Common Skies, Divided Horizons

The Triennial's opening-day platform to debate new developments in public art and its relation to changing political contexts.

'Common Skies, Divided Horizons' extends the 2011 Folkestone Triennial's theme of gateways and borders. There will be particular emphasis on transitions that have taken place in the wake of globalization and the reinvention of new national identities.

2pm INTRODUCTION BY ANDREA SCHLIEKER
Curator, Folkestone Triennial

2:15pm SESSION 1: FEAR OF MIGRANTS, Keynote lecture and discussion: Saskia Sassen, Robert S. Lynd Professor of Sociology, Columbia University.

Following the tightening of immigration regulations and hardening of anti-immigrant feeling, it is imperative to discuss the role of migrants in Britain today, making connections with situations across the world, where refugee camps have become a permanent home for some, while others are condemned to be constantly on the move.

Conversation between Sassen; Pat Storey, Folkestone Migrant Support Group; Colin Prescod, Chair, Institute of Race Relations; and Triennial artist Nikolaj Bendix Skyum Larsen.

3:45pm SESSION 2: NEW GEOGRAPHIES

In an expanded cultural sphere, what is the pressure for artists to represent national identities, while remaining intelligible to a global audience? How can artists react to the huge political changes and humanitarian trauma taking place in the Middle East and North Africa? Can we talk of a cultural apartheid, where many do not have access to an international network or are censored in their attempts to communicate across borders?

Panel:TJ Demos, author of the forthcoming book Migrations: Contemporary Art and the Politics of Globalization; Nina Möntmann, Professor of Art Theory and the History of Ideas at The Royal Institute of Art, Stockholm; and Triennial artists Smadar Dreyfus and CAMP. Chair: Anthony Downey, Programme Director, MA in Contemporary Art at Sotheby’s Institute of Art, London.

5:15pm SESSION 3: ART & RESISTANCE
boundaries between art and activism are becoming blurred, and artists make frequent references to political and economic theories. But how effective is art as a form of resistance or in offering an alternative model for the future?

Panel:Amanda Beech, co-director of the Political Currency of Art Research Group; JJ Charlesworth, associate editor, ArtReview; and Triennial artists Hala Elkoussy and Zineb Sedira. Chair: Richard Noble, political philosopher and editor, Utopias.

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