Conversations and Salon: Art Basel’s 2015 program of talks in Miami Beach

Art Basel’s Conversations and Salon series in Miami Beach will once again bring together prominent members from across the international art world, including leading artists, gallerists, art historians, curators, museum directors, critics, and collectors to discuss a diverse range of topics. The 23 talks will feature an international line up of panelists, including curators and museum directors Iliana Cepero Amador, Stéphane Aquin, Nicholas Baume, David Gryn, Jens Hoffmann, Omar Kholeif, Hans Ulrich Obrist, Sir Norman Rosenthal, Beatrix Ruf and Philippe Vergne, as well as artists Sanford Biggers, Michael Craig-Martin, Rosalyn Drexler, Nicole Eisenman, Pedro Friedeberg, Carlos Garaicoa, Beatriz González, Shilpa Gupta, Jenny Holzer, Alex Israel, Paulo Nazareth, Tony Oursler, Trevor Paglen, Ishmael Randall-Weeks, Stephen Shore, Shahzia Sikander, Valeska Soares, Hank Willis Thomas and Samson Young.

Art Basel in Miami Beach’s Conversations series will open on Thursday morning with the Premiere Artist Talk, featuring artists Trevor Paglen and Jenny Holzer. Paglen, who is known for layered explorations of contemporary themes of surveillance and covert governmental or corporate activity, and Holzer, who utilizes the rhetoric of modern information systems to address the politics of discourse, will consider questions of perception, language, and control.

On Friday, for the latest installment of his ongoing series on the diversity of artistic practice, Hans Ulrich Obrist, Co-director, Serpentine Gallery, London, will lead a panel considering ‘The Artist as Slow Traveler’. The talk will consider several artists whose practices relate to travel and mobility, including Shilpa Gupta, Paulo Nazareth, Stephen Shore, Shahzia Sikander, and Samson Young.

Conversations will continue on Saturday with a panel from Art Basel’s Public/Private series, entitled ‘Should Art Schools Prepare Artists for the Art World?’ Moderated by author and cultural consultant András Szántó, the discussion will consider the role of an art school education in today's highly professionalized art world, by bringing together Sanford Biggers, Artist and Associate Professor of Visual Arts, Columbia University, New York; Nicolas Bourriaud, Curator and Art Critic, Paris; Howard Singerman, Phyllis and Joseph Caroff Chair of Art and Art History, Hunter College, City University of New York, and Rosanne Somerson, President, Rhode Island School of Design, Providence.

The series closes on Sunday with a conversation between artist Nicole Eisenman, winner of a 2015 MacArthur ‘Genius Grant', and her gallerist Susanne Vielmetter, Owner and Director of Susanne Vielmetter Los Angeles Projects, on the special relationship between the artist and her gallerist.

Highlights of the afternoon Salon program, an open platform for short presentations, will include ‘New Role for Art in Cuba’, featuring Stéphane Aquin, Chief Curator, Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington and the artist Carlos Garaicoa, moderated by Iliana Cepero Amador, Art Historian, Curator and Adjunct Professor, The New School and New York University. Continuing the discourse about art scenes in South America, the Mexican artist Pedro Friedeberg will be in conversation with the Colombian artist Beatriz González.

On Friday, artist Rosalyn Drexler will take part in a dialogue with Katy Siegel, Thaw Professor, Stony Brook University, New York.

On Saturday, Salon continues with a discussion on sound works featuring the artists Mariele Neudecker, Camille Norment, Sophie Alsbo, and Alice Jacobs, and led by David Gryn, Curator of Art Basel's Film sector and Founder of Daata Editions and Artprojx, London. Moderated by Andrew Goldstein, Chief Digital Content Officer, Phaidon/Artspace, New York, the Chairman of Richard L. Feigen & Co., Richard L. Feigen, and the Owner of JTT, New York, Jasmin T. Tsou, will consider ‘The New Old Masters’.

Also of note will be ‘Transgender goes Mainstream’ with David J. Getsy, Goldabelle McComb Finn Distinguished Professor of Art History, Interim Dean of Graduate Studies, The School of the Art Institute of Chicago; the artist Gordon Hall; and Kimberly Drew, Founder, Black Contemporary Art, New York, moderated by William J. Simmons, Ph.D. Student, Art History and Women's Studies, CUNY Graduate Center, New York.

Omar Kholeif, Manilow Senior Curator, Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago; Maryam Eisler, Co-chair, Middle East Acquisitions Committee, Tate, London; Yasser Akkaoui, Editor-in-chief, Executive Magazine, Beirut; and writer and Art Critic Arie Amaya-Akkermans, will discuss ‘Collecting as a Political Act’. Sarah Douglas, Editor-In-Chief, ARTnews Magazine, will moderate ‘The Ethics of Art Advising’ with Wendy Cromwell, Independent Art Advisor, Founder Cromwell Art LLC, New York; Jo Backer Laird, Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler, New York; Jill Kraus, Art Collector, New York and Mary Sabbatino, Vice President and Partner, Galerie Lelong, New York.

As part of the Salon talks Nicholas Baume, Curator of Art Basel's Public sector and Director and Chief Curator of Public Art Fund, New York, will speak with artists Ishmael Randall-Weeks, Hank Willis Thomas and Xavier Cha. Philippe Vergne, Director, The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles; Daniel McClean, Head of Art and Cultural Property Law, Howard Kennedy LLP, London; and artist Matt Johnson consider the phenomenon of artists donations in a panel moderated by Roland J. Augustine, Partner, Luhring Augustine Gallery, New York. Artist Tony Oursler, Beatrix Ruf, Director, Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam and Tom Eccles, Executive Director, Center for Curatorial Studies, Bard College, New York to discuss the contemporary role of the archive. The evolution of Los Angeles’ art scene will be at the heart of a conversation between artist Alex Israel and the author Bret Easton Ellis, moderated by Hans Ulrich Obrist.

The Salon program will then end on Sunday with ‘What-Profit: Hybrid Art Spaces’, featuring Stefan Benchoam, Artist and exhibition maker, Co-Founder and co-director of NuMu and Proyectos Ultravioleta, Guatemala City; Gabriela Saenz, General Director, TEOR/ética, San José, Costa Rica; Prem Krishnamurthy, Designer and Curator, Founder of Project Projects and P!, New York; and Chris Sharp, Writer, independent curator, and Co-Founder of Lulu, Mexico City, moderated by Mari Spirito, Founding Director of Protocinema, Istanbul/New York.

DETAILED CONVERSATIONS PROGRAM

The morning Conversations series offers dynamic dialogs between prominent members of the international art world, each offering their unique perspective on producing, collecting and exhibiting art.

Conversations is held daily from Thursday, December 3 to Sunday, December 6 in Hall C auditorium of the Miami Beach Convention Center. Panel discussions take place between 10am and 11am, followed by a 30-minute Q&A session. It is open to the public and free of charge. Entrance through Lobby C.

High-quality videos of all Conversations will be available shortly after the show at artbasel.com/miamibeach/conversations

Thursday, December 3, 2015 | Premiere | Artist Talk | Trevor Paglen and Jenny Holzer

The 2015 Conversations series at Miami Beach opens with a conversation between the artists Trevor Paglen and Jenny Holzer, moderated by Kate Crawford, Professor, Author and Founding Member of Deep Lab, New York

Friday, December 4, 2015 | Artistic Practice | The Artist as Slow Traveler

Samson Young, Artist, Hong Kong; Stephen Shore, Artist, New York; Paulo Nazareth, Artist, Belo Horizonte, Brazil; Shahzia Sikander, Artist, New York and Lahore, Pakistan; Shilpa Gupta, Artist, Mumbai Moderator: Hans Ulrich Obrist, Co-director, Serpentine Gallery, London

Conceived by Hans Ulrich Obrist, this series is an ongoing overview of the diversity of artistic practices. This new installment brings together several artists from a range of generations and medias, whose work deals with travel and mobility.

Saturday, December 5, 2015 | Public/Private | Should Art Schools Prepare Artists for the Art World?

Nicolas Bourriaud, Independent Curator and Art Critic, Paris; Howard Singerman, Phyllis and Joseph Caroff Chair of Art and Art History, Hunter College, City University of New York, New York; Rosanne Somerson, President, Rhode Island School of Design, Providence, RI, USA; Sanford Biggers, Artist and Associate Professor of Visual Arts, Columbia University, New York

Moderator: András Szántó, Author and Cultural Consultant, New York

In today's highly professionalized art world, an art school education is almost indispensable for an artist seeking to launch a significant career. Yet the role and impact of art schools have been widely debated. As artists are confronted by an enormous, international system of institutions and art commerce, questions remain: Do art schools adequately prepare artists for functioning in the art world? Should they?

Sunday, December 6, 2015 | Artist Talk | The Artist and the Gallerist

Nicole Eisenman, Artist, New York, in conversation with Susanne Vielmetter, Owner and Director, Susanne Vielmetter Los Angeles Projects, Los Angeles

This panel offers a frank and informal conversation about the unique and fundamental relationship between artists and their galleries. New York based artist and this year's MacArthur Genius Award holder, Nicole Eisenman, and gallerist Susanne Vielmetter, discuss how they work together – in the past and in the present – and their plans for the future.

DETAILED SALON PROGRAM

The afternoon Salon program is an open platform for short presentations – often informal – such as artist talks, panels, lectures and performances with a range of speakers including artists, curators, academics, collectors, architects, art lawyers, critics and other cultural players.

Salon is held daily from Thursday, December 3 to Sunday, December 6 from 1 pm onwards (Thursday from 3 pm) in the Hall C auditorium of the Miami Beach Convention Center, access with Art Basel VIP card or show ticket.

High-quality videos of all Salon talks will be available shortly after the show at artbasel.com/miamibeach/salon

Thursday, December 3, 2015

3pm to 4pm | Artist Talk | Bogotá Milagros

Pedro Friedeberg, Artist, Mexico; Beatriz González, Artist, Bogotá Moderator: Hans Ulrich Obrist, Co-director, Serpentine Gallery, London

4pm to 5pm | Discussion | Artists Donations: The New Deal

Philippe Vergne, Director, The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles; Daniel McClean, Head of Art and Cultural Property Law, Howard Kennedy LLP, London; Matt Johnson, Artist, Los Angeles

Moderator: Roland J. Augustine, Partner, Luhring Augustine Gallery, New York

5pm to 6pm | Discussion | Life in the Archive

Tony Oursler, Artist, New York; Beatrix Ruf, Director, Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam, Amsterdam

Moderator: Tom Eccles, Executive Director, Center for Curatorial Studies, Bard College, New York

6pm to 7pm | New Role for Art in Cuba

Stéphane Aquin, Chief Curator, Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington; Carlos Garaicoa, Artist, Havana, Cuba

Moderator: Iliana Cepero Amador, Art Historian, Curator and Adjunct Professor, The New School and New York University, New York

7pm to 8pm | Artist Talk | Valeska Soares

Valeska Soares, Artist, New York, in conversation with Jens Hoffmann, Deputy Director, Exhibitions and Programs, Jewish Museum, New York

Friday, December 4, 2015

1pm to 2pm | Art Market Talk | Flip or Flop? What do I do now?

Josh Baer, Advisor and Publisher, Baer Faxt, New York in conversation with Kenny Schachter, Art Dealer, Curator, Writer, London

2pm to 3pm | Artist Talk | Rosalyn Drexler

Rosalyn Drexler, Artist, Newark, in conversation with Katy Siegel, Thaw Professor, Stony Brook University, New York

3pm to 4pm | The Ethics of Art Advising

Wendy Cromwell, Independent Art Advisor, Founder Cromwell Art LLC, New York ; Jo Backer Laird, Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler, New York; Jill Kraus, Art Collector, New York; Mary Sabbatino, Vice President and Partner, Galerie Lelong, New York Moderator: Sarah Douglas, Editor-in-Chief, ARTnews Magazine, New York

4pm to 5pm | Discussion | Public Art: ‘Metaforms’

Ishmael Randall-Weeks, Artist, Lima; Hank Willis Thomas, Artist, New York; Xavier Cha, Artist, New York

Moderator: Nicholas Baume, Curator of Art Basel's Public sector and Director and Chief Curator of Public Art Fund, New York

5pm to 6pm | Art Market Talk | In Times of Volatility

Steven Tananbaum, Investor, Collector, Westchester/ Palm Beach; Wilbur L. Ross Jr., Collector, Palm Beach; Jeffrey Deitch, Art Advisor and Independent Curator, New York Moderator: Marion K. Maneker, Publisher, Art Market Monitor, New York

6pm to 7pm | LA Then and Now

Alex Israel, Artist, Los Angeles; Bret Easton Ellis, Author, Los Angeles Moderator: Hans Ulrich Obrist, Co-director, Serpentine Gallery, London

Saturday, December 5, 2015

1pm to 2pm | Collector Talk | Erling Kagge

Erling Kagge, Art Collector, Explorer, Lawyer, Author and Publisher, Oslo in conversation with Marion K. Maneker, Publisher, Art Market Monitor, New York

2pm to 3pm | The Artists Surround Sound Project

Mariele Neudecker, Artist, Bristol; Camille Norment, Artist, Oslo; Sophie Alsbo, Artist, London; Alice Jacobs, Artist, London

Moderator: David Gryn, Curator of Art Basel's Film sector and Founder of Daata Editions and Artprojx, London

3pm to 4pm | The New Old Masters

Richard L. Feigen, Chairman, Richard L. Feigen & Co., New York; Jasmin T. Tsou, Owner, JTT, New York; Gregor Muir, Executive Director, Institute of Contemporary Arts, London

Moderator: Andrew Goldstein, Chief Digital Content Officer, Phaidon/Artspace, New York

4pm to 5pm | Collecting as a Political Act

Omar Kholeif, Manilow Senior Curator, Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, Chicago; Maryam Eisler, Co-chair, Middle East Acquisitions Committee, Tate, London; Yasser Akkaoui, Editor-in-chief, Executive Magazine, Beirut

Moderator: Ari Akkermans, Writer and Art Critic, Beirut

5pm to 6pm | Artist Talk | Michael Craig-Martin

Michael Craig-Martin, Artist, London in conversation with Sir Norman Rosenthal, Independent Curator, Art Historian, London

6pm to 7pm | Transgender in the Mainstream

David J. Getsy, Goldabelle McComb Finn Distinguished Professor of Art History, Interim Dean of Graduate Studies, The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago; Gordon Hall, Artist, New York; Kimberly Drew, Founder, Black Contemporary Art, New York; Juliana Huxtable, Artist, Poet and DJ, New York