Special 250th episode: what’s next for the visual arts?
Sep 7, 2023
auto_awesome
Leading figures in the art world, including Max Hollein, discuss hopes and concerns for the visual arts. Topics covered include the significance of museums, restitution of cultural heritage, autonomy in the arts, diverse narratives, and building a society based on love and joy. The importance of diversity, fair pay, and democracy in museums is highlighted. Ethical concerns of collaborating with Saudi Arabia and climate change in the art world are explored. Updates on the art market and the impact of activist art are discussed. The need for transparency and support for artists is emphasized.
Museums play a crucial role in fostering cultural dialogue, understanding, and compassion, but the rise of nationalism poses a threat to their ability to thrive and promote cross-cultural narratives.
Restitution of cultural heritage is not just about returning objects, but creating a new ethical relationship and empowering societies to reconceptualize their heritage, leading to unprecedented artistic and cultural fertilization.
The autonomy of the arts is at risk from censorship and instrumentalization, highlighting the need for arts education, resilience, and a society based on togetherness to harness the capacity of art for positive change.
Deep dives
Max Hollein's hopes and concerns for museums and cultural dialogue
Max Hollein, director of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, expresses hope that museums will continue to be places that bring people together, foster cultural dialogue, and create understanding and compassion. He emphasizes the importance of museums in educating and expanding knowledge, even by presenting challenging ideas. However, Hollein is deeply concerned about the rise of nationalism, which he believes can hinder museums' ability to thrive and promote cultural dialogue. He warns against nationalism's potential to limit cross-cultural narratives and invites misconceptions that distort historical truths.
Benedict Savoy's hopes for the restitution of cultural heritage
Benedict Savoy, co-author of the Saa Savoy Report on the restitution of cultural heritage, emphasizes that restitution goes beyond returning objects and revolves around creating a new ethical relationship between dispossessed powers and those who hold cultural heritage in museums. Savoy believes in the power of restitution to empower societies and reconnect them with their heritage. He stresses the need to trust societies to reconceptualize their heritage and envisions unprecedented artistic and cultural fertilization arising from processes of cultural re-appropriation and reconnection in Africa.
Shanae Javari's concerns for the autonomy of the arts
Shanae Javari, head of visual arts at the Barbican in London, expresses concern about the autonomy of the arts. She highlights the risk of censorship and the instrumentalization of art, threatening its meaning and co-option for other agendas. Javari emphasizes the importance of arts education in nurturing creativity and offering essential skills beyond the classroom. She underscores the need for resilience in the arts, where artists can confront and reflect on difficult scenarios, connect past, present, and future, and challenge dominant narratives while inspiring imagination and reflection. She calls for a society based on togetherness, love, and trust in the capacity of art to contribute to a better world.
Kimberly Pinder's hope for the visual arts as a united force for good
Kimberly Pinder, the Dean of the Yale School of Art, expresses hope for the visual arts to unite and be a force for positive change. She acknowledges the challenges faced by the art world and emphasizes the importance of collaboration and support among institutions, artists, and the broader creative ecosystem. Pinder observes a growing hunger for the visual arts to reflect diverse narratives and believes that through unity, the visual arts can address important social issues and have a meaningful impact on future generations. Pinder also emphasizes the need for the visual arts community to find alternative sources of funding and work together to support the arts in the face of financial challenges.
Main Idea/Key Point 1
The art world is becoming more connected and accessible, allowing artists outside of traditional centers to gain visibility.
Main Idea/Key Point 2
Emerging artists are receiving more support, but living costs and financial challenges remain concerns for artists.
It’s our 250th podcast, and in this special episode we focus on the future. We ask leading figures across the art world to tell us about their hopes and concerns for the visual arts. Among them are Max Hollein, the director of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, Bénédicte Savoy, the co-author of the Saar-Savoy report into the restitution of cultural heritage, Shanay Jhaveri, the head of visual arts at the Barbican, the Berlin-based curator Bonaventure Soh Bejeng Ndikung, Kymberly Pinder, the dean of Yale School of Art, and the artist Tomás Saraceno. Host Ben Luke is then joined by three core members of The Art Newspaper’s team and regular guests in the first 249 episodes of this podcast: editors-at-large Cristina Ruiz and Georgina Adam and our contemporary art correspondent Louisa Buck discuss the present and future of museums and heritage, art and artists and the art market.