InFest - one of the largest gatherings in Canada of representatives from Artist Run Centres around the world. Spanning five days, it included discussion forums, exhibitions, a networking session, Artist Run Centre presentations, public education programs, and an assortment of social events. The focus was on exchanging ideas and strategies to advance artist run culture, generating a sense of community that transcends national borders, and encouraging international collaborations. The goal of InFest was to strengthen the presence of Artist Run Centres within the cultural ecology and public imagination on both local and global levels.
The current international growth of Artist Run Centres is unprecedented. There is, however, no consensus of what defines an Artist Run Centre. Structures, funding models, modes of criticism, and curatorial practices vary according to differing social, cultural and economic contexts. But central to these initiatives is a stronger role for the artist in determining culture, and the provision of creative spaces that add an alternative to established public or private art institutions. InFest is an event that proposes and expands notions of what Artist Run Centres can be.
Artist Run Centres from all regions of the world attended InFest. Special presentations were made by: BASEKAMP-Philadelphia, big sky mind-Quezon City, instant coffee-Toronto, ICOLS International Corporation of Lost Structures-Sydney/London/Berlin, OBORO-Montréal, Open Circle-Mumbai, Orgacom-Amsterdam , Secession- Vienna, Southern Exposure- San Francisco, the trinity session- Johannesburg, Trama-Buenos Aires, Tribe inc. Aboriginal Arts Collective- Saskatoon.
Infest featured 5 thematic discussion Forums with 15 speakers from Canada and other regions of the world. Each discussion forum was led by a moderator and was followed by smaller informal group discussions to further develop the ideas presented by the speakers.
1. Mutations: What are
Artist Run Centres?
Speakers:Bastien Gilbert,
director and co-founder of RCAAQ- a service organisation that represents
more than 50 ARCs in Québec; Jin-suk
Suh, director of LOOP- artist-run alternative artspace
in Seoul, Sofie Sweger,
director of United Net-Works. Moderator: Lorna
Brown, director/curator of Artspeak-artist run centre
in Vancouver.
2. Survival of the Fittest:
Funding and Artist Run Centres
Speakers: Barbara Hunt,
director Artists Space, New York; Deirdre
Kelly, administrator Cubitt- artist-run gallery and studios,
London; Gonzalo Lebrija,
co-director of OPA, Guadalajara. Moderator: Glenn
Alteen, director and founder of Grunt Gallery, Vancouver.
3. Breeding Ground:
Writing and Criticism in Artist Run Culture
Speakers: Justin Waddell,
YYZ Artists Outlet, Toronto; Brett Jones,
Westspace, Melbourne; Leung Chi Wo,
Para/Site, Hong Kong. Moderator: Ashok Mathur,
Emily Carr Institute of Art & Design, Vancouver.
4. Migratory Patterns:
Internationalism and International Exchange
Speakers: Fiona Bundy, Gasworks,
London; Claudia Fontes,
Trama, Buenos Aires; Jean Mailloux,
La Chambre Blanche, Québec City. Moderator: Hank
Bull, Centre A, Vancouver.
5. Metamorphosis: The
Artist as Curator
Speakers: Jonathan Middleton,
Western Front, Vancouver; Matthew Higgs,
Wattis Institute for Contemporary Arts, San Francisco; Stephen
Hobbs, the trinity session, Johannesburg. Moderator: Laiwan,
artist/educator, Vancouver.
EXHIBITIONS
InFest also included the participation of Vancouver's Artist Run Centres
and public galleries who contributed special exhibitions and/or video
programs. Three nights of opening receptions took place at these galleries
during the seminar.
Sofie Sweger presented 'United Net-Works Mobile Archive of Wonders' part of Únited Net-Works on the Road' project at Access Artist Run Centre as part of this program.
For more info on Infest see: www.paarc.ca/infest/