Art-agenda and Art Basel podcast Art-Agenda

How are local art scenes impacted by the wave of nationalist sentiments rising across the globe? How are artists responding to the current political climate? And what are the strategies being put into place to counteract the current wave of anti-liberalism? New Nationalism(s) asked a group of artists, museum directors, and curators about their experience navigating the new political conditions of the twenty-first century in their respective regions.
 
With:
Kodwo Eshun and Anjalika Sagar, artists, The Otolith Group, London
Zeynep Öz, founder, Bahar, Sharjah, and curator, Turkish Pavilion, Venice Biennale 2019, Istanbul
Nicolaus Schafhausen, strategic director, Fogo Island Arts/Shorefast, Canada
Moderated by Zdenka Badovinac, director, Museum of Modern Art, Ljubljana

What is happening in Athens after the political and cultural transformations of the past decade—the financial crisis, the increased number of refugees seeking shelter in Europe, and the 2017 edition of Documenta and the artists who moved to the Greek capital, attracted by its affordability and warmth? Are skeptics right when they predict the city’s resurgence will be short-lived? Bringing together artists, curators and galleries important to its cultural life, Will Athens Become the New Art Capital of Europe? inquires upon the present and future states of the city.
 
With:
George Vamvakidis, co-founder, The Breeder gallery, Athens
Marina Fokidis, curator and writer, director of South as a State of Mind magazine, Athens
Angelo Plessas, artist and founder of P.E.T Projects, Athens
Moderated by Stefanie Hessler, director, Kunsthall Trondheim

While we cannot imagine our lives without the internet, it is hard to think of it with the same optimism with which it was perceived in the late 1990s. Over the past 30 years we have witnessed the internet’s coming of age from a platform used for connectivity, instant communication, and unrestricted access to information to a space of false information, data miners, targeted advertising, and open surveillance. In Mechanisms of a Surveillance State, a group of artists and thinkers whose work investigates the mechanisms of surveillance and technology discuss the current state of the internet and its future.
 
With:
Benjamin H. Bratton, professor of visual arts and director, Center for Design and Geopolitics, University of California, San Diego
Carmen Weisskopf, artist, !Mediengruppe Bitnik, Berlin/Zurich
Trevor Paglen, artist, Berlin
Moderated by Doreen Mende, curator and theorist, associate professor and head of CCC Research-Based Master Program, HEAD Geneva, and co-director, Harun Farocki Institut, Berlin

Is working in the arts compatible with parenting? Do adequate conditions exist for art professionals to embrace motherhood without fear? How do these conditions vary from one place to another? With social practices and care economies embedded into artistic approaches, has contemporary art finally made room for women artists and curators to be mothers, or is motherhood still considered the kiss of death for a career? Between Production and Reproduction gathers a group of speakers (all mothers) to discuss their experiences, opinions, and proposals on how to juggle career and private life in the present.
 
With:
Chus Martínez, curator and head of the Art Institute HGK FHNW, Basel
Coco Fusco, artist, New York
Nadine Zeidler, co-founder, Kraupa-Tuskany Zeidler, Berlin
Moderated by Julieta Aranda, artist and editor, e-flux journal, Berlin/New York City

More and more artists and institutions address environmental issues. Is this increasing interest a mere trend or is it possible for artists and their artworks, as well as institutions and their programs, to have a concrete effect on tackling climate change and a positive impact on changing attitudes and mentalities? Let’s Talk about the Weather brings together artists and institutions committed to environmental action in a discussion about the ways in which art can improve the planet’s condition.
 
With:
Maria Thereza Alves, artist, São Paulo/Berlin
Pedro Neves Marques, artist, filmmaker, and writer, New York
Markus Reymann, co-founder, TBA21–Academy, London
Kate MacGarry, founder, Kate MacGarry, London
Moderated by Antonia Alampi, artistic co-director, SAVVY Contemporary, Berlin

The art world spins very fast. Every day, curators, journalists, artists, and visitors jump from one airplane to another to attend the next biennial, art fair, or exhibition opening. At a time of heightened awareness of the environmental impact of carbon consumption, is this still viable? And what is the cost, in ecological terms, of putting up and tearing down so many exhibitions? Are institutions seriously reducing their carbon footprint? Which arts organizations are actively working to protect the environment? The Carbon Footprint of Contemporary Art looks at how to shift the trend toward more ecological responsibility in the artistic field.
 
With:
Andrew Stramentov, founder and CEO, Rokbox, London
Lucia Pietroiusti, curator of General Ecology, Serpentine Galleries, London
Catherine Bottrill, head of the Creative Green program, Julie’s Bicycle, London
Moderated by Chris Hampton, freelance journalist, Toronto