This year’s Fine Art Area Key Ideas series kicked off on Thursday 28 October with a debate and discussion centring around the theme of ‘Brit Art and You’.
Guest speakers on the day were:
John Russell – artist and writer. He was a founding member of the BANK artists’ collective. Russell is represented by MOT International. Russell’s Frozen Tears (I-III) anthologies can be viewed at – www.frozentears.co.uk, many of the texts included can be read online. Russell was a contributor to Tate’s Great British Art Debate publication.
Cedar Lewisohn - artist, writer, curator and programmer for Tate Media. Lewisohn recently co-curated the Rude Britannia exhibition at Tate Britain. He is currently working on Tate’s Great British Art Debate project – a nation-wide initiative to promote public engagement with art.
www.greatbritishartdebate.tate.org.uk
Discussion Agenda: The Great British Art Debate poses these questions: Is British Art a British fantasy? Should art be good for you? Is art too popular? Does the art of the past say anything about the world of today? Should the public have a say in what goes into museums?
Lewisohn and Russell engaged in a debate with the students about these topics and offered a series of provocative ideas for young artists to approach their practice and critical context.
Image: John Russell, ‘Untitled’, 2009.
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