2011

CONVERGE Chicago: Contemporary Curators Forum
Ambiguities of Place

FRIDAY APRIL 29

What If: To Dream, Desire and Acquire
12-1P
What if you could have what you want? Curators explore what they would buy if all restrictions were lifted – money, wall space, conflict of interest, or institutional directives. Contemporary curators Margo A. Crutchfield, recently Senior Curator, Museum of Contemporary Art Cleveland; Harry Philbrick, Director of the Museum, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts; Elizabeth Smith, Executive Director of Curatorial Affairs, Art Gallery of Ontario; and Lilly Wei, New York-based independent Curator, essayist and art critic, who writes regularly for Art in America and is a contributing editor at ARTnews, will speak about contemporary works of art they would love to own in a spirited session that addresses desire, connoisseurship, personal taste, and quality.

Culture + Community: Dynamic New Models
1:30-2:30P
The creative process produces art, traditionally recognized as the product or end result of this process, and may inform or even transform public life and community. Hear Bill Holsinger-Robinson of ArtPrize, Grand Rapids; Dorothy Dunn of America: Now and Here; Helen Johnson of Create Here, Chattanooga; Carolina Jayaram of Art Loop Open, Chicago and moderator Janet Carl Smith in a provocative dialogue about how each of their unique new models catalyzes community building and engages publics through the arts. Audience members will be invited to merge theory and practice by shaping the discussion with a conversation menu.

Think Global, Collect Local
3-4P
Presented by Artadia
"Buying local" doesn't only apply to your fruits and veggies. This panel of prominent collectors and curators features Chicago-based collector Larry Fields and Atlanta-based collector Louis Corrigan who are engaged at the global level while being deeply invested in their local arts community. Join them for a conversation about the joys and challenges of complementing an international art collection with local-artist support. The panel is organized by Artadia:The Fund for Art and Dialogue, whose mission is to encourage innovative practice and meaningful dialogue across the United States by providing visual artists in specific communities with unrestricted awards and a national network of support. For more information visit www.artadia.org.

Studio Visit Series: Julie Rodrigues-Widholm and Rashid Johnson
4:30-5P
New York based artist Rashid Johnson and Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago curator Julie Rodrigues-Wildholm will have a public dialogue about issues surrounding race and class identity as they relate to his photographs, sculptures, videos, and installation.  The Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago is currently organizing a ten year survey of Johnson's work which will open in 2012.

Beyond the Stretcher: Breaking Down Spatial Limitations in Contemporary Painting
6-7P
Presented with New American Paintings
As the practice of painting moves ever further from the confines of the canvas, it continues to pour over into sculptural forms, installation, and new media. Curators will discuss issues of materiality, multidisciplinary influence, and the spatial and material undertakings in recent contemporary painting practices. Moderated by Evan J. Garza, Independent curator and Editor-at-large, New American Paintings, Boston. Panelists include: Dominic Molon, Chief Curator, Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis; Dina Deitsch, Associate Curator of Contemporary Art, DeCordova Sculpture Park and Museum, Lincoln, MA; and William Cordova, artist and curator.

SATURDAY APRIL 30

Studio Visit Series: Adam Lerner and Jim Sanborn
12-1P
Adam Lerner, Director of the Museum of Contemporary Art, Denver and Jim Sanborn, Washington D.C. based artist, will discuss how science, cryptography and secrecy have informed his art work. Sanborn is best known for his enigmatic work Kryptos, commissioned by the General Services Administration for the new Central Intelligence Agency Headquarters in Langley Virginia, which incorporates large cryptographic component that remains undeciphered twenty years after its installation.

Edgy Art; Who’s Collecting It, Who’s Exhibiting It?
1:30-2:30P
Presented by the College Art AssociationWith the controversy over the National Portrait Gallery’s removal of a video by David Wojnarowicz from an exhibition, the question has again arisen as to the place of edgy art in museums. This panel will address the impact of the controversy in 1989, the implications for today, who is willing to exhibit art that deals with difficult issues, and the significance of galleries, artist-run spaces, university museums and private collectors in supporting art that addresses difficult topics. Panelists include Patricia Hills, Professor of Art History, Boston University; Barry Blinderman, Director of University Galleries and Professor of Art History, Illinois State University; and Andrea Kirsh, independent art historian.

In Our Own Backyard
3-4P
Chicago curators Susanne Ghez, Director of The Renaissance Society; Hamza Walker, Director of Education and Associate Curator at The Renaissance Society; Tricia Van Eck, Associate Curator at the Museum of Contemporary Art; Natasha Egan, Associate Director and Curator, Museum of Contemporary Photography; and Lisa Dorin, Assistant Curator of Contemporary Art at the Art Institute of Chicago will discuss the growth of support for regional artists, and its significance. Arts institutions in Chicago have a long record of providing support for regional artists, and of playing an important role in launching international careers. The panel members represent major institutions that have a record of providing exhibition opportunities to artists living and working in the Chicago area.

SOUND STRUCTURE: Sound and Art in an Era of Flow
4:30-5:30P
Presented by the International Sculpture Center
Sound exists simultaneously within multiple realms: as presence and absence, as action and object, within space and time. This panel will explore sound at the borders of visual art, science, and the tectonic, activated and manipulated as a material in contemporary art. Panelists include Andrea Polli, Chair of Digital Media and Professor of Art, Art History and Engineering at the University of New Mexico Center for the Arts; Shawn Decker, artist and professor at the School of the Art Institute Chicago; Christopher Janney, artist and architect; and Polly Ulrich, critic.

SUNDAY MAY 1

ARTE NO ES FACIL: Documentary Screening and Conversation
11:15-12:15P
Amor Pirata is a collaborative project of emerging artists and art historians in Chicago interested in the shift from local artistic practices to national and international contexts. In conjunction with a screening of film clips from ARTE NO ES FÁCIL: HAVANA AT THE CENTER, there will be a panel discussion focusing on the ways artworks can be understood and misunderstood as they operate in both local contexts and the international circuit of museums, art fairs and biennials, with special attention to how artists emerging from Latin America navigate this transition. Panelists include Rachel Weiss, expert on Cuban art and professor at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago; emerging Cuban artists and students of Tania Bruguera's experimental art school Arte de Conducta including Hamlet Lavastida; and other invited guests.

Sculpture Making Place: Shifting Forms in Sculpture Parks
12:30-1:30P
This panel will feature leaders of organizations and artists from across the county who are engaging actively with public space by sponsoring site-specific works. By shifting the dialogue in “public space,” which is rapidly disappearing as the American landscape is increasingly monetized, this new sculptural practice allows artists to engage directly with the public, create commentary on the role the build environment plays in defining civic discourse and continues to push artistic working practice. Each panelist will talk about the ways in which they are fostering artistic experimentation in an expanded sculptural field. Panelists include Marilu Knode, Executive Director, Laumeier Sculpture Park; Theaster Gates, artist, Chicago; Dennis Kois, Executive Director, deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum; Mats Stjernstedt, director, Kunstnernes Hus, Oslo; and Dr. Matthias Wascheck, Director, Pulitzer Foundation.

Trans American Connections 
2-3:30P
Presented by Independent Curators International This panel discussion will bring together curators from the five regional arts institutions across the US who worked with ICI on developing the exhibition People’s Biennial. Curated by Harrell Fletcher and Jens Hoffmann, People’s Biennial is a survey of artists in five regional communities that resulted from a year of research carried out in collaboration with local art institutions, which are now hosting the exhibition during its tour. As such, the panelists represent a unique network of collaborative curatorial practice stretching across the country. They will discuss their role as the curators on the ground who spearheaded the research about local artists beyond the conventional structure offered by MFA programs and commercial galleries. They will share their experiences with the exhibition and talk about how the exhibition model has started to build the potential for the expansion of this network of institutions, artists, and curators on a local and national level. Moderated by Jens Hoffmann, Director, CCA Wattis Institute for Contemporary Arts, and co-curator of People’s Biennial. Panelists include Matthew Callinan, Campus Exhibitions Coordinator, Haverford College, PA; Cassandra Coblentz, Associate Curator, Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art, AZ; Kristan Kennedy, Visual Art Curator, Portland Institute of Contemporary Art, OR; Steven Matijcio, Curator of Contemporary Art, Southeastern Center for Contemporary Art, NC; and Mary Maxon, Curator of Exhibits, The Dahl Arts Center, SD.

Renovating the Underground
3:45-4:45P
It is often assumed that independently-run exhibition venues are the unruly cousins of mainstream museums and for-profit galleries, but at the forefront of the alternative scene are spaces that mirror the professionalism of the heavyweights. Clean white walls, good lighting, press lists and a board of trustees are assets to the newly emergent gallery scene. This panel will consider how ‘alternative’ spaces situate themselves within the larger art world. A national practice with a Chicago perspective will be addressed; of the four panelists, two currently run spaces in Chicago, and two lived in Chicago and now run spaces in other cities. Jason Foumberg, Art Editor, Newcity will discuss this trend and its traction in Chicago and beyond alongside Edmund Chia, founder, Peregrine Program, Chicago; Dan Berger, founder Iceberg, Chicago; Samia Mirza, Co-Director of Actual Size, Los Angeles; and Jeff DeGolier, co-director of Regina Rex, New York.

Studio Visit Series: Marilu Knode and Jessica Stockholder
5-6P 

MONDAY MAY 2

Shows from the Insider: A Discussion With Artists Who Curate
12-1P
Presented by the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.
Hailing from different points of view and backgrounds these artists who curate provide unique art experiences for their viewers. Simultaneously, they are expanding the means of exhibiting and discussing art through new possibilities and innovative avenues. Join us for this panel discussion as we convene artist/curators from various generations and practices to investigate the art of curating from an insider’s perspective. This panel will feature artist Meg Duguid, the director of Clutch Gallery, a 25 square-inch space located in the heart of Ms. Duguid’s purse. Former chief art critic for the Chicago Daily News & Chicago Sun-Times, currently Corresponding Editor of Art in America magazine, and Professor of Art Emeritus at Lake Forest College, Franz Schulze will be joining the conversation. And, Juan William Chavez is an artist and cultural activist, whose studio work focuses on the art experience while his activism includes organizing events & exhibitions throughout the city of St. Louis to promote a cultural dialog in the form of public art. The panel will be moderated by Laura Caroline Johnson, SAIC Dual Degree graduate student in Art History, Theory, & Criticism and Arts Administration & Policy.

After the MFA: Artists in Residence
1:30-2:30P
This panel will focus on the importance of residencies as a platform for the advancement of an artist’s career through practical and esoteric means. Caitlin Strokosch, Executive Director of the Alliance of Artists Communities, will moderate a panel featuring a diverse cross section of residency programs, including Elizabeth Chodos from OxBow, a retreat-style program, Nicholas Wylie from ACRE, a more rural, rustic program, and Steve Vande Zande and Lori Bauman from Redline, an urban program with social impact.