Keynote Debate 1: Is There Space for Art Outside of the Market and the State?

Artist-run culture has emerged in part as an alternative to the market and the limitations market-driven priorities have placed on the artist in terms of creative autonomy. Highly dependent on state sources of funding in many contexts, artist-run culture has, to some degree, forfeited autonomy to the state in order to meet bureaucratic funding requirements or to avoid censorship and ideological conflict. In this light, the “state vs. the market” dichotomy significantly moulds contemporary artist-run activity including the means of production and distribution for contemporary art. The first keynote debate will examine this dimension of artist-run culture by focusing on the grey zone, if there is one, between reliance on state programs and policies, and the vicissitudes of the market