May SymposiumSunday 23 May, 12 noonJan Bryant“… he asks them to keep his ideas secret, to be careful of strangers.” We know that the academy is resistant to experimentation, this is its history, its power, its platform against which oppositions and small revolutions are earnestly levelled. And yet, with funding for universities linked to research outcomes, which must then align to rigid governmental systems of evaluation, it seems that if these systems of pre-defined quality are to be met, the future of criticism from within the academy will become increasingly conformist.  However, is it all about bureaucratic methods of control, or are there other reasons why we struggle today to find robust, critical voices?   Jan Bryant writes on contemporary art and film working particularly with local artists. She is a contributor to Reading Room #4 2010 and to Natural Selection 7: Conversation. Sheis currently Head of Research at AUT School of Art and Design.May Symposium

May Symposium

Sunday 23 May, 12 noon
Jan Bryant
“… he asks them to keep his ideas secret, to be careful of strangers.”

We know that the academy is resistant to experimentation, this is its history, its power, its platform against which oppositions and small revolutions are earnestly levelled. And yet, with funding for universities linked to research outcomes, which must then align to rigid governmental systems of evaluation, it seems that if these systems of pre-defined quality are to be met, the future of criticism from within the academy will become increasingly conformist.  However, is it all about bureaucratic methods of control, or are there other reasons why we struggle today to find robust, critical voices?  

Jan Bryant writes on contemporary art and film working particularly with local artists. She is a contributor to Reading Room #4 2010 and to Natural Selection 7: Conversation. Sheis currently Head of Research at AUT School of Art and Design.

May Symposium

Posted 2 years ago