The artist as expert

The artist as expert: a critical analysis of the project economy
 
How to understand the increasing number of art institutions, residency programs, training programs, and calls for projects? Why is contemporary art becoming ubiquitous today in institutions as much as in the public space/sector, in urban contexts as well as in the countryside? Why is it so often seen as a “solution” for political, social, territorial or economic issues by other fields? One of the answers lies in a phenomenon known as project management, which developed since the 1990s onwards, in the cultural field, in parallel with the creative economy. But, as this research seeks to demonstrate, the progressive absorption of the logic of management by the art world brought major changes (regarding, in particular, the “functions” art and artists might fulfil in contemporary society), which prove problematic in many regards. This is the main issue this research seeks to answer through focusing on projects being realized in the public space/sector.
 
PhD supervisors: Jeroen Boomgaard (GRA, UvA), Christa Maria Lerm-Hayes (UvA)