What is the role of public art in shaping our collective imagination? How does economics influence what kind of art is allowed in our public spaces? Where are the opportunities for radical new types of creative activity that can shift what seems possible?

These questions and more were explored at Pelican House on April 18th, 2024 at the launch of our new project in collaboration with artist Toby Tobias Kidd and Art School Plus: Public Art and the Economics of Imagination, and are the subject of a new podcast series speaking to experts in the field (details below).

 

Speakers and Presenters

  • Ella Snell – Founder of Art School Plus, specialist in public realm art, Associate for Cultural Associates Oxford, and Trustee of the Henry Moore Foundation introduced us to some of the values and questions that have shaped Art School Plus so far.
  • Marley Treloar – Artist, Curator and PhD researcher on Social Practice & Institutional Critique at Coventry University shared her work around Infrastructures As Practice and Habits For Solidarity. Find her on Instagram here.
  • Pil and Galia Kollectiv – Professors at Royal College of Art and Chelsea College of Arts talked, among other things, about their new book Subversive Performance in the Age of Human Capital.

Podcast Series

The first episode is now live, which can be found on the usual platforms including YouTube, Spotify, Amazon and Deezer. It features a conversation with philosopher Vid Simoniti, Senior Lecturer in Philosophy of Art at the University of Liverpool.

Simoniti is a philosopher and writer who has written extensively about art and politics, perhaps most notably in his new book Artists Remake the World: A Contemporary Art Manifesto, available through Yale University Press. Be sure to follow, subscribe, and check back for weekly episodes. 

After the success of the event, we are looking to organise more in the future. Make sure you don’t miss out on these by signing up to FNL list here and Artactiva list here. We are open to hearing your ideas and working on other collaborations on this topic.

Get in touch with us at info@futurenarrativeslab.org if that’s of interest or if you have any other feedback or suggestions.