Masterclass - CONVIVIAL CULTURES | XI Lisbon Summer School for the Study of Culture - Ben Cranfield, Laura Vallés Vílchez, Dr Peter Oakley

CONDITIONS OF ENTRY

Abstract

‘Conditions of Entry’ is an opportunity to discuss and raise questions about thresholds, borders, mobility, and access from the perspective of art and/or curating. The seeming contradictions of our contemporary moment – that more and more people theoretically have access to forms of transnational exchange through digital technologies and travel opportunities and yet at the same time physical and social borders are being erected and policed with increasing ferocity and violence – makes the accessibility of cultural spaces that declare themselves ‘open’ to a wide and diverse ‘public’ even more questionable and vital. The events surrounding the pandemic have added further layers of complexity to this issue and constructed new - or simply highlighted pre-existing - fundamental structural challenges to the ideals of free mobility and social inclusion.

Following an introductory talk, students will be invited to share and discuss an object (singular or plural), institution or event/moment that raises questions about thresholds, borders, mobility and access. The session will be concluded by a group plenary discussion on the issues that have been raised. The aim is to think beyond the parameters of the work of art to the conditions, situations and juxtapositions that frame viewers’ encounters with a work, or the formation of a moment of cultural meaning, and consider what are the conditions in which people, objects and ideas are able to enter that frame. The objective is to identify relevant key artists and thinkers, and reflect on a range of issues, possibilities, and questions that their practice or writing raises.

Biographies

Ben Cranfield is a lecturer on the RCA's MA in Curating Contemporary Art. He is interested in the curatorial as a contemporary cultural phenomenon and a mode through which to consider our relationship to the contemporary moment. Prior to working in academia Ben was a gallery manager and exhibition organiser and has organised events and spoken at numerous arts venues, including London’s ICA, Nottingham Contemporary, The Bluecoat, Liverpool, Tate Modern, Whitechapel Gallery, London, and 198 Contemporary Arts and Learning, London.

Laura Vallés Vílchez works as a curator, editor and researcher. She holds a Fine Arts Degree and a Masters in Photography from the Universidad Politécnica de Valencia. Since 2016 she has been studying for a PhD at the Royal College of Art in London, supported by a grant from the Botín Foundation. Laura is the co-founder and editor of Concreta. In March 2021 Laura became Creative Director for the UK's contribution to 4Cs: From Conflict to Conviviality through Creativity and Culture.

Dr Peter Oakley is Reader in Material Culture at the RCA. He holds a PhD in Anthropology from UCL, a Masters in Material and Visual Culture from UCL and a Masters in Ceramics and Glass from the RCA. Peter is the UK lead and project manager for 4Cs: From Conflict to Conviviality through Creativity and Culture. He is also currently the Principal Investigator for three research projects: Sustainable Materials in the Creative Industries; Ethical Gold & Government Policy, and Thai Textiles. He has recently undertaken field research in China on Shanghai's contemporary art sector and in Kazakhstan with local craft workers.