Mapping Artistic Economies – tracing value chains in contemporary art There are as many modes of sustaining artistic practice as there are ways of making, distributing and appreciating art. An artistic cooperative collates people’s enthusiasm, secures public funding and finds local markets. An academically affiliated artist-researcher competes for positions, goes to conferences, applies to research councils, must publish - or perish. A freelance curator or project artist roams international networks in search of opportunities, visits one biennale, residency, place after another. A blue-chip gallery predates global markets, always on the lookout for new artistic tendencies and fresh talents to capitalise. All of these systems have their own value chains: modes of identifying, producing, exchanging, and extracting values; which intertwine to constitute the artistic eco-system at large. Some of these are exploitative - others are mutually beneficial. Our aim is to map them.
This workshop is planned as a collective brainstorming exercise, collating the knowledge of participants to test new mapping methodologies. Our aim is to create preliminary sketches of artistic economies, considering both their variety and integration, thus visualising the political economy of contemporary art and engaging in its critique.
11.00 am Mapping Artistic Economies – tracing value chains in contemporary art
Intro by Kuba and Kathrin, discussing mapping methodology
12.30- 1.30 Lunch
1.30 – 4.00 Cognitive mapping session in smaller groups
4.00 – 4.30 Presentations of particular maps, collective discussion
The results will be published in the public domain, free for common use.
