Meeting and discussion about feminism
Friday, October 7 at 6:30PM - free entry
Ateliers Astérides, 2nd floor of Manufacture 2, Friche la Belle de Mai, 13003 Marseille
Starting from the question What is feminism – a question of women’s rights or of broader anti-oppression?, the aim of both my research and the discussion is to examine how feminism has influenced the administrative models of artist-run centres, and to highlight utopia as a method for envisioning a future for non-institutional art spaces.
In order to imagine a (utopian) feminist future, we must, as utopian theorist Ruth Levitas proposes, educate our desire and develop a future for these spaces that aligns with contemporary intersectional feminist theory. As they evolve, artist-run centres and galleries must renew and update their commitments to a self-managed program—meaning programming and administrative practices free from the government priorities that dictate their funding.
To be truly alternative to museums once more, we need to reconsider and rework our commitment to diversity. One person’s utopia is another’s dystopia, as there is no consensus on the future, nor on the truths of the past. Still, we like to believe that the new intersectional methodologies being deployed offer a path forward, building on existing work. Here, utopia is understood as a method rather than a goal.
— Amber Berson