Out of the Studio! A symposium on art and public space

'Streetwise', a new public art project/programme began in Limburg, North East of Belgium, in September 2006. 'Streetwise' aimed to produce a constellation of permanent artworks throughout the province as well as to set up a research centre on art in public space at the Z33 Art Centre.

In this initial research phase Latitudes participated in a workshop in January 2007 together with Tom Van Gestel (Artistic Manager SKOR, Amsterdam), Andrea Schlieker (Freelance curator and curator of the first Folkestone Sculpture Triennial 2008, London), the Z33 team and 'Streetwise' Artistic Director, Jan Debbaut. For the occasion they presented a selection of Barcelona's numerous public art initiatives in recent decades, focusing on the impact the 1992 Olympic Games had in the city.

Following the workshop, Latitudes was invited to do a lecture at 'Out of the Studio! A symposium on art and public space' (26–28 October) in Hasselt, which marked the starting point for a public art initiative in the region. The three-day conference collected ideas, experiences and viewpoints from artists, curators and critics working in or around public art today, under three major thematic groups: Temporary, Permanent, Itinerary.
Download Latitudes’ lecture text here

SYMPOSIUM PROGRAMME

Friday 26 October
Provincial Government Building, Hasselt
Welcome and introduction by Jan Debbaut
Artists' Statements: Michelangelo Pistoletto (Biella), Niek Kemps (Amsterdam), Lara Almarcegui (Rotterdam) and Carlos Garaicoa (Havana/Madrid)
Moderartor: Chris Dercon – Director of the Haus der Kunst, Munich
Closing remarks by Steve Stevaert, Governor of the Province of Limburg) and Bert Anciaux (Flemish Minister of Culture, Youth, Sport and Brussels)

Saturday, 27 October
College Provinciale Hogeschool Limburg, Hasselt
On Temporary Projects
Virginie Prinquet – Curator of Estatuaires 2007, Nantes
Tom van Gestel – Artistic manager SKOR (Foundation Art and Public Space) and project coordinator of the project 'Beyond Leidsche Rijn: Parasite Paradise', 2003, NL.
Lance Fung – Independent curator of 'The Snow Show', 2004 in Lapland and in 2006 in Turin. Curator of the Seventh International Biennial SITE Santa Fe and he is also curating public installations in Beijing, China in conjunction with the 2008 Summer Olympic Games.
Moderator: Johan Pas – Curator, author and lecturer, Hogeschool Antwerp

On Permanent Installations
Tom Finkelpearl – Director of Queens Museum of Art, former director of the Percent for Art Program at the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, author of ‘Dialogues in Public Art’, 2000.
Gloria Moure – Freelance curator. Curator of 'Urban Configurations', Barcelona and former director of Fundació Espai Poblenou (Barcelona 1988-95) and the Centro Galego de Arte Contemporánea (1994–98), Santiago de Compostela.
Menno Meew – Curator Middelheim Open Air Museum of Sculpture, Antwerp, Belgium.
Clare Lilley – Head of Programme, Yorkshire Sculpture Park, West Bretton/Wakefield, UK.
Moderator: Ann Demeester – Director of De Appel, Amsterdam

Creating Itineraries
Maaretta Jaukkuri – Chief curator, Kiasma Museum of Contemporary Art, Helsinki (Finland). Co-curator international sculpture program Skulpturland Nordland/Artscape Nordland, Norway.
Lewis Biggs – Director of the Liverpool Biennial and chief curator of Arttranspennine98, UK.
James Putnam – Independent curator and writer, board member of the Echigo Tsumari Triennial, Japan.
Phillip van den Bossche – Director of the Museum of Modern Art in Ostend (PMMK) and curator of Beaufort.
Moderator: Alain Cueff – Art critic and lecturer at the University of Lille (France) and Rijksakademie Amsterdam

Sunday, 28 October
Alden Biesen, Bilzen
Cuauhtémoc Medina – Associated curator of art from Latin America, Tate Modern, London and researcher at the UNAM, Mexico. Lecture: “A different typology of public art in Latin America”
Max Andrews & Mariana Cánepa Luna – Founders of Latitudes, an independent curatorial office, Barcelona. Lecture: “Notes towards an ecology of risk”
Claire Doherty – Editor of 'Contemporary Art: From Studio to Situation' (2004), senior research fellow at the University of the West of England, Bristol. Lecture “Public Art as Situation: from temporary intervention to long-term commitment”
Closing remarks by: Frank Lubbers – Independent curator and art advisor, Brussels.