Rewatch – kick-off: A Fair New World?! Talk #1

1. Rewatch the panel talk (in Dutch)

What has the lockdown meant for artists and independents in the arts, and how do they look to the future? What are the priorities for achieving that much-coveted Fair New World?! What do the solidarity initiatives created during the lockdown have in common?

Rewatch the panel discussion with Philippine Hoegen, Jivan van der Ende, Aurelie Nyirabikali Lierman and Myriam Van Imschoot below. Moderator: Carolina Maciel de França.

2. Read the summary of the panel talk (in Dutch)

“Optimism versus pessimism is a false distinction, it’s about ‘being interested’: staying interested, continuing to question things, doing something with the small possibilities we see and experimenting with other logics.”

Philippine Hoegen

Read the summary of the panel discussion: Space for failure and for caring (in Dutch)

3. Read the notes and summaries of the discussion tables (in Dutch)

How do we as an arts field look at ourselves and what fallacies play tricks on us? Because no matter what our field looks like tomorrow, that we want it to be fair and inclusive is certain. Right?

During the two-day kick-off, we went deeper into conversation about the various challenges that need to be addressed in a Fair New World?! In the afternoon, each participant was able to follow two different discussion tables.

You can read the most detailed report of the conversation tables in each separate document per table/topic. For a visualization of the report, please refer to MIRO.

Read the notes and summaries (in Dutch)

Watch a visual report based on post-its in MIRO

4. Read more about the programme of the kick-off

Where are we today?
And where do we go from here?

COVID-19 appears to be life-threatening, not only for humans but also for their activity. In Tuesday Talk #2 (our online conversations about the future of art), Rachida Aziz called corona a systemic crisis: the virus puts into sharp focus who we are as a society, our approach to it tells us something about the future.

What about in the arts? We want to stand up again in a world with more fairness, increased attention to artist and freelancer, more inclusivity, more sustainability and more solidarity. None of this is new, but in uncertain times it requires even more imagination and collective brainpower.

Artists and art workers share what the lockdown brought them and how they are looking forward. Flanders Arts Institute shares its insights on the impact on the field, points of interest and weak signals towards the future. And we think further: how do we as an arts field look at ourselves and which thinking errors are playing tricks on us? Because whatever our field looks like tomorrow, there is no question that we want it to be fair and inclusive. Right?

A Fair New World?! is a new practice development project by Flanders Arts Institute, which starts with two days of reflection, discussion and presentations.

Topics of discussion:

Art and public support

Without an audience, there is no art. The cuts and lockdown led to warm expressions of support. Yet we know: public support for art has never been acquired, certainly not by everyone. That despite sustained efforts we still have many steps to take toward inclusion is well known. But is there more to it than that? On what basis does art advocate its value? Are we talking about a product, an artistic answer to a demand for distraction or deepening? (And if so, is there anything wrong with that?) Is art not explicit enough about its connecting, politicizing power? (And does it still stand behind that itself?) A conversation about added value, uniqueness and public support.

Art and the digital: what have we learned and what do we build on?

During the lockdown there was a lot of online experimentation. Online art cannot replace live art but it may add something. Even if it is by making it easier to reach for people with limited mobility, or by avoiding a flight. What are the strengths and limitations of live versus online? What kind of art thrives (or just barely) in an online environment? How do we realize the best of both worlds, while keeping in mind fairness for as many people as possible? What good practices do we see and what new insights can they share with us?

Art and the international

To say that corona makes us think differently about working internationally is an understatement, and the arts field has been working on this for some time now. Only now we are forced to relate to a radically new international reality. Consciously working internationally: what is that, what can or should it be from now on? What does an artist lose who can no longer, or drastically less, travel with his/her work, and what can replace it? In other words, when is it right or wrong to travel, and what lessons have we learned from new forms of consciously working internationally during the lockdown?

Art, institution and artist

The revamped Arts Decree envisions Core Institutions with an exemplary role in respect to supporting artists. What might that look like? How does the Core institution of the future best serve creators, in complementarity – and solidarity – with smaller organizations that often have more specialization and network, and are more closely involved with the artist? How can the two strengthen each other so that the maker benefits?

Art and livelihood

If the covid crisis has put anything on edge, it is the complex statutes in which artists and freelancers work. In absorbing lost income, it has been a search to close all the loopholes. This must be improved, and urgently – preferably in the long term. What are the best ways to provide artists with greater livelihood security? How do you organize a fair redistribution of resources, in solidarity with everyone?

The artist at the center of the policy

The Flemish art policy focuses on the artist as the cornerstone of the field. What is needed to achieve this? One element is already strengthening the “dynamic space,” as projects and fairs are called in the future. What else can ‘the artist central’ mean, and how do we let the artists themselves speak more about it?

One voice and multi-voicedness

The COVID crisis has taught the sector to speak with one voice, it sounds. But is that so, is that possible, and do you not exclude voices a fortiori? And if so, is that avoidable when the urgency is to convey a clear message? That clear message, in turn, stands in the way of polyphony. Should we look more honestly and carefully at “one voice” and “multi-voicedness”? How do we organize a field that is as fair, diverse and multi-voiced as possible, yet still forcefully hits the table when necessary? Not just for themselves but also for others who deserve our support. A conversation about the cracks and how to glue them, at least acknowledge them, transcend them where possible.

Art and World

Author Arundhati Roy sees the pandemic as a portal to a new world: what do you leave behind, what do you take with you? In search of answers, Bruno Latour developed a set of manageable questions. What should be the priorities, basic values, principles and intentions for the arts field, today and in the future? At this table without a defined theme, we make a start together based on Latour’s questionnaire.

In addition

Our intention was to set up an information table for artists and independents looking for information about sources of support in the wake of the corona crisis. Ironically, we cannot organize such a table because of the risk of contagion with ever-changing tablemates. We will, however, be launching this service online; you’ll hear more about that soon.

Date and location

Friday, September 4th 2020
11u00 – 18u00
Tour & Taxis – Shed 3 (Brussel)