Introduction to Contemporary Arts and Politics
Summary
A distance course introducing key political themes and questions in contemporary art practices, theories and institutions. The 2022 course is delivered with particular focus on this year’s documenta fifteen (Kassel, Germany) and the animating idea of “lumbung”, curatorial research, the question of exhibition and claims upon the political imaginary and the political economy of contemporary art. Contributors include: Nkule Mabaso, Thiago de Paula Souza, Mick Wilson and invited guests.
About
There is a long tradition of interaction between questions of politics and questions of art. However, arguably in the last decade this dialogue between art and politics has intensified, leading to a fundamental interrogation: What is at stake now in the different intersections of art and the political? How are the terms ‘politics’ and ‘the political’ articulated within contemporary art? What, if any, are the specific political affordances of the contemporary art field?
These questions have acquired ever greater urgency in the wider political context of ascendant national populisms and renewals of white supremacism(s); mass displacement and anti-migrant mobilizations; the failure of governance structures to respond effectively to climate change, ecological collapse and pandemic; the illiberal populist appeal to strategies of ‘culture war’; and changing formations of political mobilization from the Arab ‘spring’ to renewed indigenous resistance movements; from Extinction Rebellion to Black Lives Matter; from Rhodes-Must-Fall to #MeToo; from Anonymous to Qanon. Through taking this course you will have an opportunity to build your own map of the multiple intersections of contemporary art and the political.
We will also explore together how the intersections of contemporary art and the political are re-constellated by recent changes in the wider political field and the recalibration of the international relations after the latest waves of globalization.
Practicalities
Information including dates within the course will be published closer to the start of the application period.
You will require reliable internet access and headphones with mic. Presentations will typically be recorded and posted online for students to access during the course. Participation in the course means that your contributions to discussion in response to the formal presentations may be recorded for this purpose.
The formal presentations can be attended live and also accessed via recordings published online, at whatever time suits your personal timetable needs. However, it is strongly recommended that you attend the ‘live’ online discussion sessions, as these will not always be recorded and these offer the best opportunity to interact with the other participants on the course
Further information
The updated reading lists for this year’s course will be published in Canvas in further ahead..
Prerequisites and selection
Requirements
General entrance requirements
NOTE!
If you are applying via late application, you cannot submit a letter of intent.
Apply in three steps
1. Apply for the course at universityadmissions.se. Deadline March 15, 2024.
2. Submit your compulsory letter of intent in SlideRoom. Deadline March 15, 2024. The letter of intent should contain a short description (maximum of
3 500 characters including spaces) stating why you wish to attend the course. The letter can be written in English or Swedish. We prefer if you write in English as parts of the jury are English-speaking.
Do not include name or contact details anywhere in the letter.
3. Submit documentation proving you meet the entry requirements of the course on universityadmissions.se. Deadline March 15, 2024.
Selection
The selection is based on a submitted Letter of Intent.
