Jonathan Watkins, Stephen Snoddy, Matthew Slotover, Tim Marlow, Richard Wentworth, Teresa Gleadowe and more.
ART OF IDEAS II, Birmingham, presents a second year of high profile debates hosted by a selection of the UK’s most prominent art specialists, that aims to engage audiences in lively discussions on the ‘Art Of Collecting’, and the relationship between museums and collections in the UK. Encouraging and advising uninitiated but curious and prospective collectors, the series will also focus on proposals for a new city museum of national and international contemporary art in Birmingham itself. ART OF IDEAS II also offers the exhibition Visual; tours of the city’s cultural hotspots; fun family days; and social events celebrating Birmingham’s thriving creative industries and its cultural position as the UK’s second largest city.
Guest speakers in this year’s ART OF IDEAS II are:
Jonathan Watkins, Director, Ikon Gallery
Stephen Snoddy, Director, The New Art Gallery Walsall
Matthew Slotover, Co-Publisher Frieze and Co-Director, Frieze Art Fair
Tim Marlow, writer, broadcaster, Head of Exhibitions, White Cube gallery
Frances Morris, Head of Collections (International Art), Tate Modern
Richard Wentworth, artist, and teacher at the Ruskin School, Oxford
Rita McLean, Head of Museums & Heritage Services, Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery
Teresa Gleadowe, independent art consultant and curator
Janice Blackburn, Freelance curator & journalist
Alongside ART OF IDEAS II, Arts Council West Midlands launches Cultivate, a publication which shines a light on the region’s visual art market. Featuring a response by writer and curator Matt Price to Arts Council West Midlands’ commissioned research and showcasing work by the region’s most exciting talent, Cultivate is the perfect complement to Art of Ideas II.
TALKS:
The Art of Collecting Wednesday 1 July, 6 – 7.30pm Baskerville House, Centenary Square, Birmingham, B1 2ND Free attendance RSVP: Arts Co, info@arts-co.com/ 020 7723 0285
An insight in to the art of collecting, presented by Tim Marlow, of White Cube, the London gallery famous for artists such as Tracey Emin, Jake & Dinos Chapman, and Damien Hirst. Also speaking is Matthew Slotover, whose annual Frieze Art Fair has put the UK in pole position on the international collectors’ map; Stephen Snoddy, The New Art Gallery Walsall; Janice Blackburn, Financial Times contributor and curator; and Richard Wentworth, artist, and teacher at the Ruskin School of Drawing and Fine Art.
The Art of Collecting will provide an insight into the world of buying and collecting, of art fairs, artists’ studios and commissioning, by those who know it, and will open up possibilities for those who don’t. Navigating the complexities of this particular market, this talk is primarily for the uninitiated, with the aim of helping and encouraging those intrigued by the prospect of buying art to feel confident about spending their money on art rather than a holiday or car.
The event will also introduce initiatives such as Own Art, the Art Council’s interest free loan scheme which helps people to buy and own contemporary art, and also celebrates projects such as The Collective, a UK wide initiative based on the model of a stake-holding group who each contribute to the collective purchase of contemporary art, and who has recently set up in Birmingham.
A New Museum for the 21st Century Wednesday 8 July, 6 – 7.30pm Baskerville House, Centenary Square, Birmingham, B1 2ND Free attendance RSVP: Arts Co, info@arts-co.com/ 020 7723 0285
Taking as its starting point a proposed museum and permanent collection of contemporary art in Birmingham, currently the subject of an extensive feasibility study led by Ikon in association with Tate Connects, this event seeks to explore the notion of the museum in the 21st century, including how museums keep their collections interesting, dynamic, and relevant to what is being produced within the contemporary art world and how the wider public can engage with it on many levels.
The proposed museum of contemporary art, Birmingham, would be of national and international significance, dedicated to the acquisition and presentation of new art – but is it feasible, is it needed, and how will it be distinct from other art museums in the UK? This talk offers a compelling platform for exploring the wider role of the 21st century museum in the UK and beyond.
The talk is chaired by Tim Marlow, Director, White Cube, with guest speakers: Jonathan Watkins, Director, Ikon Gallery; Matthew Slotover, Co-Publisher Frieze and Co-Director, Frieze Art Fair; Frances Morris, Permanent collections curator, Tate; Teresa Gleadowe, Curator; Rita McLean, Head of Museums & Heritage Services, Birmingham Museum & Art GalleryM&AG.
ART TOURS:
An insider’s tour of Birmingham to experience a city that has undergone a contemporary art make-over, especially so with the regeneration district of Eastside, and success stories such as Eastside Projects and Ikon Eastside. A full list of Tours & Events is available here
EXHIBITION: Visual – Exhibition 30 June – 12 July, open daily, 11.30am – 6.00pm
Baskerville House, Centenary Square, Birmingham, B1 2ND
For further information: visualforbusiness.com
For this year’s Visual exhibition, Stephen Snoddy, Director, The New Art Gallery Walsall, has selected a presentation of work from the Visual collection that takes nature as its theme.
Artists this year include Daniel Bosworth, Ian Bratley. Louise Cattrell, Sarah Chapman, Ravi Deepres, Anne Guest, Paul Hirst, Nigel Jackson, Chris Keenan, Susan Laughton, Dinu Li, Betty Pepper, Steve Speller, Sonia Stanyard, Pamina Stewart, Kate Walters, Simon Withers.
