UN to host conference on networking more effectively in the art world

The University of Northampton is hosting a conference to enable practising artists and industry professionals to network and collaborate more effectively against the backdrop of uncertainty and change for the cultural sector.

The aim of the conference is to explore how arts organisations can develop new approaches to supporting the production of art by emergent artists and to find new audiences for art. It will also look at what positive strategies artists and arts organisations can employ for sustaining their activities under the economic pressures of cuts in arts funding, as well as touching on how they can work together to build new networks and alliances to ensure the continued production and presentation of contemporary art.

The conference brings delegates from art institutions from the region to hear guest speakers: Gino Attwood from Two Queens, Leicester; Lucy Byatt from Hospitalfield, Arbroath; Kwong Lee from Castlefields Gallery, Manchester; Jo Masding from The Lombard Method, Birmingham; Mark Robinson from Thinking Practice; James Steventon from Fermynwoods Contemporary Art and Gavin Wade from Eastside Projects in Birmingham.

Andrew Hewitt, Senior Lecturer at the University of Northampton commented: “The cultural sector is under pressure as public funding cuts reduce established means of financial support for the arts. This event brings together leading figures from arts institutions with a student audience to debate what are the key issues for art production in a period of precarity. What new forms of art institution and collaborative networks will now emerge to sustain critical cultural production.”

Tickets are £10, which includes lunch, but are free to students. Booking is essential via Eventbrite or email andrew.hewitt@northampton.ac.uk