Panel discussion: Art criticism in the future media landscape

Where: Moderna Museet, The Auditorium.
When: Friday 22.3 at 3-5 pm. Moderna Bar is open from 5 pm.
Admission free. Admission to the collection is free from 6 pm.
Language: English.

On the panel:
Marek Bartelik, New York, President of AICA, critic for Artforum.
Daniel Birnbaum, Director of Moderna Museet.
Jonas Ekeberg, Oslo, editor of the web publication Kunstkritikk .
Dorota Jarecka, Warsaw, art critic for Gazeta Wyborcza.
Birgitta Rubin, Stockholm, art critic and art editor for Dagens Nyheter.

Welcome address by Ann-Sofi Noring, Co-Director of Moderna Museet.
Opening address by Christian Chambert, President of AICA Sweden.
Short talk by Marek Bartelik on the situation in the USA, also highlighting the international perspective. This will be followed by a round table discussion.
Moderator: Mårten Arndtzén, art critic at Swedish Radio.

Great changes are underway in the mass media. In the wake of the digital revolution, newspapers are facing serious challenges, according to the optimists, or their imminent death, according to others. How does this affect public debate and art criticism – and art itself? Earning a living by writing about art is hardly likely to get easier when newspapers are forced to cut all their expenses, for lack of comparable digital business models. And if the space for professional art criticism shrinks in the daily press, how will this impact on radio and TV coverage? Meanwhile, the internet offers virtually limitless potential for communication and interaction. How can art criticism avail itself of this, and how will criticism be influenced by the new parameters?

These are a few of the questions we will deal with in the afternoon discussion. The panel represents experiences from the situation in Scandinavia, Poland and the USA, from the daily press, the internet, radio, TV and leading art magazines.

The event is organised by AICA Sweden, in association with the Polish Institute in Stockholm and Moderna Museet.

Underground artists in exile – A debate about human rights and freedoms of expression

Saturday 16/2 12.00 – 13.30
Studio 3, floor 3
Kulturhuset, Stockholm
Admission and opening hours: supermarketartfair.com

The Armenian artist Narek Aghajanyan and his family are facing expulsion from Sweden. They have been denied asylum despite the fact that Narek has suffered politically motivated threats and physical violence to his person and art, including having his paintings destroyed. Why is there sanctuary for writers in Sweden but not for visual artists or musicians? Narek Aghajanyan, who has had several exhibitions in Europe, including Sweden, will be interviewed on stage concerning his work and experiences.

The seminar will continue with a discussion focusing on recent developments relating to more inclusive definitions of artistic freedom; the founding in 2012 of Artsfex, the first global network in support of freedom of expression in visual arts and music, and the on-going discussion in Sweden on widening the scope of the City of Refuge project (”Fristäder”) to include support of persons active in non-verbal creative arts.

Participants: Kerstin Brunnberg, journalist, Chairperson of the Swedish Council of Culture, Alfons Karabuda, composer, Chairman of European Composer and Song Writer Alliance (ECSA), delegate to the United Nations Expert Group on Freedom of the Arts, and Patrik Steorn, art historian, vice chairman of Swedish Arts Critics Association (AICA).

Arne Ruth, journalist and writer, former president of Swedish PEN, will chair both sessions.

This programme is part of Supermarket 2013. Stockholm Independent Art Fair.