CONF: ANOTHER ARTWORLD Manifestations and Conditions of Equity in Visual Arts (online / University of Arts, Belgrade, 3-4 Dec 2020)

ANOTHER ARTWORLD Manifestations and Conditions of Equity in Visual Arts
International Scientific Conference,
UNESCO Chair in Cultural Policy and Management
University of Arts Belgrade
Online 3-4 Dec 2020

Please see full programme.

The unequal development of art markets, lack of transparency of cash flows and various financial irregularities, precarious work and a high unemployment rate of artists are just some of the striking phenomena and ways in which contemporary art reproduces inequalities that can be seen in other areas of social action. The visual arts have become a key terrain in the field of culture in which market-oriented processes of globalization are manifested. In this field, only a few auction houses (London and New York) occupy a prominent position. Shifting the orientation of the field toward business, speculators have taken the position of key players in the art market, creating a money-making machine from art. As a consequence of the concentration of wealth and influence in a neoliberal global society, culture and the arts become the exclusive right of privileged actors. Therefore, the function and status of artists and art in contemporary society are moving away from the mission of fulfilling the public interest.

These phenomena are increasingly the subject of research, so it can be said that the greatest challenge and major task is to find solutions to the democratization of the artworld. We invite empirical, theoretical and practice-informed contributions from across a range of disciplines (art theory, cultural studies, cultural management, and cultural policy, sociology of art and economics of culture, and other related fields). Proposals could be in a form of individual or group papers, full panel presentations, testimonials, video presentations or poster sessions that should contribute to the consideration of the principles and models of decentralized (horizontal) management in visual arts; models based on equity, cooperative relationships and self-governance, ie. the implementation of direct democracy, which implies direct decision-making on all the common issues in the field of contemporary visual art.

Programme and access here.