AICA-USA is pleased to present Art Criticism Between and Around the Coasts, a panel discussion featuring AICA-USA members from around the country. Organized as part of the College Art Association Annual Conference, the discussion will take place Saturday, February 15, 2020 from 2:00 PM - 3:30 PM at the Hilton Chicago, Salon C-3.
The democratization of culture, facilitated by broader access to the internet in rural areas and the proliferation of digital networking and social platforms, has greatly shifted the visual arts landscape. While regional styles of art making remain important, increased connectivity has produced the effect of flattened or more generic aesthetics, creating a more formulaic approach to criticism in some cases. An artist may not live in New York City—the center of the art world and market in the U.S.—but still feel compelled to create work that appeals to those sensibilities to receive critical reception and career opportunities.
This panel intends to call attention to the ways that critics can expand perceptions of contemporary art through coverage of artists whose artwork and practice function or resonate differently outside of New York, which for many artists and critics alike is synonymous with the market context. For example, there is a flourishing contemporary Native Art scene in the Northwest that explodes canonical aesthetics and media and addresses common issues that we all share, such as climate change, in new ways.
Topics also can include the ways geography, culture, and politics in various contexts influence an artwork’s reception and interpretation and how those factors may benefit an artist participating in the market context or be a detriment.
AICA supports art writers around the world through public programs and membership that includes free access to museums across the globe. Since its formation in 1950, AICA has been committed to elevating the values of art criticism as a discipline, and acting on behalf of the physical and moral defense of works of art.
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AICA supports arts writers around the world through public programs and membership that offers free access to museums across the globe. AICA-USA represents the largest national section of AICA International with over 450 distinguished critics, curators, scholars, and art historians working throughout the United States. As part of the international organization, we benefit from a global reach in presence. AICA-USA is intent on international communication, elevating the values of art criticism as a discipline, and acting on behalf of the physical and moral defense of works of art.
AICA's membership card is recognized for entrance to museums around the world. Members are invited to attend the annual AICA International Congress, hosted each year by a different member nation, and the AICA-USA annual meeting.
Every fall, in cooperation with the New School's Vera List Center for Art and Politics, AICA-USA presents a Distinguished Critic Lecture.
Organized in collaboration with CUE Art Foundation, this program matches emerging critics with experienced AICA-USA members who guide them through the process of writing a catalogue essay.
A partnership between The Andy Warhol Foundation Arts Writers Grant and AICA-USA that gives art writers the opportunity to strengthen their work through one-on-one consultations with leading art critics.