“Who
is the public for cultural institutions today, and how does it engage with art
beyond the passive observation of the ‘viewer’, the commodifying gaze of the
‘consumer’, and the illusory participation of the ‘spectator’?”
Join Curator,
Cultural Theorist and Jury Member of the 56th Venice Biennale Ranjit Hoskote
in a conversation with Cultural Theorist and Curator Nancy Adajania as they
reflect on the emergence of radically new publics from contemporary crises,
and the challenges they pose to artistic practices and cultural
institutions. Adajania will speak from her research and work with artistic
practices including those of Maha Maamoun, Ahmed Bassiony, Sheba Chhachhi,
Ala Younis, Shilpa Gupta, and Cyber mohalla. The discussion will address the
2015 critical reader on contemporary art, Future Publics (The Rest Can and
Should Be Done by the People), edited by Ranjit with Maria Hlavajova.