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CONVERSATION SERIES

Kybernein Conversation series brings together, in ever-changing formations and venues, contemporary culture contributors such as artists, curators, urbanists, filmmakers and funders who are involved in shaping society’s cultural output in various ways. Adopting an itinerant format, and being hosted by an existing cultural structure (a fair; a biennial; a mass participatory or cultural event; an academic forum; a public institution; etc.), these sessions seek not only to assess the “state-of-play” at that moment in the lead up to the big cultural event in which they are involved, but to expand and continue discussions around themes that are central to their agenda, production and impact on society.

A significant feature of the Conversation series is that they have taken place in semi-formal settings, requiring no audience but the camera and the amassed group of participants. They sit somewhere between the formal setting of the commonly used artist's talk / seminar format and the informal nature of social / networked conversations between producer / consumer, practitioner / audience, content provider / user. The sessions provide an open forum for sharing and exchange with no underlying pretext but to consider the current state of affairs.

 

AGM 11 DEFAULT

 

Conversation / AGM 11 DEFAULT: Masterclasses and Symposium, RamDom Residency Lecce, Italy, 21-30 September 2011

A series of masterclasses on art, cities and regeneration for an international cultural and artistic residence hosted in Lecce, Southern Italy. During ten days, twenty selected artists discussed with urbanists, curators, cultural producers, transnational partners and local audience some key questions of our (austere) time: how to interact within a wider governmental policy concerning urban regeneration? How to tackle the increasingly politicised stakes that underpin cultural inquiry on urban centres’ and neighbourhoods’ revitalisation? Do artists, curators, art managers and policy makers have to default to “art and regeneration practices” which are no longer feasible yet still entrenched in cultural structures because there is no other alternative given?

The works took places in several regenerated spaces in the city of Lecce. Among the guests and invited lecturers: Lewis Biggs (curator), Celine Condorelli (artist), Andrea Lissoni (curator), Julia Draganovic (curator), Kybernein (Nathalie Gabrielsson and Alfredo Cramerotti, artists), Hannah Conroy (curator), Andrei Siclodi (broadcaster, curator and writer), Ana Hoffner (artist), Paolo Mele (researcher and curator), Pietro Gaglianò (critic), Filipa Ramos (curator and critic), Emiliano Paoletti (cultural producer), Gregor Neuerer (artist). An international committee of art professionals has selected 10 international and 10 Italian artists (7 from Apulia region) to participate in the residence. Organised by Kybernein, Hannah Conroy and Paolo Mele.

NESTA: Creative and Digital Economy

Conversation / NESTA: Creative and Digital Economy: A New Fusion, seminar and debate, NESTA London, 30 March 2012

Kybernein was invited to take part in a workshop & panel at National Endowment for Science Technology and the Arts (NESTA), London, UK. This workshop brought together researchers and practitioners, entrepreneurs and businesses from creative and ICT backgrounds to explore new approaches to innovation in the emerging digital ecology that might lead to new forms of economic dynamism. It looked at different paths towards innovation pursued in domains with different academic, professional and industrial cultures, and took up key questions about how and why creative and ICT skill sets and approaches to research and development might be brought together.

It considered whether by combining the theory and practice of innovation from different disciplines, there is greater potential for disruptive innovation. The workshop addressed this central question: How can creative and ICT sectors produce new fusions of expertise and innovation to harness all these opportunities?

Speakers include Frank Boyd (Creative Industries KTN), Prof. Gillian Youngs (University of Wales, Newport), Hasan Bakshi (NESTA/Creative Industries KTN), Prof. David Gauntlett (University of Westminster), and Kybernein (Nathalie Gabrielsson and Alfredo Cramerotti) as part of the ” Creative and Digital Ideas Panel” chaired by Gillian Youngs. Organised by National Endowment for Science Technology and the Arts (NESTA).

Giant Step #2

Conversation: Giant Step #2 – The Centre of the Periphery & The Periphery of the Centre, MOSTYN, UK, 21-23 September 2012

The conference looked at the role of institutions within contemporary culture. Kybernein brought together artists, curators, creative practitioners and others to discuss and debate how institutions or individuals stimulate and encourage the cultural dynamics of a location or society, particularly in areas with a less prominent critical audience.

Institutional and artistic presentations by Askeaton Contemporary Arts, Beacon Art Project, Culture Colony, Grizedale Arts, VanAbbe Museum. Speakers included Alistair Hudson (curator), Annie Fletcher (curator), Emrys Williams (artist), Fernando Garcia-Dory (artist), Francesco Scasciamacchia (curator), James Green (curator), John Plowman (artist), Michele Horrigan (curator), Nia Roberts (programmer), Nicola Streeten (curator), Pete Telfer (film producer), and Viviana Checchia (curator).

Organized by Kybernein with the support of Sian Green and Brian Jamieson.

The Prince's Regeneration Trust

Conversation: The Prince's Regeneration Trust 12th BRICK workshop, workshop and discussion, MOSTYN Wales, 24 June 2015

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The Prince's Regeneration Trust runs education workshops for community groups who are trying to regenerate heritage buildings. BRICK is the UK-wide education program for community groups involved in heritage regeneration. The purpose of the workshop was to showcase best practice and provide as much practical information, tips and inspiration for the attending project groups as possible.

 

Kybernein’s (Alfredo Cramerotti) contribution focused on MOSTYN's building history and heritage, its links with the community, and how the place-responsive artistic program provides opportunity for audience development and community building. In particular:


- The history of MOSTYN as a gallery, the uses it housed over years and ownership
- The architectural value of the building and its listing
- The place it has in the history of Llandudno and its development as a visitor centre i.e. why it was important to revive the building and the gallery use within it
- The artistic program developed since 2012 that links the building, the local heritage, the community and the international art scene
- How the Trust [Charity] that currently runs the gallery was formed and the role it assumed in curating and renewing the gallery
- Why this particular type of extension, additional functions and funding
- Current issues that the Trust [Charity] faces in ensuring a viable operation and future for the gallery and how they are addressed.

Organised by The Prince's Regeneration Trust.

© Kybernein [Nathalie Gabrielsson 2011-2017]

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