Public talk
Infrastructure Aesthetics

Cecilie Ullerup Schmidt and Line Ellegaard in conversation with Sarah Lookofsky

This event is presented in collaboration between Atelier Kunstnerforbundet and UKS.

In recent years, an increase in artworks negotiating the conditions of their own production, distribution and reception has called attention to the infrastructural relations that shape the art world. The newly published Infrastructure Aesthetics (De Gruyter, 2024) offers inroads to this field across arts and cultural studies. Based on her work with the anthology, Cecilie Ullerup Schmidt will introduce the concept of infrastructure aesthetics – an approach informed by science and technology studies, media studies, critical anthropology, decolonial theory, and Black feminism – which makes the case for upscaling the backgrounds of artworks in order to foreground the collective co-creation of art. Line Ellegaard will present her research on the 1975 collective feminist project ‘Kvindelige Kunstnere – Før og Nu’ (Women Artists – Past and Present) – with a focus on revealing how infrastructures of access, selection, and (in)attention are shaped by gendered notions and biased criticism.

After the two 20-minute presentations, the audience is invited to take part in a 45-minute conversation, moderated by Sarah Lookofsky.

The anthology Infrastructure Aesthetics is published through the research centre Art as Forum – an interdisciplinary and internationally oriented research centre dedicated to research into the relationships between art, communality and social communities at large. The anthology is available online for free.

ABOUT THE PARTICIPANTS

Cecilie Ullerup Schmidt (she/her) is Associate Professor in Modern Cultural Studies and Performance Studies, and Deputy Director of the research centre Art as Forum at the Department of Arts and Cultural Studies, University of Copenhagen (Denmark). Her work examines how social, temporal, and economic conditions both politicise artistic work and shape forms of living. From a feminist perspective she analyses production conditions for artists, precariousness, and self-organisation in artist collectives. She has most recently focused on diversity policies in the infrastructures of the arts: in cultural policy, in private foundations, in art education and at the university itself. Together with Solveig Daugaard and Frederik Tygstrup – colleagues from the Art as Forum research centre – Cecilie Ullerup Schmidt is editor of the anthology Infrastructure Aesthetics.

Line Ellegaard (she/her) is a postdoctoral researcher at the New Carlsberg Foundation research center Art as Forum, University of Copenhagen (Denmark), whose work focuses on exhibition histories and institutional reimagining, with an emphasis on feminist and collective practices. Her PhD thesis ‘Organising, Exhibiting and Curating (in) Solidarity’ (2023) examined historical intersections of artistic organisation, exhibition production and political solidarity practices. Ellegaard has previously worked as a curator and organiser, and was formerly Associate Editor on the ‘Exhibition Histories’ programme of research, events and publications at Afterall Research Centre, Central Saint Martins, University of the Arts London (United Kingdom).

Sarah Lookofsky (she/her) was born and raised in Denmark but spent nearly 20 years in the United States before moving to Norway in 2020, where she served as Dean at the Oslo National Academy of the Arts (KhiO) and is now Director of Kunstnernes Hus (both in Oslo, Norway). In New York (United States), she headed the Curatorial Studies programme of the Whitney Museum of American Art Independent Study Program (ISP), and later worked as Associate Director of the International Program of The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA).

ACCESS

Language: The talk will be spoken in English.

Streaming: The talk will be streamed live with subtitles (CART) on YouTube. Please note that in accordance with the speakers’ wishes, the recording will not be available online after the live streaming.

Please see the UKS access note for detailed information.

ABOUT THE COLLABORATION BETWEEN ATELIER KUNSTNERFORBUNDET AND UKS

Atelier Kunstnerforbundet and UKS – Young Artists’ Society have come together based on previous work and in a shared interest in infrastructural theories and practices.

The collaboration is led by Martina Petrelli (Curator, Atelier Kunstnerforbundet) and Miriam Wistreich (Director, UKS – Young Artists’ Society), with support from the teams at Kunstnerforbundet and at UKS. Thanks to Frida Rusnak for supporting the work to increase accessibility for this event.

The event is made possible through the support of Nordisk Kulturfond and Atelier Kunstnerforbundet.

 

Image: Hellen Lassen, Hanne Lise Thomsen, and Else Kallesøe, “Kvindelige Kunstnere – for og nu”, 1975, Installation view. Photo © Sonja Iskov.