Labour in Contemporary art: precariousness and alternatives

Bizkaia Aretoa University of the Basque Country UPV/EHU
January 25/26, 2018

The Culture and Creative Industries (CCI) define an authentic productive sector – the Creative and Culture Sector (CCS) – which UNO, UNESCO and the EU recognise as key for economic and employment growth, and social and technological innovation in Europe.  However, a great number of artists wonder why their professional practice does not allow them to receive a regularised income for their work. Their activity and their lives are subjected to a high degree of precariousness and there are many reasons for it. These facts give us cause to outline a multidisciplinary and transversal focus to tackle the problem of precariousness in art.
We invite to reflect on the conditions that characterise the professional activities related to the artistic practice and the lives of a great number of contemporary artists. We keep in mind a multidisciplinary vision to explore the economic, sociologic, psychologic, legal, philosophic, and artistic dimensions related to the notion of precariousness, in general and, more particularly, to its relation to the artists and their professional activities.
We believe art creates social innovation because it promotes the well-being of the citizens and generates knowledge. We put into practice the critical and reflexive potential of art to open a path for the awareness and the quest for solutions to better transfer the knowledge generated from art to society. If art equals knowledge, it must keep open to other constituent processes in a direct dialogue with the needs of the society to whom it is finally directed. We aim to identify models that build bridges and create networks among producers of art and citizens. We envision a paradigmatic change through which artistic productions get rid of intermediaries to validate them.

 

MAIN TOPICS

Approaches to the notion of precariousness related to contemporary art and critical revisions of this notion from the sociology, legal, economics, philosophy and art areas.

  1. Definitions and meanings of precariousness in art from the disciplinary spheres defined above.
  2. Methodologic proposals for the research and study of contemporary art in precarious contexts.
  3. Presentation of artistic and conceptual proposals related to precariousness.
  4. Alternatives, critics and action to face precariousness.

Keywords: (De)regularization, vital precariousness, employment and capital, art as a professional activity, new formulas, alliances, ways of being an artist, art/life, self-management, new labour modalities, social resistances, self-exploitation, the imperative of visibility, art system, cultural industries, art industry, success and aura.

 

TO WHOM IS THIS CONFERENCE ADDRESSED?

Professors, researchers, students, artists and other professionals with an interest on issues about contemporary art and contemporary social changes.

 

PARTICIPATION

– Guest speakers.

– Communications and reflections based on art research.

– Posters.

 

NORMS FOR PUBLICATION OF COMMUNICATIONS

  • The abstract must include the following data:
    1. Personal data and institutional or academic affiliation.
    2. The thematic topic addressed.
    3. An introduction, objectives, methodology, and main conclusions. In case of no-research works, the methodologic procedures must be clarified.
    4. 300-word max. abstracts.
  • The official languages of the conference are English, Basque and Spanish. The communications can be proposed and presented in any of these languages.
  • We consider and encourage presentations of artistic proposals (texts, images, video, performance) together with oral communications. Both of them will receive the same treatment and will be included in the conference’s proceedings. In this sense, the only limitation will be the adequation of the proposals to the oral presentation infrastructure and to the subsequent publication.
  • Every proposal will be subjected to a double-blind peer review process. The organising committee will ultimately inform about their acceptance.
  • All applicants must send both abstracts and communications to arteikerketa@ehu.eus
  • Deadline for abstracts: November 27, 2017.
  • The proposals must be original and unpublished. Very important note: All applicants must send a file including the title of their communications, a 300-word max. summary and up to five keywords. In a separate file send authorship and affiliation data, and contact details: Email, telephone, address.
  • Deadline for final articles and artistic proposals: January 15, 2018.
  • A selection of some of the communications will be published in the scientific magazine Art and Politics of Identity, edited by the University of Murcia.  It is for this reason why the final texts must follow the publication guidelines of the magazine, that can be found here.
  • All the accepted communications will be published in the conference’s proceedings.

NORMS FOR PRESENTATION OF POSTERS

  • Poster proposals should be sent to arteikerketa@ehu.eus
  • The official languages of the conference are English, Basque and Spanish. The posters can be proposed and presented in any of these languages.
  • The summary must include the following information: an introduction, objectives, methodology, and main conclusions. In case of no-research works, the methodologic procedures must be clarified.
  • 300-word max. proposals.
  • Deadline for proposals: November 27, 2017.
  • Every proposal will be subjected to a double-blind peer review process. The organising committee will ultimately inform about their acceptance.
  • Once a poster has been accepted, applicants should send them to:
    Javier Díez Baró
    Facultad de Bellas Artes
    Universidad el País Vasco- Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea
    Barrio Sarriena s/n. 48940 Leioa. Bizkaia
  • Deadline for final posters: January 15, 2018.
  • Posters must be vertical and size 120 x 90 cm.
  • The printed materials for the posters should not be too heavy or thick to ensure a proper placing on the exhibiting panel.
  • All texts must follow the same editing and citation guidelines as the communications.
  • The conference’s proceedings will include a special publishing section including the posters. This section allows a five A-4 sheet content (10.000 characters) per poster.

TERMS OF PARTICIPATION

  • One of the authors, both of the communications and the posters selected,  must register both to present them in the conference and be subsequently published.
  • Certificates of participation will be issued to all authors registered.
  • No certificate will be issued in case one of his authors does not present an accepted proposal at the assigned date and time. Nor will be published in the proceedings or any of the publications derived from the conference.

IMPORTANT DATES

  • Deadline for abstracts and poster proposals: November 27, 2017.
  • Notification of acceptance or rejection of the proposals: November 30, 2017.
  • Deadline for final articles and artistic proposals: January 15, 2017.
  • Publication of the final programme. To be included in the programme, authors must register before December 15, 2017.

REGISTRATION FEES

  • From September 18, 2017 to January 15, 2018.
  • Ordinary fee: 80 €.
  • Reduced fee for the unemployed, retired and students: 40 €.