Event

The Department of the Creative and Festival Arts (DCFA), Faculty of Humanities and Education, The University of the West Indies (UWI), St. Augustine will be hosting a special one day symposium, entitled Art, Design and Architecture in our Space: New Perspectives on Art and Design Practice in the Caribbean, to be held at the Institute of Critical Thinking, UWI, St. Augustine, on October 6^th, 2010.

This event has evolved from the 2009 UWI Sculptural Project, which was spearheaded by artist Dean Arlen and proposed the installation of seven sculptures designed by several young Trinidadian artists.  One of the seven sculptures was installed on the St. Augustine campus and has subsequently opened the discussion around public art and design in Trinidad & Tobago.

The 2010 symposium aims to initiate a dialogue on issues that affect the practice of art, design and architecture in Trinidad & Tobago and the wider Caribbean. The DCFA and Mr. Arlen have collaborated to develop a series of themes for four panel discussions during the symposium on:

Art in Our Space

• What is Public Art in our context?
• Has this work been successful?
• ART, DESIGN and ACTIVISM in Our Space. Relocating ourselves as artists in the community.
• Curating the Caribbean: New paradigms for Caribbean Museums and Galleries.
• Are our artists out of touch with public art and design in our communities?
• Is our public art an expression of the public, the artist or the corporate sponsor?

Design in Our Space

• Does Carnival art/design have a philosophy or practice in the visual arts?
• Kitsch, Tradition, Heritage, Innovation or Design. How do we develop and position design output in the Caribbean?
• Can design play a role in social entrepreneurship in the Caribbean?
• What is the impact of Carnival on art, design and architecture in the Caribbean/Trinidad & Tobago?      

Architecture, Landscape and Urbanism in Our Space

• Our Architecture and the Emergence of an Aesthetic.
• Can our cities become a 'living' carnival spaces? 
• POS - the carnival city without a space?
• What is the role of the state in creating an enabling environment for a civilizing and sustainable built environment?
• What are the possibilities for greater collaboration between artists, architects and planners in re-configuring the Trinidad and Tobago/ Caribbean landscape?

Art, Design & Architecture and the wider Community

• What is the role of the private sector in facilitating a new aesthetic of art and architecture in Our Space?
• How can the Artist begin a public conversation with our communities and clients about an indigenous or native aesthetic?
• What is the Artists’ role in the Re-Configuring the landscape and the development of a native aesthetic? 
• What is the Client’s role in informing the Product or Production in our context?
• How do economics affect how we develop our art and design?

The abstracts will be available at the event and the symposium papers will be compiled into a publication that will be made available to the public after the event. 

This symposium is open to all.

Deadlines

• Abstracts – June 4, 2010
• Notification of acceptance – July 4, 2010

If you require any further information please contact Keith Cadette at keith.cadette@sta.uwi.edu or Lesley-Ann Noel at lesley-ann.noel@sta.uwi.edu or contact the DCFA office at 663-2141 or 662-2002 ext 3622, and please indicate your interest in participating as soon as possible to the above address.