Videos from the VoCA Summit, held at SFMOMA on January 26, 2018, are available to view online. To revisit the phenomenal presentations and conversations from guest speakers Michael Auping, Shervone Neckles-Ortiz, Chris Kallmyer, and more, click on the links below to go directly to a video or go to the event website page here.
Here is an overview of the videos:
Morning Session - The morning session of the VoCA Summit, held at SFMOMA on January 26, 2018. Neal Benezra and Martina Haidvogl welcome everyone; Inge-Lise Eckmann Lane and Chad Alligood introduce VoCA and the Summit program; Jill Sterrett and Richard Candida Smith discuss the origins of VoCA's Artist Interview Workshops; Jen Mergel gives a 5-minute spotlight presentation; and Michael Auping shares anecdotes and various types of interviews he has conducted over his 40-plus year career, with audience Q&A.
Mid-morning Session - The mid-morning session of the VoCA Summit, held at SFMOMA on January 26, 2018, focuses on preserving the artist's voice and legacy. In this session, Ruth del Fresno Guillem gives a spotlight presentation about her experience attending the VoCA Artist Interview Workshop in Miami; Shervone Neckles Ortiz discusses her work with the Joan Mitchell Foundation and their Creating a Living Legacy Programs, and is then joined on stage by Arlan Huang, Beth Krebs, and Robin Clark for a discussion about the role artists have to play in shaping the organizations that support them.
Afternoon Session - The afternoon session of the VoCA Summit, held at SFMOMA on January 26, 2018, focuses on Conversations in Action. Spotlight speaker Yasmeen Siddiqui discusses founding Minerva Projects, an incubator space in Denver, Colorado, and the impact the 2016 Denver Workshop had on its creation; a panel discussion featuring Narayan Khandekar, Jess Rigelhaupt, Gloria Sutton, and Pip Laurenson approaches the interview as a multifaceted discovery tool, a vehicle for building collaboration and making meaning in our lives; the group opens the conversation to the audience for Q&A.
End of Day Session - The final session of the VoCA Summit, held at SFMOMA on January 26, 2018, focuses on the voice of the artist, and ruminates on where we go from here. In this video, guest artist Chris Kallmyer discusses the Summit House Band and the impetus behind his short film, entitled "My LeWitt, 1971/2018"; after screening the film, Chris speaks with Jill Sterrett and Chad Alligood about the project; Jill and Chad then reflect on many of the topics and issues raised throughout the day, and open the conversation up to audience questions.
Commission - My LeWitt. Commissioned by Voices in Contemporary Art and shown at SFMOMA on January 26, 2018. My LeWitt is a film that features a replica of Sol LeWitt’s 1971 Modular, taken to places and contexts that the original work cannot go. The film is a series of vignettes and interviews that feature a physicist, architect, folklorist, toddlers, and puppeteers talking about their own lives as it crosses paths with high modernism.
Presentations
Inge-Lise Eckmann Lane - Founding VoCA Board President Inge-Lise Eckmann Lane welcomes guests to the VoCA Summit and shares a bit of background about the origins of the organization and its Artist Interview Workshops.
Chad Alligood - Curator and current Vice President of the VoCA Board, Chad Alligood, welcomes guests, introduces the Summit program, and shares a bit about his own experience with VoCA's Artist Interview Workshops.
Workshop Origin Story - In this session of the VoCA Summit, Jill Sterrett & Richard Candida Smith discuss the inspiration behind the workshops, and gaps they hoped to fill; how the structure of the workshop came together, and how it’s still growing and evolving; and what they’ve learned over six years of leading the workshops with hundreds of colleagues around the US.
Jen Mergel - Spotlight presenter Jen Mergel shares three case studies of interviews conducted by email, Skype, and in-person to illustrate lessons learned from the Workshop she attended at MFA Boston in 2016
Michael Auping - In this presentation, given at the VoCA Summit at SFMOMA on January 26, 2018, curator Michael Auping shares anecdotes and various types of interviews he has conducted over his 40-plus year career, with audience Q&A.
Ruth del Fresno Guillem - In her spotlight presentation, Ruth reflects on how attending the Artist Interview Workshop at the Rubell Collection in Miami in 2015 affected her approach to artist interviews and the outcome of her PhD Thesis.
Shervone Neckles-Ortiz - Shervone Neckles-Ortiz discusses the Joan Mitchell Foundation and their Creating a Living Legacy (CALL) initiative. She explores the merits of collaborating with and supporting artists, where the CALL project was in its development at the time that she attended the Artist Interview Workshop, and how it has lead to an ongoing partnership with VoCA.
A Dialogue With Artists - For this session, Robin Clark moderates a discussion with artists Shervone Neckles-Ortiz, Arlan Huang, & Beth Krebs about the experience of working together through the Joan Mitchell Foundation's CALL Program, and the hybrid roles they each embody in the art world.
Yasmeen Siddiqui - Spotlight presenter Yasmeen Siddiqui discusses founding Minerva Projects, an incubator space in Denver, Colorado, and the impact the 2016 Denver Workshop had on its creation.
Every Connection Leaves A Trace - This panel discussion approaches the interview as a multifaceted discovery tool, a vehicle for building collaboration and making meaning in our lives. Representing different disciplines, our panelists will discuss the role of interviews in their own practice, reflecting critically on their creation, interpretation, and use. Featuring Narayan Khandekar, Jess Rigelhaupt, and Gloria Sutton, and moderated by Pip Laurenson.
Chris Kallmyer - VoCA Summit guest artist Chris Kallmyer discusses the Summit House Band and the impetus behind his short film, entitled "My LeWitt, 1971/2018."
Where do we go from here? - In this wrap up session, Jill Sterrett and Chad Alligood reflect on many of the topics and issues raised throughout the Summit, and open the conversation up to audience questions.