In 2013 and 2014 a Social Context conference programme takes place in cooperation between Copenhagen Initiative and Art Workshop Lazareti. Two open conferences are held in Copenhagen and Dubrovnik, with support from the Danish Arts Council and the Ministry of Culture Croatia.
Through an open conference programme Social Context explores how artists and critical thinkers in different parts of Europe through their professional practice seek social change.
Two conferences, one in Copenhagen in September 2013 and one in Dubrovnik in May 2014 provide the setting for presenting and discussing distinct initiatives and approaches for meeting the social challenges of a specific setting.
The programme aims to explore a common European context as well as locally defined contexts. Two central questions serve to frame a discussion on contextuality and active participation in present day Europe:
1) How do we deal with ‘active participation’ within a specific context today?
2) How do we transfer questions about social change from one context to another in Europe?
The speakers at the conferences are individuals and groups in the fields of art, social & cultural theory, philosophy and architecture whom, with their activities, challenge the ways we today understand active social participation.
Operating primarily in Croatia and Denmark, they present examples of their projects - including organisational initiatives, art works, performances and curatorial projects - next to contextual frameworks and reflections, illuminating the geographic, socio-political and societal contexts of their activities. Supplementing the concrete cases philosophical scholars frame the questions of social change and active participation with cultural theoretical perspectives on contemporary phenomena and society.
The conferences are directed at students and professionals within the disciplines of contemporary art and humanities - and is open to all with an interest in the subjects of the programme.
Videos and recordings from the conferences are published at this site continuously. Find more information about the participants and their projects at the top menu and watch their presentations at the SC Channel.