Location
Amsterdam, The NetherlandsDate and time
-This long awaited event was the follow up of the successful 1997 symposium Modern Art: Who Cares? and brought together over 550 (up-and-coming) professionals, from diverse disciplines, who are connected to the conservation of modern and contemporary art. At Contemporary Art: Who Cares? participant shared, learned from each other and discussed the outcomes of recent research projects in contemporary art, with special attention to installation art. Through open discussion, interactive learning and networking sessions, participants contributed to the development of this profession.
The three-day programme was based upon three phases in the ‘conservation continuum’: different aspects of conservation that take place during the ‘lifespan’ of an artwork.
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Day one focused on conservation in relation to the production of contemporary art as well as the transition process when a work of art enters a museum collection.
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Day two dealt with conservation in a more familiar sense by looking to experience from practice and how theory is developed out of the restoration studio and collection management.
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Day three looked at how contemporary art can be made accessible to the public and the role of conservators and conservation information in this process.
A group of experts over 30 organisations who are worked together under the umbrella project PRACTICs (2009-2011) were responsible for creating the majority of the programme. Most of these people worked together during the EU project Inside Installations (2004-2007).
The enthusiastic response to the call for posters resulted in a poster exhibition of 56 posters, 16 of which were presented in a ‘snapshot’. Networking sessions gave participants the opportunity to meet new international peers and to strengthen existing professional relationships. Participants also met and shared information with peers during one of the many informative parallel sessions. There were also installations on display at locations near the symposium location that were especially installed for the event. The symposium closed with an interactive plenary session during which a panel of experts, together with the audience, reflected on what we have learned over the last decade and where to go from here.
Videos of the plenary lectures
Click on the the tag CONTEMPORARY ART: WHO CARES? below to access videos of the plenary lectures and also summaries of parallel sessions.
Book: Inside Installations
This event did not have preceedings. However, many of the presenters also wrote articles (based on thier lectures) for the book 'Inside Installations. Theory and practice in the Care of Complex Artworks.' Click here for more information and to download a PDF of this book.