This moderated group discussion, featuring a panel of guest experts in the arts, will approach the topic of sustainability through the lens of the entire art-ecosystem: a complex network of interrelated individuals and institutions that support creative dialogue and artistic exchange.

Such questions will be addressed by the group: 

What are the critical issues and larger trends facing artists and arts professionals at all ends of the contemporary art spectrum?  What are the mutual benefits of embracing diversity and collaboration, and what new and emerging models - commercial, non-profit, and hybridized - might support this kind of exchange?

Featuring invited guest panelists: William Powhida (Postmasters), Hrag Vartanian (Hyperallergic), Maureen Connor (MFA in Social Practice), Lauren van Haaften Schick (Independent Curator), Dina Pugh (Imprint Projects), and more TBA very special guests.  Organized and moderated by Iris Jaffe.

Let's discuss possibilities for creating greater sustainability within the context of a professional arts practice.

 

Potential Subtopics include:

 

How might big and small businesses work together to create greater sustainability in contemporary art and related practices?

 

What are the alternative-economies and sub-economies (both existing and potential) in art-commerce and e-commerce; and what are the pros and cons of these?

 

How might the internet be leveraged to: 

Distribute content?

Create revenue streams via e-commerce or e-services?

 

How might trust be built within professional networks for such purposes as:

Networking individual geo-centric communities to each other online?

Facilitating peaceful co-existence with "the other"

 

How might reform to art and intellectual property law help protect artist's creative rights in a commercial or publication context?

 

How might labor reform be instituted within art institutions, both commercial and non-profit?

 

How might the market value of contemporary art be stabilized within legal or best practices context?

Guest speakers TBD based on individual availability in accordance with BHQF time slot selection.

Iris Jaffe is an artist, who lives and works in Brooklyn, New York. She holds a BA from Brown University and has worked for the contemporary artist Tom Sachs and Ronald Feldman Fine Arts.