engage/enquire International Conference
3-5 November 2010
Broadway, Nottingham Media Centre
Nottingham Castle Museum & Art Gallery
Nottingham Contemporary
and venues across Nottingham during the British Art Show 7
The art of influencing change
How can art impact on change?
The engage International Conference has become a major annual event that brings together over 200 arts and education
professionals from the United Kingdom and other countries. In 2010 engage and enquire will collaborate on a joint
conference, The Art of Influencing Change.
The engage/enquire International Conference aims to:
- Stimulate debate about gallery education and issues affecting practice
- Inform delegates about current cultural and educational policies annd developments in the visual arts
- Raise the profile of gallery education
- Provide networking opportunities for delegates
Click here to book now!
Download the e-flyer
Theme
Rapid developments in the 21st century are creating opportunities and challenges for arts and education professionals.
We are confronted by environmental issues, developing technology, globalisation and changes to political agendas and policies.
This year's engage/enquire International Conference will consider how those working in the visual arts can be best equipped to
influence change now and in the future.
How do artists and arts organisations respond to global and national changes? What are the opportunities and
responsibilities for arts educators resulting from these changes?
Can the sector influence political agendas and environmental issues, and does it have a responsibility to influence
what is going on in the wider world?
How might the arts, audiences and resources reshape in response to environmental and technological as well as financial
changes, and how can the arts be resilient and sustainable?
To answer these questions, we will:
- Look at key challenges facing the arts and education world and consider how artists, educators and policymakers are
taking socio-political responsibility and influencing change
- Examine the role of technology and digital collaboration in reaching new audiences
- Hear from the 'champions of change', focusing on future forecasts, pioneering models and revolutionary social projects
- Highlight tools and strategies for arts educators to influence change now and into the future.
As well as a lively programme of presentations and debates, breakout sessions will provide a more intimate platform for
discussion. Hear case studies, engage with activism and learn about dynamic education projects.
Speakers and contributors
Sam Bower, Co-Founder and Executive Director of the California-based greenmuseum.org on how greenmuseum.org uses new forms of art education,
leveraging technology to create an online museum to serve the emerging global environmental art movement
Ruth Catlow, Co-Founder and Co-Director of furtherfield.org
on arts and technology, activism, education and the Zero Dollar Laptop Project - part of furtherfield.org's media art ecologies programme
Deborah Dean, Visual Arts and Exhibitions Manager, and Rachael Evans, Audience Engagement Officer, from
Nottingham Castle Museum & Art Gallery
and future arts professionals Nottingham's young ambassadors showcase interpretation material for the British Art Show 7
Roanne Dods, co-founder, Mission Models Money,
on artists, people, meaning and money in changing times
Lisa Edgar, Head of Education at ffotogallery (Cardiff)
discusses Vision On - a holistic programme of digital media art, learning and participation, which developed
new audiences through creative technology
Patrick Fox, Programme Manager of FACT's (Foundation of Creative Arts and Technology)
tenantspin and Freehand- two community projects for very different age groups- talks about the influence of Web 2.0 on the Cultural Sector
Johnny Gailey, Children and Young People's Programme Manager, Fruitmarket Gallery (Edinburgh)
and Director of Air Iomlaid
– a visual arts project linking children in Skye and Edinburgh using new technology
Paula Marie Hildebrandt, co-curator of Überlebenskunst,
a project by the Federal Cultural Foundation and Haus der Kulturen der Welt (Berlin), which aims to
identify alternative approaches and groundbreaking new models towards ecologically sustainable living
Phyllida Hancock, Leadership Facilitator from Contender Charlie
on the art of influencing change
Jonnet Middleton, Artist, on Unitypanda,
a Web 2.0 experiment with online and offline communities in 'peer panda production' which unites 500 people from
different age groups and cultural backgrounds to knit 100 pandas
Hannah Rudman, Director of Envirodigital on
The Digital Planet: the potential of online spaces for greener, more environmentally sustainable performance,
audience engagement and participation
Shelley Sacks, Reader in Art and Principal Lecturer and Director of the Social Sculpture Research Unit at Oxford Brooks University on Social Sculpture:
the connection between inner and outer work in the shaping of a humane and ecologically just society
Laura Sillars, Programmes Director, FACT,
discusses the development of new international education/collaboration programmes
Jon Treadway, Director of Regular Funding at Arts Council England,
on economic conditions and sustainable business models in the visual arts, and future funding mechanisms
Jane Trowell, Educator, PLATFORM, and artist Rebecca Beinart
discuss the impacts of PLATFORM's 2009 artist-activist exhibition and season of events,
'C Words: Carbon, Climate, Capital, Culture'.
...and more to be confirmed
Each delegate will receive:
- A unique badge created by local artists Katie Pinkney of Molly's Mum and Ashley Watson
- A map designed by local designer Oliver Wood of Joff and Ollie
- And a special gift from Plantacard
Programme
Thursday 4 November
The Conference's opening session will examine some of the key changes and challenges for arts educators and
arts organisations in the 21st century, including climate change and ecological issues, digital technology
and changes to cultural policy. We will consider how artists, collectives and policy makers use their roles to influence 21st century challenges.
Thursday afternoon's session will explore how education projects use technology and digital collaboration
to reach new audiences. Each speaker will present a specific project they have worked on and discuss the
wider influences of technological and digital opportunities.
Later, all delegates are invited to see the exhibition at Nottingham Contemporary, where engage's Annual
General Meeting will be held. The evening will continue with Conference Dinner and a chance to socialise in a relaxed, informal atmosphere.
Friday 5 November
On the second day, delegates will be invited to join breakout sessions which examine how artists,
arts educators and collectives are influencing change. There will be hands-on workshops, and opportunities to hear
about and discuss the most current dynamic education programmes.
The afternoon session on Friday will see delegates come together at Broadway Media Centre. We will learn about
future forecasts, pioneering models and revolutionary social projects which utilise the opportunities of the 21st
century and which will impact on environmental, digital and funding issues for arts educators. The session will
highlight tools and strategies for arts educators to influence change in the 21st century and beyond.
Online activity
The Art of Influencing Change and Axis online
Axis is a leading online resource for contemporary art in the UK. The Autumn10 issue of the Axis online journal,
Dialogue, will launch in November with a series of special features about art, gallery education and change.
Participants, Axis and engage members and the public are invited to get involved with the discussions and share their thoughts and observations.
Whether you can make it to the conference or not, you're welcome to join the debates online at
www.axisweb.org/dialogue/engage and Twitter #eng10.
a-n Writers prize
a-n will once again invite applications to attend the first day of the conference and write an article about it,
to be published online. Click back here later for details.
Booking
engage offers its members discounted places at conference. To find out about membership,
click here or email info@engage.org.
Delegates can save money by booking before 10 September 2010.
Main conference fees
Includes evening reception on 3 November, lunches and refreshments on 4 & 5 November
| engage individual members |
£115 (£99*) |
| engage organisational members |
£220 (£195*) |
| Non-members of engage ** |
£330 (£294*) |
| engage bursary place*** |
£55 |
* Discounted rate for places booked by 10 September 2010
** engage membership starts from £29.50, click here for more information
***A limited number of bursary places will be available for students, artists and freelancers.
Click here for details.
Click here to download a booking form.
Please return your completed form to:
engage, Rich Mix, 35-47 Bethnal Green Road, London E1 6LA
info@engage.org
fax +44 (0)20 7739 3688
Venues
Click here to download a map of Nottingham and the main venues, created by Joff and Ollie.
Confirmed venues include:
Broadway, Nottingham Media Centre
Lakeside Arts
Nottingham Castle Museum & Art Gallery
Nottingham Contemporary
Roger Watson Laces
Accommodation
Conference delegates are responsible for booking their own accommodation. There are several major and boutique
hotels within easy reach of the conference venues in central Nottingham. For information about some of the
available options, click here.
Further reading
Click back here later for a list of recommended reading.
