Struggles for equality continue to engage with issues of class, race, gender, sexuality, and ability. This workshop explored the specific roles that art might play in tackling inequalities. How might artists document or make visible forms of inequality? What impact might their work have in shaping political and economic debates in these areas? How might artists and institutions work with communities and activists to reduce inequalities? And in what ways might art and its institutions perpetuate inequalities?
Full programme:
2.00-5.30pm
The event began with a workshop featuring short presentations by artists, curators, activists and academics as prompts for wider discussions amongst participants. Johnny Miller, one of our Atlantic Fellows 2017-18, joined contributors including David A. Bailey (curator and photographer), Adam Kaasa (Royal College of Art), Amal Khalaf (Serpentine Galleries), and Sarita Malik (Brunel University). There was also an introduction to the Art and Inequality project from Dr Clive James Nwonka (London School of Economics and Political Science).
6.30-8.00pm
The workshop was followed by an evening discussion in the Starr Cinema, chaired by the broadcaster Bidisha and featuring the cultural critic Bonnie Greer. The discussion was designed to be an open discussion, drawing on questions and contributions from the audience rather than formal presentations from the panelists.
This event was developed through a partnership between Tate and The Atlantic Fellows for Social and Economic Equity.
Presenter
Johnny Miller
Johnny Miller is an Atlantic Fellow for Social and Economic Equity and a photographer and filmmaker specialising in documentary projects. He has received worldwide acclaim for his project Unequal Scenes, an aerial exploration of inequality in South Africa using drones.
Speaker
Dr Clive Nwonka
Clive Nwonka is Associate Professor in Film, Culture and Society at the IAS, and a Faculty Associate of the UCL Sarah Parker Remond Centre for the Study of Racism and Racialisation. Nwonka’s research centres on the study of Black British and African American film, with a particular focus on the images of Black urbanity and the modes through which Black identities are shaped by representations of social environments, architecture, social anxieties and the hegemony of neoliberalism within forms of Black popular culture.
Banner Image: Photo by Joseph Gilbey on Unsplash
