Teaching period: 2 days, 29th-30th April (2 – 6PM, EET)
Lecturer(s): Samantha Lippett (UK) & Kamilė Krasauskaitė (LT) in collaboration with assoc. prof. dr. Vytautas Michelkevičius (LT).
ECTS: 1
Number of available places for KUNO students: 15
Level: BA/MA Application deadline: 20th April (10AM, EET)
How to apply: A short paragraph explaining your motivation to join the sessions (no more than 200 words) should be emailed with a subject line KUNO to kamile@cac.lt.
This two-day online course will offer an introduction to socially engaged art practices and their role within the field of contemporary art. Led in partnership with the Education programme at the Contemporary Art Centre, Vilnius, the course will also reflect upon the development and future of these practices within the Baltic. Students will be provided a foundation in existing theories, methods and institutional and self-organised models, as well as bring into question the speculative futures of socially engaged art. The value, ethics and politics of the practice will also be brought to the fore, through examples from Samantha Lippett (UK) and Kamilė Krasauskaitė‘s (LT) work to date.
Lecturers’ Biography:
Samantha Lippett is a curator and lecturer based between London and Vilnius. For the last five years she has curated a programme of residencies and community projects with emerging and international artists for South London Gallery on local housing estates and lectures in Visual Cultures at Middlesex University.
Kamilė Krasauskaitė is a curator of Education and Community Engagement at CAC (Vilnius) and the non-disciplinary arts space Alt Lab (SODAS2123, Vilnius). Kamilė is a cross-disciplinary artist and primarily works with the medium of sourdough.
Together they founded the cross-cultural research platform COMMON GROUND that brings together their network of colleagues and friends working in community practice. Currently the platform exists as a bi-monthly radio show hosted by Palanga Street Radio (LT).
Assoc. prof. dr. Vytautas Michelkevičius is a curator, researcher and writer. He has curated and published on photographicallity of art and society, socializing through art, interdisciplinarity between art and research, artistic research, experimental teaching, and participatory curatorial practices. While serving as artistic director of Nida Art Colony (2010-2019), he has initiated and co-curated a series of 10 Inter-format Symposiums which celebrated collaboration and engagement in temporary artistic communities. More http://www.nidacolony.lt/en/projects/symposium, https://vilnius.academia.edu/VytautasMichelkevicius
Content of the course: Day one: - An introduction to socially engaged art practice and presentations by Samantha Lippett (UK) and Kamilė Krasauskaitė (LT); - Case studies exercise in groups; - Presentation; - Set reading for day two. Day two: - Lecture: Value, ethics and the speculative futures of socially engaged art; - Imagining futures exercise; - Presentation; - Concluding discussion. Resources: Bishop, C. 2012, Artificial Hells: Participatory Art and the Politics of Spectatorship, Verso Books Text to be provided in advance Leigh Claire La Berge on Wages Against Artwork https://soundcloud.com/e_flux/leigh-claire-la-berge-on-wages COMMON GROUND hosted by Samantha Lippett and Kamile Krasauskaite https://soundcloud.com/palanga_street_radio/sets/common-ground Curatorial Lecture - After Institutions by Karen Archey (Event by Curatorial Studies at KASK, Ghent, Belgium) https://www.facebook.com/curatorialstudies.be/videos/722576028445998 Structure: Two days (4 hours each) comprising lectures and practical activities with material reading and watching.
Learning Outcomes:
- Become familiarised with a brief history of socially engaged art practice; as well as related contemporary debates, theory and methodologies.
- To develop an interest and understanding of how your own practice could incorporate participation, communities or social engagement.
- Consider the values of your practice and the types of audiences you would like to engage with in the future.
- Develop critical thinking and ‘on the spot‘ presentation skills.
Additional information: This course will take place on Zoom, with some independent preparatory work required before and between sessions. IMAGE Workshop on Elmington Estate, Open Plan, South London Gallery, 2019 (Samantha Lippett)
