Future/Forward
The National Visual Arts Summit
6 – 7 November 2014
Carriageworks, Sydney NSW
Future/Forward was a two-day summit that brought together arts practitioners, academics and industry professionals to engage in discussions about the current state of the visual arts in Australia and to imagine new possibilities for developing contemporary practice.
Support for this national dialogue was offered through travel bursaries in several states made available to art practitioners to attend the summit from around Australia. The bursaries covered flights, accommodation, per diems and summit registration fees.
Resources
Vodcasts
Articles
Future/Forward Day One Plenary by Hannah Mathews.
Future/Forward Day Two Plenary by Dr Biljana Jancic.
A consequential national visual arts summit? by NAVA Executive Director Tamara Winikoff OAM.
Toward a protocol of censorship by Associate Professor Robert Nelson.
Speakers
Artists, activists, academics, curators and critics from around Australia spoke of imagining and challenging the futures of the arts sector in Australia.
- Vernon Ah Kee, artist
- Dr Zanny Begg, artist and lecturer, UNSW Art and Design
- Alex Broun, National Executive of the Arts Party
- Dr Peter Bowden, ethicist University of Sydney
- Julian Burnside AO QC, barrister, human rights and refugee advocate and author
- Dr Edward Colless, Head of Critical and Theoretical Studies at the Victorian College of the Arts, University of Melbourne
- Franchesca Cubillo, Senior Advisor, Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Art at National Gallery of Australia
- Dr Pippa Dickson, designer and creative consultant
- Dr Ben Eltham, researcher and writer
- Andrew Frost, art critic, lecturer and broadcaster
- Keith Gallasch, Publisher and Co-Managing Editor of RealTime
- Dr Alex Gawronski, artist and academic
- Dr Jane Goodall, Adjunct Professor with the Writing and Society Research Group at the University of Western Sydney
- Dr Julie Gough, artist, curator, writer and academic
- Professor Ghassan Hage, art theorist and academic at the School of Social and Political Sciences University of Melbourne
- Lisa Havilah, Director of Carriageworks
- Professor Patricia Hoffie, Griffith University
- Jo Holder, Director of The Cross Arts Projects
- Dr Lucas Ihlein, artist
- Dr Biljana Jancic, artist and writer
- Barry Keldoulis, Director of Sydney Contemporary and Melbourne Art Fair
- Dr Hong-hee Kim, Director of Seoul Museum of Art (SeMA)
- Dr Lindy Lee, artist and Senior Lecturer at Sydney College of the Arts
- Alexander Lotersztain, Director of Derlot Pty Ltd
- Liz Ann Macgregor OBE, Director of Museum of Contemporary Art
- Hannah Mathews, Associate Curator of the Australian Centre for Contemporary Art
- Kelli McCluskey, co-founder and co-director of pvi collective
- Dr Jacqueline Millner, Associate Dean Research, Sydney College of the Arts
- Magdalena Moreno Mujica, Deputy Director of the International Federation of Arts Councils and Culture Agencies (IFACCA)
- Phip Murray, History/Theory Coordinator and Lecturer, School of Architecture + Design, RMIT University
- Rupert Myer AM, Chair of the Australia Council for the Arts
- Associate Professor Robert Nelson, Monash University
- Professor Nikos Papastergiadis, theorist and academic at School of Culture and Communication, University of Melbourne
- Elvis Richardson, artist
- Professor Julianne Schultz AM FAHA, Professor at Griffith University and Chair of the Australian Film TV and Radio School
- Aaron Seeto, Director of 4A Centre of Contemporary Asian Art
- Professor Marie Sierra, Deputy Dean & Head of School, UNSW Art & Design
- Lisa Slade, Project Curator, Art Gallery of South Australia
- Jasmin Stephens, Curator
- Professor David Throsby AO, arts economist and academic, Department of Economics, Macquarie University
- Nicholas Tsoutas, Zelda Stedman Lecturer in Visual Arts Practice at Sydney College of the Arts.
Topics
Future/Forward addressed some of the key issues facing the visual arts and craft sectors in Australia through keynote presentations, panel discussions and conversation sessions that encourage participants to contribute to national dialogues. Summit topics included:
- Do we live in a borderless world?
- When is censorship justified?
- Is the art world homogenising contemporary practice?
- What is the current state of Australian art critique?
- What are the environmental and social tipping points for contemporary arts practice?
- How can the arts sector be its own best advocate?
- Does gift culture become embedded in international exchange?
- Are artists' practices being institutionalised?
- The artist as citizen: can we shape notions of citizenship?
Partners
Major Partners
Travel Bursary Partners
Media Partner
