Seminar

MOBILITY
Re-Reading the Future

On 3d June 2008 in the Auditorium of Veletrzni palac at the National Gallery in Prague took place a seminar “ Mobility – Re-Reading the Future ” – an important part of Mobility project, supported by the European program Culture 2007.

The seminar accompanied the opening of “Mobility” exhibition in the National Gallery in Prague and has been focused on young critics and artists. This activity created an opportunity to discuss topics crucial to contemporary art scene for any professionals involved in art. The guests lecturers where: Henry Meyric Hughes - President of AICA , art critic, curator - UK; Pavel Buchler – Professor at the Manchester University, artist, art critic - UK; Oliver Zybok – Professor at the HBK in Braunschweig-Germany, art historian, art critic, curator – Germany. In the seminar participated Milan Knizak – General Director at the National Gallery in Prague, Professor at AVU-Prague, artist, curator, writer, musician, and Tomas Vlcek- Director at the Collection of Contemporary and Modern Art in the National Gallery in Prague, art historian, art critic, Professor, curator of Mobility project. The seminar was conducted by Olga Marcinkiewicz – Art Director in the Turlej Gallery in Krakow, art historian, art critic, curator, dancer.

The seminar became an occasion to summarize the preparation and realization of Mobility art projects. In this connection the discussion was completed with the formulation of specific topics:

- what has changed in the relations artists - society

- the role of the state in the contemporary art support

- the future of art and the future forms of contemporary art exhibitions: how to avoid traditional art catalogues and traditional forms of art display, etc..

The question of the role of culture patrons (sponsors both private and state) has remained open. The participants agree that the culture support should promote not only those artists who easily get contact with the audience, but, especially, those artistic phenomena that are ahead of our time (and therefore rejected by wide audience).

It’s significant that the contemporary artists do not have common definition of their role in society. Age (generation) seems to matter a lot. While the younger generation of artists stands clearly in favor of dialogue, creating works of art together with the public, the artists from the older generation would expect the audience to follow them. Both groups agree that the main role of an artist is to inspire - certainly not to educate as it was before. Both groups implement this idea in a different way: the younger - through interactive works, stimulating creativity and imagination in the viewer as well as the creation of “magic reality" while the elders - by sharing uncommon images of the world. Likewise, younger believe that good art would defend itself, while the elders believe that good art transcends the society and therefore should be protected.

The Mobility seminar revealed tensions between practical and theoretical approaches to art and especially in the new forms of contemporary art practices. The question “what is the future of art” is still open as the question "what the future is"….

Svetlana Michajlova

Olga Marcinkiewicz