Rethinking Experiences
From Ellis Island to Leros Island View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Nitous Anthousi
This paper outlines ongoing research on different types of space appropriation and its artistic expression within socially confined spaces. It explores constructing heterotopias in spaces of social confinement, examining the intersection of utopia, heterotopia, and surveillance. Focusing on closed areas like asylums and prisons, the study observes how individuals create unique environments despite limited belongings. It adopts perspectives of lived, carceral, and surveillance spaces, with a comparative analysis between Ellis Island, New York and Leros Island, Greece. The research investigates how detainees utilize art as a coping mechanism within confinement, hypothesizing that art enables them to transcend their limitations.
Experience Methodologies: Poetics of Hospitality View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Veronica Metello
Starting from the concept and practice of hospitality as a condition for the creative formulation of the new – both in thought, as in art and in life –, our research uses the work of American artist Allan Kaprow as a reference. Showing how he worked on the phenomena of everyday and common life, operating on what we call “methodologies of experience”, we will analyze how a practical methodology that opens up the possibility of new modalities of aesthetic experience, is anchored in a poetic inhabitation of the world which has hospitality as a condition – as the welcoming the “other, or “another” without reference to a self but to the openness that is required to receive, meaning creating space for the other, and for what becomes, together. Repeating, isolating, and reframing, producing conscious attention, and establishing an analytical distance over modes and habits, Kaprow´s methodologies of experience operate the counter-effectuation of states of things, creating a new plane of lived immanence – a poetic outline of life – where possibilities of composing and recomposing the world are conjured. Our theoretical itinerary, crossing philosophy, performance studies and art history will cross the core for and art of experience that is a sensitive empiricism offering alternative ways of doing life as art, in face of the hyper-aestheticized formulations and modalities of our present, guided by in the experience economy and its related dis-experience.
Featured Pablo Helguera’s Concept of “Transpedagogy”: An Intersection of Participatory Art and Education View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Eunji J. Lee
This qualitative study explores the concept of "transpedagogy" in art education, a concept proposed by Pablo Helguera, a globally recognized socially engaged artist and educator. Transpedagogy explores the convergence of socially engaged art—a significant genre within contemporary art—and educational practice, emphasizing the pedagogical dimensions of artistic engagement. The study examines the "educational turn" in contemporary art that forms the foundation of transpedagogy, identifies its key characteristics from an educational perspective, and evaluates its significance for art education. Employing qualitative research methods, the study incorporates correspondence and interviews with Helguera, participant observation of his works, and analysis of his writings and published interviews. The findings reveal that Helguera’s concept of transpedagogy is deeply rooted in informal educational practices, such as museum education centered on audience experience, institutional critique, and principles of critical pedagogy. Transpedagogy addresses the limitations of traditional education by fostering critical thinking, self-directed learning, imagination, and diverse perceptual experiences among participants. By situating transpedagogy within the broader discourse of socially engaged art education, this research highlights its potential to expand the horizons of both art and education. It underscores the transformative possibilities of integrating participatory artistic practices with educational methodologies.
Curating Performance Space for Performance of Cultural Trauma and Memory: Navigating the Role of Performing Arts Administrators as Curators and Witnesses View Digital Media
Creative Practice Showcase Seungwon Lee
This research explores the role of performing arts administrators in utilizing creative placemaking strategies and a trauma-informed approach to curate performance spaces for the performance of cultural trauma and memory. The study aims to examine the current paradigms of performing arts curating and creative placemaking and address their intersectionality with the frameworks on the performance of cultural trauma and memory. Through in-depth textual analysis, interviews with experts, and two case studies, the research suggests that the current understanding of curation in relation to performing arts administration lacks guiding principles in effectively establishing a safe performance space for incorporating the performance of cultural trauma. Findings in this study outline that the trauma-informed approach offers a promising guideline to inform the administrators of the necessary components, like care for the artists and the administrators themselves as the witnesses and curators. The research examines how live performance curation and trauma-informed placemaking have been implemented specifically with the 9/11 Memorial and Museum and the “Comfort Women” Memorial in San Francisco. With this analysis, this research recommends an Updated Guiding Principles of Trauma-Informed Approach for Performing Arts Administrators, introducing practical implications for arts administrators to incorporate in their season planning and space curation when presenting works related to cultural trauma and corresponding collective memory engagement.
Balancing Preservation and Participation: Rethinking National Museums in Japan and Korea View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Yanqing Xu
National museums in East Asia are increasingly expected to go beyond cultural preservation by actively promoting public participation and social engagement. This study examines how the Tokyo National Museum (TNM) and the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art (MMCA) in South Korea have responded to these challenges by redefining their institutional roles. It analyzes and compares the strategies of both institutions in terms of public engagement and inclusivity, aiming to understand how state-owned museums are evolving in response to contemporary societal demands. The study contributes to current debates on the role of museums as social institutions, offering insights into how cultural policy can better support their expanding social responsibilities. A qualitative comparative methodology was employed, with data collected through institutional document analysis, exhibition reviews, fieldwork, and the evaluation of digital platforms. The findings suggest that TNM continues to hold a strong position in terms of heritage preservation and academic authority, but faces challenges to digital innovation and connecting with younger generations. In contrast, MMCA has actively embraced participatory programming and socially engaged themes to strengthen its relevance and accessibility. This study concludes that national museums must increasingly balance their heritage conservation mission with their responsibility to foster meaningful community engagement and public dialogue.
