PUBLIC LECTURE:
CLAIRE DOHERTY
LITMUS INTERNATIONAL CURATORIAL FELLOW
From Studio to Situation:
How Contemporary Art Grew Out of Place
Thursday 7 December 2006, 7pm
The Physics Room
Free
The Physics Room, in association with the Litmus Research Initiative and the Massey University Foundation, is proud to
host a public lecture by the internationally renowned contemporary art curator, writer and researcher Claire Doherty on
Thursday 7 December 2006, 7pm.
Currently Senior Research Fellow in Fine Art at Bristol University, and an independent curator and writer, Claire
Doherty is recognised as a specialist in contextual and process based art practice. Developing research into contextual
practice through the research and commissioning programme Situations (www.situations.org.uk), Doherty lectures widely on
curatorial issues and has published in a diverse range of art magazines and exhibition catalogues, as well as editing
over twenty publications – including the influential: Contemporary Art: From Studio to Situation.
During her public lectures, Doherty will examine the challenges of contemporary relational works for audiences, curators
and artists. She will introduce and compare some of the most significant international projects of the past five years,
exploring and interrogating how the site-specific became place-responsive. She will ask for whom such projects are
produced, whether there should be a code of ethics for such projects and does it matter what is left behind?
Litmus has invited Doherty as the School of Fine Arts inaugural Curatorial Fellow in recognition of the significant
benefits her knowledge and expertise will bring to a New Zealand context, this includes longstanding and established
connections with artists and arts professionals worldwide.
The first phase of this two-part project is research focused, with Doherty holding a series of open dialogue forums with
the arts community in Christchurch, Wellington, Auckland, New Plymouth and Dunedin, as well presenting a number of
public lectures nationwide. This will be a significant opportunity for both the public and arts specialists to
familiarise themselves with Doherty’s vision and contribute to a major programme of events that will be developed for
execution in 2008.
We hope that you will be able to join us at The Physics Room to welcome Claire to Christchurch and take part in the more
informal discussions which will follow her presentation and analysis of fine art approaches and projects that exist
beyond art gallery walls.
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