Transitions: Art, Anxiety and Progress in Our Times

In the framework of the exhibition “TRANSITIONS, Perspectives from in-between” we would like to invite you to the panel discussion

?Transitions: Art, Anxiety and Progress in Our Times?

As articulated by Michel Foucault in his ?Heterotopia? and by Marc Augé in his ?Non-places?, we find ourselves in an undefined territory of flux, reinforced by the illusion of endless opportunities, which seem to be the malady of the century. If we go left, we won?t find what?s right, and vice versa, so we end up not moving anywhere, paralyzed by our own indecisiveness, which takes us back to where we came from.

All artworks presented in the exhibition “TRANSITIONS, Perspectives from in-between” touch the themes of melancholy and emptiness reminiscent of the “mal du siècle” from the 19. century, leading to the “fin de siècle” – the transition from one era to another; causing anxiety but also opening the possibility of progress, if we are all willing to engage in an exchange of values, resources and perspectives.

The panel, composed by specialists from different areas – social media, photography and copywriting and political science – will try to contextualize the works presented at the exhibition by bringing their motifs to realms outside art and aesthetics. The panel, thus aims at bringing the questions posed by the artists to a broader audience, inviting art appreciators to reflect on current issues posed by our times, and social scientists to reflect on the role art can play in raising awareness to those questions.

Participants:
Catherine Margaret Hooker (Chief Communications Officer at “Metropole - Vienna in English”)
Georg Eder (Researcher focusing on the macro impact of recent tech developments; former project manager at TBA21)
Kaleb Warnock (Photographer and Copywriter at the International Dialogue Centre - KAICIID)

Moderator: Pedro Henrique de Melo, MAIS