Talk by Anna Colin
Curated by BAR project, as part of the practical training programme in visual arts BAR TOOL #2: RATHER THAN  MÁS BIEN QUE  ENLLOC DE
Wednesday 19th June, 7 pm. Floor 0
Free entrance. Limited places

In her presentation, Anna Colin will share her thoughts on the question ‘What makes an alternative space?’ ―the subject of her PhD research ―drawing from past curatorial projects, her experience at Open School East as well as a small range of historical and contemporary international alternative education, art and social spaces and experiments. The alternative space that constitutes the object of her study is a building-based, locally rooted and democratic cultural, educational and social centre in which different forms of learning, sociabilities, publics and uses cohabit. Her study endeavours to answer the following questions, from architectural, educational, sociological and economic perspectives: What spatial form do alternatives assume? What realistic alternative governance, financial and business models are available to such spaces? What does it take to remain alternative as internal and external circumstances change? And how do alternative spaces relate to the broader, society-wide production of political, economic and social alternatives?

Anna Colin is a curator, educator and researcher. She co-founded and co-directs Open School East in Margate (UK), an alternative space for artistic and collaborative learning. Anna also works as associate curator at Lafayette Anticipations – Fondation d’entreprise Galeries Lafayette in Paris, and is a PhD candidate in the School of Geography at the University of Nottingham. Anna was co-curator, with Lydia Yee, of the touring exhibition British Art Show 8 (Leeds, Edinburgh, Norwich and Southampton) in 2015-16. Previously, Anna was associate director of Bétonsalon – Centre for Art and Research, Paris (2011-12), associate curator at La Maison populaire, Montreuil (2012), and curator at Gasworks, London (2007-10).