Working Together: The Impact of Artists on Institutions

Image: Allen Ruppersberg, Questions & Answers no.1, Focal Point Gallery. Photo credit: Mark Blower.

In April, Wysing Arts Centre on behalf of the East Contemporary Visual Arts Network (ECVAN) organised Working Together: The Impact of Artists on Institutions, held at Focal Point Gallery in Southend.

Working with colleagues in the Netherlands, the symposium explored the dynamic relationship between artist, curator and organisation; looking at how collaborations on new projects and commissions allows for institutional methodologies and processes to be challenged and changed. The symposium profiled case studies from arts organisations in the Netherlands, presented in partnership with the artists they work with, to interrogate how artists have impacted on working with communities and on the development of collecting and curating contemporary art.

Keynote speakers included: Artist Ed Atkins with Beatrix Ruf, Director of the Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam.

A video of selected highlights from the event can be found above. A document sharing some of the key themes that came out of the symposium breakout groups can be read here.

The symposium was supported by The Art Fund with additional support from the Contemporary Art Society and with thanks to the Embassy of the Kingdom of The Netherlands.