This symposium took place in 2006. The transcription of the Curating Post-Nation symposium is available to download here. To read delegates' responses to the symposium, click here

Curating Post-Nation Rethinking the Survey Exhibition for the Biennial Age                Friday 15 and Saturday 16 September 2006
Arnolfini, Bristol

The curators of the sixth incarnation of the British Art Show set out to distinguish key influences on current British practice, and in doing so, observed the increasingly diverse cultural makeup of what is considered ‘British art’. Their selection reflects a multiplicity of artistic strategies and their determination to introduce a dynamic and changing element to the exhibition as it tours from one city to the next. This symposium explored the structure of national survey exhibitions, their potential to reflect on new tendencies in contemporary art and to produce dynamic contexts for the consideration of artists living or working within a defined geographic area.

By bringing together acclaimed curators and critics to reflect on the international context of biennale curating and new institutionalism, it also explored, through a range of position papers and discussions, potential alternatives to conventional exhibitions.

Speakers

Alex Farquharson and Andrea Schlieker, Co-curators, British Art Show 6
Chrissie Iles, Curator, Whitney Museum of American Art, New York and Co-Curator of the Whitney Biennial 2004 and 2006
Nina Möntmann, Curator and author of Art and its Institutions: Current conflicts, critique and collaborations, Black Dog Publishing
Neil Mulholland, Director, Centre for Visual & Cultural Studies, Edinburgh College of Art
Hans-Ulrich Obrist, Co-Director of Exhibitions and Programmes and Director of nternational Projects, Serpentine Gallery, London

Moderators                                                                                                                               Claire Doherty, Director of Situations, University of the West of England, Bristol
Mark Godfrey, art historian and critic

Performance
Neil Cummings and Marysia Lewandowska with Eileen Simpson and Ben White
Doug Fishbone

Download Information Pack
Download British Art Show guide