Artists' Futures

Money, Markets and the Digital Domain

Chaired by Paul Hobson, (Director of the Contemporary Art Society), and speakers comprising Simon Faithfull, Paul Bennun, Sonia Boyce, and Klaus Thymann, the event explored how artists’ futures can be sustained and supported at a time of rapid and far-reaching economic, social and technological changes.

Panellists speculated on the shape of artists’ futures as a result of the economic recession and cuts to public funding; changes to visual arts production and its effect on traditional collecting practices and how developments within the digital space will co-exist, compete with, or compliment the physical visual arts world.

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Speakers

Paul Hobson (Chairman) has been the Director of the Contemporary Art Society since 2007. Paul was the Interim Director of The Showroom gallery, London and for five years, the director of a private foundation supporting new work by emerging artists. His previous positions include Head of Strategy and Development for the Serpentine Gallery and Head of the Royal Academy Trust.

Simon Faithfull is a contemporary artist whose practice takes a variety of forms - ranging from video, to digital drawing, installation work and writing. Recent projects include a video work recording the journey of a domestic chair as it is carried to the edge of space. Simon is a lecturer at Slade School of Fine Art.

Paul Bennun is a Director of Somethin' Else, a leading cross-platform/digital production company in the UK. Paul holds internationally recognised awards in games, radio, mobile technology and interactive broadcasting. He is a trustee of Artangel and is an artistic collaborator with the likes of several Artangel artists and writer John Berger. Paul also presents science, technology and usability programmes for the BBC.

Sonia Boyce is an artist who came to prominence in the early 1980s as a key figure in the burgeoning black British art-scene. Since the 1990s her art practice has taken a more multi-media and socially inclusive approach by bringing people together to comment on history and the present. She is currently an AHRC Research Fellow at Wimbledon College of Art.

Klaus Thymann is an award winning photographer and film-maker. His art has been exhibited and published world-wide, and he also works on commercial assignments. Klaus serves on the Board of Directors at DACS.

Organised by DACS in partnership with the Contemporary Art Society, this event followed on from The Economy of Art debate, chaired by Alan Yentob in November 2009, which explored the financial social, and cultural value of art.