Situations Papers are the published outcomes of our events and projects, free to download. Here is a full listing of the transcripts and observers' responses available. For more details on the event or project to which each relates click on the title.

David Trigg explores the Fine Art Adoption Network
David Trigg is a writer and critic based in Bristol. In 2006 he was the recipient of the Situations New Writing Bursary for emerging writers based in the South West. He chose to write about Adam Simon’s Fine Art Adoption Network (FAAN), following an extended period of research into the negative impact of an over-heated art market. This was the first time that anyone had written seriously about FAAN and so when Art in General suggested developing a publication about the project, Adam suggested that they incorporate David’s essay. The essay was published in the subsequent publication Fine Art Adoption Network: Art in General New Commissions Program Book Series Vol. VII and can be read online here.

Art as a 'Public' Issue
Mark Hutchinson is an artist who lives and works in London and has written extensively about public Art. He was asked to produce an observers response to the one day symposium. The event was organised to celebrate the launch of OPEN 14 - an anthological publication examining how art and its institutions inform notions of public space. The symposium focused on interrelations of place-based practice and how ideas of ‘publicness’ are explored in art, its institutions and its audiences. Download

Colin Glen responds to I lost her near Fantasy Island. Life has not been the same
Colin Glen is an artist and writer based in Stroud. He was awarded one of two Situations writing bursaries for emerging writers based in the South West. Colin chose to write a response to I lost her near Fantasy Island. Life has not been the same by Heather and Ivan Morison, presented by Situations as part of the British Art Show 6. His mentor was T.J. Demos, critic and Lecturer in the Department of History of Art, University College London. Download

Not Yet... Art and Archaeology in the Context of Urban Renewal 
Jane Rendell, Reader in Architecture and Art and Director of Architectural Research at the Barlett, UCL was asked to deliver an obersver's respnse to this one-day symposium which focused on the fieldwork project involving artists and archaeologists Pablo Bronstein, Lottie Child, Dr. Sarah May, Dr. Sefryn Penrose, Dr. Dan Hicks and Richard Wentworth. Examining artistic and archaeological approaches to the past, present and future of a site undergoing radical transformation, the symposium also included responses from key thinkers from Victor Buchli, Reader in Material Culture at UCL and John Schofield, Visiting Fellow in Archaeology at the University of Bristol. Download Jane Rendell's observer's paper
Download John Schofield's paper on the Past

Material City: artist Lucy Orta and Archaeologist John Schofield discuss Greenham Common
Artist Lucy Orta and archaeologist and military heritage specialist John Schofield will discuss their collaborative engagement with Greenham Common through their involvement with Common Ground, an interdisciplinary research group which set out to explore the site through archaeological survey and artistic intervention. Download

Material City: Dr. Brigitte Franzen, Curator of Sculpture Projects in Munster 2007
In this lecture, Brigitte Franzen gave a rare preview of the curators’ plans for the fourth edition of Sculpture Projects Münster, opening on June 16, 2007 and running parallel with Documenta 12 in Kassel, till September 30, 2007. Brigitte reflected back on previous Sculpture Projects Münster, and the exhibition's position with a prevalent biennale culture. Download

Material City: Wrights and Sites: Simultaneous Drift (4 walks, 4 routes, 4 screens)
Wrights & Sites (A Mis-Guide To Anywhere) presented a performance-lecture on their site and walking-based practices that overlap with architecture, urban exploration, activism and autobiography. Download

International Project Reunion: inSITE_05: San Diego/Tijuana
The first in this series of reunions focused on insite_05, a network of contemporary
art programmes and commissioned projects that mapped the border zone of San Diego-Tijuana from August to November 2005. inSITE_05 was not based on a traditional biennial model, rather artists’ projects were developed as processes of collaboration and engagement in the region with varying levels of visibility. Download

Curating Post-Nation: Rethinking the Survey Exhibition for the Biennial Age
Following the British Art Show 6 and bringing together acclaimed curators and critics, the Curating Post-Nation symposium explored the structure of national survey exhibitions and their potential to reflect on new tendencies in contemporary art. Reflecting on the international context of biennale curating and new institutionalism, the sympoisum also explored potential alternatives to conventional exhibitions. A transcript of the presentations and discussions is available to download here. Download

Heather and Ivan Morison British Art Show commission
Combining images from the day with recorded public responses and two newly commissioned critical essays, this paper reflects on the Morisons' new work 'I lost her near Fantasy Island. Life has not been the same' produced for the opening day of the British Art Show 6 in Bristol. Download

Material City: Ergin Cavusoglu and Professor Tim Cresswell
Ergin Cavusoglu's mesmerising video installations explore mobilities across places and non-places, between east and west Europe. Documenting presentations by Cavusoglu and Professor Tim Cresswell and their subsequent discussion on the representation of the 'airport' experience, this paper provides an interdisciplinary analysis of place and non-place. Download

Material City: writer Iain Sinclair responds to Francis Alÿs’ acclaimed film, Guards
Among contemporary British writers, no one has made the city the central subject of their work to quite such an extent as Iain Sinclair. Here he responds to Francis Alÿs’ acclaimed film, Guards, with excerpts from his novels and literary references to the City of London. Download

Material City: Paul Rooney and Dr. Dan Hicks in conversation
Paul Rooney’s videos could be described as meditations on the mundane. His works are often the outcome of musical collaborations with disenfranchised members of the community, inviting them to describe in detail their surroundings, jobs or dreams. This conversation between Rooney and archaeologist Dr. Dan Hicks, University of Bristol, explores Rooney’s enchantment of the urban environment. Download

The Wrong Place: Rethinking Context in Contemporary Art
Following the conference The Wrong Place: Rethinking Context in Contemporary Art on 3, 4 and 5 February with contributions from artists, curators and critics, including Okwui Enwezor, Phil Collins, Declan McGonagle, Jeremy Deller and Cuautémoc Medina, the first Situations Paper was launched, an observer's response to the conference by artist, curator and writer Paul O'Neill. Download