Schedule
Dirty Practice 2019/Residency
1-5 July 2019
Wolverhampton School of Art
Short Residency and Symposium
Wolverhampton School of Art
1-5 July 2019.
Art theorist Boris Groys reminds us of the importance of external inspiration within art education, of what he describes as a modernist feature of the “other within”, or becoming other (2009, 32). In what he proclaims provocatively as ‘art as infection’, he traces the relation between the art school (and by implication the artist studio) ‘infecting’ or polluting the world and vice versa (30). Groys expands: ‘Artists need to modify the immune system of their art in order to incorporate new aesthetic bacilli, to survive them and find a new inner balance, a new definition of health’ (28).
In this year’s Dirty Practicewe announce: Don’t wash your hands!or How do we perceive ourselves within the sterile language of HE frameworks.
Bacteria, dirt and parasites, we could say, offer another breach of boundaries, though the paradoxical and often contrary overlap of activities: the parasite or bacteria, within biological, ecological realm can be both guest/host, active/passive harmful and beneficial. Michel Serres uses the figure of the parasite as a cypher that disrupts clear categorization, beyond the idea of infestation. It becomes ‘a break in the message’ where we are ‘parasites of each other and live amidst parasites’, while the notion who benefits from whom becomes impossible (Serres 1982, p. 8).
We invite responses that deal with educational structures (and spaces) through a wide range of artistic practices that reflect on the increasingly denigrated and ‘sanitised’ language of an institutionalised Art School environment.
Dirty Practice invites applications from arts practitioners seeking to address issues pertinent to this theme during the residency and symposium. Please submit abstracts of up to 200 words for either a presentation, workshop or a proposal for practice-based work to: Christian.Mieves@wlv.ac.uk
The event is structured in two parts, a 5-day ‘studio residency’ where we invite practitioners to develop work and engage with the studio practice, and a symposium. Lunch breaks and social events will offer an opportunity to discuss ideas and share practices. The residency closes with a symposium towards the end of the studio period, this year on a Thursday morning.
The studio practice will be complemented by lunch-time ‘provocations‘, a brief presentation by practitioners to discuss practices and ideas.
Monday Morning 1 July 2019: Begin of Residency
The Monday is dedicated to move into the studios, set up the work space and get started for the residency.
11 AM: Residency organiser Maggie Ayliffe and Christian Mieves will give a brief introduction to the residency and this year’s theme Don’t wash your hands!
Tea and coffee will be available.
This will be followed by a brief introduction of all participants. We will ask all contributors to show three images of their current practice and introduce themselves in 3 Mins.
Please note that the studio residency does not cover any expenses or material. You will be provided with a studio space. Refreshments and coffee/tea breaks will be available.
Participants 2019:
Adkins, Kirsten , PhD candidate, WSA
Ayliffe, Maggie WSA
Beattie, Clare UCA
Byrne, Sarah WSA
Sean Derrick WSA
Holly Herzberg WSA
Sacha Smith WSA
Collins, Rebecca WSA
Crawford, Holly Artist New York
Griffin, Aaron Staffordshire University
Harris, Simon WSA
Kelland, Dean WSA
Kemshell, Edward WSA
Magdeburg, Rachel PhD candidate, WSA
Mccoig, Mac WSA
Metherell, Lisa BCU
Mieves, Christian WSA
Norton, Jan WSA
Rogers, Gavin WSA
Rohr, Doris Liverpool Hope University
Sanderson, Jackaline WSA
Shirley, Stephen WSA
Ward, Henry Freelands Foundation, London