Jeremy Adams (Executive Director, Woodstock Byrdcliffe Guild, Woodstock, NY), Susan Hapgood (Executive Director, ISCP – International Studio & Curatorial Program, NYC)
David Macy (Resident Director, MacDowell Colony, NH).

In our conversation I to propose speaking about a “format” of residencies as a space between professionalization/development and experimentation. I myself led a relatively small residency program in Berlin called culturia since 2006 (until 2014). Having this experience made me realize that the most important part of the project are not facilities, exhibition halls, tools and equipment but motivated people involved in making it work.

That is why I will be asking my panelists questions such as – what is your personal motivation to run the organisation, which of your projects where most successful and which one brought you the most satisfaction, etc.

Please join on 26th of February at 3 pm in George Sherman Union, 2^nd Floor, Metcalf Hall, Auditorium.

PROGRAM

CONFERENCE OVERVIEW
Traditionally, artists relied solely on galleries and dealers to support their art. They worked largely within the confines of their discipline and studio walls. Today numerous other options for artists also exist: More and more artists are managing their own careers, working in new formats and collaborating with people in different disciplines, both here and abroad.

Reflecting this new reality and picking up where the last Conference Engaging Minds left off, TransCultural Exchange’s 2016 International Conference on Opportunities in the Arts offers exciting possibilities for artists to embrace different cultures, mindsets and technologies. For instance, panelists will speak about their international residency programs, provide practical advice (on topics such as resources for funding and managing a studio practice), discuss how art can play a vital role in social or political interventions and promote possibilities for artists to collaborate with those in other disciplines, including medicine, architecture, conservation and engineering. Round Table discussions also will give artists with similar interests the chance to meet, network and talk about their work; and portfolio reviews with the speakers, gallery owners and critics will supply additional venues for artists to showcase their work.

DATES: February 25^th – 27^th, 2016
LOCATION: Boston University, with panels and presentations also at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Harvard University, Emerson College, Massachusetts College of Art and Design and other locations.

My trip to NYC and Boston is