Symposium: What Work Does the Artwork Do? Criticality in Context

This symposium brings together researchers, members of activist art groups and members of the general public interested in the place and role of art’s criticality. Instead of asking the definitional question “What is Art?” the symposium provides a space to explore and debate the roles and purposes of artworks – the work artworks do.  

Confirmed speakers/participants:
Art & Language
Bob and Roberta Smith
Elena Crippa, Curator, Modern and Contemporary British Art, Tate Britain
Paul Gladston, Editor, Journal Contemporary Chinese Art; Director of the Centre for Contemporary East-Asian Cultural Studies, University of Nottingham
Jo Melvin, Curator and Reader in Archives and Special Collections, CCW Graduate School, UAL
Chris Smith, Editor, Journal of Visual Arts Practice; Visiting Fellow, CCW Graduate School, UAL

Participants and public are invited to join the debate by contributing to our open call for responses on the microsite: www.artandcriticality.org. The material collected in this online forum will be used, alongside presentations, as a basis for discussion at the symposium. Findings will be compiled and published through the Journal of Visual Arts Practice.