In line with the theme of Icon26: Practice, People, and Purpose, this will be an interdisciplinary panel discussion with a Q&A element. The event will be held in Edinburgh at The Hawthornden Lecture Theatre, National Galleries of Scotland.
Access to art is increasingly recognised as a core responsibility of cultural institutions. Recent high-profile debates around accessibility in contemporary art have drawn attention to the ways in which some works, displays, and environments exclude disabled audiences. These discussions have raised important questions for institutions responsible for collecting, conserving, and presenting contemporary art, particularly in relation to installations, reconstructed environments, interactive works, and performance-based practices. In some cases, works have been adapted, reconfigured, or withdrawn from display, prompting wider debate about what meaningful access can and should look like in different contexts.
How do efforts to improve access affect exhibitability or encourage interventive treatments, consequently affecting collecting, conservation and curation? How might they shape the future collecting and stewardship of contemporary art? And how can institutions balance their obligations to disabled audiences with their responsibilities to artists and artworks?
The Icon Contemporary Art Group will bring together curators, conservators, writers, artists and collection visitors from across the spectrum of ability, to discuss their thoughts and experiences regarding the wider subject of accessibility and effect. The event will explore the urgency of access, the possibilities and limits of different approaches, and the institutional responsibilities involved in collecting, presenting, and preserving contemporary art.
9:30 | Welcome and housekeeping
Lorraine Maule
9:35 | Installation Art, Inclusion and Change
Installation Art, Inclusion and Change: Can we Reframe the Debate on Disability Rights, Artists’ Moral Rights and Conservation Ethics?
Pip Laurenson (UCL)
9:50 | The Aesthetics of Access
The Aesthetics of Access: Complex Embodiment as Method
Dr. Virginia Marano (University of Zurich)
10:10 | Impacts on artworks and accessibility
Impacts on artworks and accessibility
Deborah Cane (Sculpture Conservation, Tate)
10:30 | Break
Clore Education Space 1
Refreshments provided11:00 | Inside other spaces - reconstructing artist’s environments ethics of modification
Inside other spaces - reconstructing artist’s environments ethics of modification
Marina Pugilese (Director, Museum of Cultures, Intercultural Projects and Public Art, City of Milan)
11:20 | Participation, Interpretation and Adaptation
Participation, Interpretation and Adaptation: Ensuring Equal Access for Installation Artworks.
Alessandra Guarascio (Conservator, Museum of Contemporary Art, Hong Kong, M+)
11:40 | Art and Access, who decides?
Art and Access, who decides?
Kirin Saeed (Visually Impaired Creators Scotland)
12:00 | Tales from the frontline; artworks tussling with access
Tales from the frontline; artworks tussling with access
Dr Jacqueline Donachie (University of Dundee)
12:20 | Mapping the Terrain
Mapping the Terrain: Tensions, Questions, Processes and Areas for Change
Discussion, Q&A.
Chair: Dr Jacqueline Donachie
Miro Board
Catherine Campos
Izzy Finlay
Attend this event, and many more, free with an Icon 26 ticket.
