Illusions of Structural Change? Resisting the Cultural Identity of Western Institutions in Artist-Run Spaces

Description:

Illusions of Structural Change? Resisting the Cultural Identity of Western Institutions in Artist-Run Spaces was a talk presented as part of the digital symposium The Region: Dialogues on the Power and Precarity of Artist Self-Organisation in the Asia-Pacific. 

Chaired by director of Enjoy Contemporary Art Space Vanessa Mei Crofskey, this roundtable brought together artists and curators Vanessa Kwan, Tania Willard, and Tamsen Hopkinson to discuss how they choose to resist the cultural identity of Western institutions, and grapple with different power structures and dynamics in and beyond artist-run spaces. 

The conversation was guided by questions: what does it look like for QTPOC individuals in the arts to unchain themselves from the responsibility of reforming white organizations?, what are the freedoms that come with accepting the proposition that it is impossible to radically transform systems that perpetuate large-scale power imbalances?, and what sorts of pathways might be possible for those working in artist-run spaces after accepting those limitations?

Each speaker had the opportunity to share where they draw the line around social change, who they choose to serve, and how they keep themselves and others culturally safe. The discussion was followed by a question and answer period. 

The Region: Dialogues on the Power and Precarity of Artist Self-Organisation in the Asia-Pacific was a digital symposium, co-created by West Space, Naarm (Melbourne, Australia); Para Site, Hong Kong; Enjoy Contemporary Art Space, Te Whanganui-a-Tara (Wellington, New Zealand); and Western Front, Vancouver, and co-facilitated by CAST Contemporary Art and Social Transformation research group based in the School of Art at RMIT University, Naarm.

Presented with support from the City of Melbourne and RMIT University, Australia.