2012
Rituals are a basic feature of the art business. Openings, discourse events, artist talks, symposia, the awarding of prizes, grants, studio visits, self-marketing, networking, art fairs, off-spaces — the everyday processes of art are subject to unwritten but constantly recurring conventions, and for its various actors, success within the “art world operating system” is always based on the ability to participate profitably in these rituals. The art scene meets regularly in ever changing locations and institutions, most of which remain clearly defined as art spaces, to observe precisely how the power structures of the art system and the related parameters of attention, critical discourse, and the internal distribution economics as they apply to the art industry are constantly being renegotiated. This view of the art business as a set of rules interspersed with rituals leads to interesting (status) questions: Who sets the rules? Who participates, who is seen, who “speaks”, and who does not?
WITH San Keller, le Collectif barbare, Nino Baumgartner, Minimetal, Anne Rochat
CURATOR Anja Braun
Astride Schlaefli
+41 (0)79 628 33 48
astride@astrideschlaefli.ch