Samsung collaborates with the British Council to host ‘Mapping the Post Pandemic (Art) World’ Forum at Samsung KX

● Live forum on 7th October 2022 will see inspirational names from across the art world come together at Samsung KX in London’s King’s Cross

● The panels will discuss leading trends and topics, from how the art world has stepped up post-pandemic as an antidote to seismic collapse to the journey of non-fungible tokens (NFTs), to women making waves, redefining the purpose and beyond

● Sign up to the live stream here, which starts at 10:30am BST

Oswaldo Maciá – 90 Human, Wind, Smell, Migration, 2021 – Fresco and Sgraffito

LONDON, UK – 29 September 2022 – Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. has collaborated with the British Council – the UK’s international organisation for cultural relations and educational opportunities – on an upcoming interdisciplinary forum entitled, ‘Mapping the Post Pandemic (Art) World’, at Samsung KX in London’s King’s Cross between 10am – 4pm BST on 7^th October 2022. The forum is by invitation only, however will be available to watch via a live stream from 10:30am BST.

Curated by Johanna Zuleta, a cross pollinator global strategic adviser to the European Parliament and leading UK cultural institutions – such as the Tate Modern, the Barbican Centre and the British Council. The forum will showcase four panel discussions with leading artists, curators, creative organisations and policymakers from the art sector, exploring various areas of concern and opportunity to the wider community in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

These include:

Panel I: The Institutional Responsibility (Intro by Skinder Hundal MBE, Global Arts Director British Council)

Time: 11am-12noon BST

Synopsis: This panel will explore the redefined purpose of the arts and cultural institutions in a period of unprecedented upheaval caused by the pandemic. Heads of leading institutions will share how they weathered the disruption and how to rebuild the sector to withstand future crises.

Speakers:

• Dirk Boll, Christie’s
• Alex Farquharson, Tate Britain Director
• Rebecca Salter, Royal Academy of Arts
• Mikolaj Sekutowutz, Therme Art
• Hans Ulrich Obrist, Serpentine Galleries
• Sarah Wilson, Courtauld Institute of Art

Panel II: The artist’s perspectives (Moderated by Rachael Barret, curator, advisor and founder of the cultural exchange project Three Sixty Degrees (TSD) in Jamaica)

Time: 12:10-1pm BST

Synopsis: This panel will examine how the pandemic has altered the creative process of artists and how they are adapting to the ‘new normal’?

Speakers:

• Tania Bruguera, Art Activism
• Alexandre Diop, Art Relief
• Chris Fallows, Wildlife Photographer
• Oswaldo Maciá, Sound and Smell Sculptor
• Ken McMullen, Art Film

Panel III: NFTs Sensemaking (Moderated by Richard Foster Fletcher, Chair of MKAI.org)

Time: 1:50-2:50pm BST

Synopsis: This panel will unpack the journey of NFTs, from history, to hype, to hope.

Speakers:

• George Bak, Blockchain Art
• Brendan Dawes, NFT artist
• Alex Estorick, Editor-in-Chief at Right Click Save
• Freda Isingoma, Founder of KIISA
• Audrey Ou, TRLad
• Ozan Polat, NFT Collector
• Thomas Stauffer, Swiss Art Trading Association

Panel IV: Women Making Waves (Moderated by Oscar Guardiola Rivera)

Time: 3-3:50pm BST

Synopsis: This panel will feature personal stories of women who are redefining processes, from Passion, to Process to the Power of Art & Nature.

Speakers:

• Sheikha Hoor Al-Quasimi, Director of Sharjah Art Foundation
• Shiva Lynn Burgos, The Mariwai Project
• Bice Curiger, Art Historian and Critic
• Touria El Glaoui, Founding Director of 1:54 Contemporary African Art Fair
• Baroness Francesca Thyssen-Bornemisza
• Karla Zerressen, Langen Foundation

Register for the live stream here, showing between 10:30 4pm BST on 7^th October.

Johanna Zuleta, a global strategic advisor to the European Parliament and leading UK cultural institutions – such as the Tate Modern, The Barbican Centre and The British Council – said: “This is beyond an art forum. We are offering bolder leadership that bridges silos, to execute urgent solutions. Strengthening the relationships of the art sector in Britain and globally, through a closer more dynamic dialogue, as well as enabling an inter sectoral understanding on how to build and inspire better wholesome communities. By working on a broader vision together, starting from the humanities, this art forum will catalyse opportunities for activating solutions.”

Skinder Hundal MBE, Global Director of Arts at the British Council, said: “As the global challenges of the world intensify, we are in a heightened loop of uncertainty that continues to threaten the planet, human civilisation, our heritage and the natural environment. There has never been a time in our contemporary life where the art, corporate and policy worlds need to come together to reveal the new unseen questions of our time that will help project and be a catalyst for creative intervention and invention.”

He continued: “Working with Samsung and our speakers and audience participants at this moment is a symbol of where science, arts and technology unify with an illustrious knowledge base of panellists at the top of their game. To create meaningful dialogue and enable collective values for collaboration means for an exciting space to rethink and build cultural relations with culture and creativity centred as the key driver for positive shift, the healing we desperately seek and also determine the new genuine truths of our time.”

Damon Crowhurst, Head of Display at Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. said: “Samsung’s heritage in driving innovation across industries is at the heart of our business. The rapid adoption of digital into the art world has forced institutions, galleries and artists to embrace new ideas and technologies. This event is an opportunity for the renowned leadership across all spheres of the art world to come together, share ideas, concerns and opportunities, as we go forward into the years ahead. Samsung’s innovative display solutions such as NFT ready TVs, and the Samsung Wall digital canvas, are just two examples of how technology supports innovation within the art sector. I am excited that we can share this experience with everyone globally online.”