This October I made a trip to Eindhoven, invited by one of my mentors, Annie Fletcher, to attend the Arte Util seminar at the Van Abbemuseum.
Arte Util is a project initiated by Tania Bruguera that looks at art as a tool. My interests in this area are connected to not only art as a practical tool but as a tool for looking at art itself, i.e. how can a sculpture be used a tool for understanding more about sculpture and form. We could also consider how looking at methods of art production could be helpful in appraoches to surviving the current public funding cuts and shifting attitudes to the place of art in education.
Tania Bruguera attended the semina as did Annie Fletcher, and Clare Butcher who is the curator of the Sceographies exhibition at Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam. A list of attendees is going to be circulated so I’ll be able to give a list of other antendees.
The discussion was very varied and open, with a generous attitude from all involved. I found it really refreshing to be out of the UK taking part in a discussion with people who share different reference points to myself, and who are not in the same social circle.
As with many events of this kind a lot of interesting chat took place once the actual seminar was over. Anecdotes, contacts and references shared over a post-discussion wine were very rich and varied.
Arte Util at the Van Abbemuseum
Link to show http://vanabbemuseum.nl/en/browse-all/?tx_vabdisplay_pi1%5Bptype%5D=18&tx_vabdisplay_pi1%5Bproject%5D=1200&cHash=1447bee3530cdbca9b856a1bd8d9ec7c
Link to the seminar that I attended http://vanabbemuseum.nl/en/browse-all/?tx_vabdisplay_pi1%5Bptype%5D=20&tx_vabdisplay_pi1%5Bproject%5D=1238&cHash=df0e45896d5a1f99c31d7348d75dc90e
The Arte Util website http://arteutil.net
Tania Bruguera website http://www.taniabruguera.com/cms/
