This talk takes as its starting point the Internet and its relationship to artists working today. In this nimble, malleable, and responsive sphere, are artists enabled with an autonomy from art and its institutions? Could the Internet allow artists a means to jettison the formal structures and encourage a different kind of artistic expression? Or does it simply re-enforce real-world realities online? Omar Kholeif is a writer, curator and editor. He is currently Curator at the Whitechapel Gallery, London, Senior Visiting Curator at Cornerhouse and HOME, Manchester as well as Senior Editor of Ibraaz Publishing. His most recent publications include: You Are Here: Art After the Internet, 2014. Sultan Sooud Al Qassemi is a commentator on political, social and economic issues in the Middle East. His columns appear in the New York Times, the Financial Times, Foreign Policy, Open Democracy, the Independent and the Guardian. Al Qassemi is the Founder of the Barjeel Art Foundation in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates. The ninth edition of the Global Art Forum, running alongside Art Dubai, March 18-21, 2015, takes on the theme of technologies and their impact on the world of art and culture. Titled Download Update? the Forum is co-directed by Turi Munthe and Sultan Sooud Al Qassemi, with Shumon Basar as Director-at-Large. Global Art Forum is supported by the Dubai Culture and Arts Authority. This lecture was also part of Campus Art Dubai 3.0's Community programme. Campus Art Dubai is a school for artists, curators, writers and cultural producers based in the UAE. The course is taught and led by a local and international cast of academics, critics, curators and artists. Meetings occur over weekends and feature seminars, workshops, critiques and one-on-one mentorship. The course provides a space for critical thinking and the exchange of ideas and skills, with participants encouraged to collaborate, debate and challenge. Campus Art Dubai is part of Art Dubai’s educational programming and is held in partnership with Dubai Culture and Arts Authority, and is supported by d3 Dubai Design District. This lecture took place at A4 Space in Alserkal Avenue, Dubai on Monday December 15, 2014. More info at http://artdubai.ae/campus-art-dubai

• published: 18 Dec 2014
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