I'd just like to express my admiration for all those people marching in Russia and the Middle East. I mean, these regimes who've spent billions on art in the Middle East haven't exactly furthered the cause of democracy by doing that. Art can be an incredibly powerful motivator of all kinds of things, whether it's, you know, actions or whether it's political or whatever. Those ideas do translate way out beyond this one percent elite that is really within the commercial art world. And I think the most powerful thing is the possibility that art has not just to, not to be misunderstood, but actually to be understood out there in the wider world by people of all kinds.
What is the role of contemporary art museums today? Are biennales and art fairs platforms for experiment and exchange, or little more than social attractions for the elite? Have collectors become the new curators? Are private and corporate interests in culture at odds with the public good? And ultimately, who is art for? In this debate recorded in Hong Kong in 2012, award-winning documentary film-maker, author and art critic, Ben Lewis, and Hong Kong-born artist, Paul Chan, spoke for the motion. Former Director of Sydney’s Museum of Contemporary Art, Elizabeth Ann Macgregor, and conceptual art pioneer, Joseph Kosuth, spoke against the motion. Our chair was the writer, art market expert and author, Georgina Adam.
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