Contemporary art in a dialogue with socio-political realities
Dichotomy of Vorstellung/Darstellung in Gadamer’s hermeneutics was a point of departure in analysing art market, financial & stock market, political ideology and regimes of aesthetics in relation to “political”.
The lecture was given for The Modern Education and Research Institute in Brussels in December 2016.
the artist as curator & the curator as artist: flattening hierarchies into horizontal plateaus of ‘potential’ through collaboration
The lecture at De Brakke Grond Arts Centre in Amsterdam was devoted to blurring institutional boundaries and roles in contemporary art world, exhibitions as total artworks or collaborative installations and pressure of “cultural industrialisation” and “entertainmentalisation” in the currents.
Almanac of Contemporary Culture
Russian Centre of Science and Culture, Brussels
Modern media technologies push protagonists to become ‘smupid’ (term coined out of merging 'smart’ and 'stupid’ by Douglas Coupland) - 'I am really smart, there is just no wifi access here’. The abundance of media content and visual information in form of carpet bombardment from numerous screens contributes to losing the ability to focus and go in depth in understanding of essential issues. This leads to inevitable lack of comprehension of totality of ideological frame, which we inhabit. How to preserve the ability to self-reflect and deconstruct the attempts of manipulation in the midst of acceleration and attention deficit?
Transition de l’économie russe: état actuel et perspectives d’évolution
The lecture was devoted to analysis of modern administrative markets of Russia as a result of hybridisation between planned socio-economic system of Soviet Union and radical market reforms of 1990s. The scenarios of possible futures of EU-Russia relations and global positioning of Russia were also outlined.
Presentation slides (in Russian)
Art, society and politics: Russian ‘soft power’ in recent history
KU Leuven
What is the history of the interrelation between art and politics? Is ‘soft power’ really that new a phenomenon? How did art’s role from the tool of transmitting and narration of political power transformed during the 20th century? What role do art, so-called 'cultural diplomacy’, and soft power play in the big political games on the global scale? How did The Soviet Union and Russia exert this soft power? How does this compare to other countries?
More information | Lecture slides
Innovative methods of teaching: competitiveness of future university
Hogeschool Universiteit Brussel, Brussels
The academic education is challenged by the further development and sophistication of the online education platforms. Orientation of the industries on practical knowledge and skills disregard the diploma is a risk for university standard to become a mere fetish in upcoming future, holding position of prestige at the maximum.
How university can compete with changing landscape of education and stay relevant in the post-Internet age?
Understanding the contemporary art world and it’s key actors
How to approach and analyse works of contemporary art? What is art and what is not? What mediums, subjects and artists define ‘modernity’? What are the key roles and functions in 'the art world’? How do galleries, art fairs and museums work in relation to each other? Why do people invest in contemporary art? How to talk and what to ask in conversation with artists? How does art influence the way we perceive the world around us?
Strategies for creative university branding
Flemish Cultural Centre, Brussels
How modern university, especially the one without ages of history, can ‘mark’ it’s location on the global map of academic propositions to attract the best minds from all over the world?