IMPACT 4 - KONTAKT Conference Theme
The proposed conference theme is KONTAKT. The word contact is the same in both Polish and German, and stresses the collaborative and populist nature of the multiple. KONTAKT also implies the bridging of cultures and nations. We think of the term in the context of the connections between history and the present, connections between artists and systems of patronage, connections between curatorial practice and the artist. KONTAKT also poses the issue of globalism, trans-nationalism and regionalism in the context of and the expanding European Union. Structuring the conference around two cities from two nations will serve to provide a stereoscopic perspective on printmaking and book arts. Through the two conference sites, delegates will have an opportunity to compare and contrast the arts of Poznañ and Berlin. Does this perspective help us to understand essential characteristics that printmakers from different cultures have in common? How does the comparison of the print traditions of Poznañ and Berlin reflect broader cultural patterns in the European Union? What challenges do print and book artists from each nation have in common? One goal of the conference is to foster stronger personal and institutional contacts between artists from different countries. We hope to stress the role of projects that foster intellectual and cultural exchnage between individuals, institutions and countries. Through the conference planning process we expect that printmakers in Poznañ and Berlin will build important and lasting collaborative relationships.
TOPICS FOR PANELS, EXHIBITIONS, PRESENTATIONS AND PORTFOLIOS
1. United Europe (common culture of the print)
2. Crossing Borders and International Exchange
3. Poznan-Berlin: East Meets West and West Meets East
4. Production/Reproduction (print/poster)
5. Audience Contact and Interaction
6. Culture/Exchange
7. Transportation/Movement/Migration
8. Printmaking as Enlightenment Aesthetics: What is Left of this Tradition?
9. Students/Education (the future of printmaking)
10. Curatorial Practice (presentation, collection and representation)
11. The Future of the International Print Competition
