THE SYMPOSIUM: ART AS A CATALYST FOR CHANGE (Friday, October 15)

  • Partner Programs
    •  October 15, 2021 11:00 am CDT

    Day one of THE SYMPOSIUM: ART AS A CATALYST FOR CHANGE, featuring the programs KEYNOTE: THE CHICAGO EDIT — FLOATING MUSEUM, CONNECTING ART AND THE UN GLOBAL GOALS, SOCIAL AVALANCHES (NORDIC TALK SESSION), and STRUCTURAL RACISM IN THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT (NORDIC TALK SESSION). View full program list below. All of The Symposium’s programs will be live captioned. If there is an issue with live captions, please view here.

    Following the exhibition, related symposiums, and publication at the Malmö Art Museum entitled Sustainable Societies for the Future, this two-part exhibition and program as an extension of the EXPO CHICAGO Curatorial Exchange with Denmark brings together artists, scholars, organizations, and curators committed to perceiving contemporary art as a catalyst for change. The project, which involves artists from the Nordic countries and Chicago context, is presented in alignment with ART 2030—an organization that adopts the lens of the United Nations’ 17 Global Goals to achieve a sustainable world within our next decade. The artworks and concepts approached within both the exhibition and the book engage with issues surrounding biodiversity, racial equity, housing, health and safety, and environmental justice, among other areas of economic, social, and political interest. 

    The Symposium aligns with Sustainable Societies for the Future: The Chicago Edit (October 15–17, 2021), a curated exhibition program throughout the city organized by the Floating Museum with participating artists Christian Falsnaes (DK), Max Guy (US), Minna Henriksson (FI), Hesselholdt & Mejlvang (DK), Ingela Ihrman (SE), Toril Johannessen (NO) & Marjolijn Dijkman (NL), Cheryl Pope (US), Wang & Söderström (SE/DK), Amanda Williams (US), and Michael x. Ryan (US) uses an LED truck as its platform and will move through the city over a period of three days. For locations and schedule, please visit: https://sustainablesocieties.art/

    FRIDAY, OCTOBER 15
    11:00am CST / 6:00pm CET

    KEYNOTE: THE CHICAGO EDIT — FLOATING MUSEUM

    Berit Basse, Stephanie Cristello, Floating Museum (Faheem Majeed and Andrew Schachman), and Kirse Junge-Stevnsborg

    Join this opening conversation and keynote with curators and collaborators of the Sustainable Societies for the Future: The Chicago Edit (October 15–17, 2021), an exhibition program throughout the city organized by the Floating Museum featuring artists from Denmark, Finland, Sweden, Chicago, and Detroit. 

    Image: Vertical Migration, SUPERFLEX, 2021. 

    Vertical Migration is commissioned by ART 2030 and TBA21–Academy, and supported by Avatar Alliance Foundation, Dalio Philanthropies, OceanX, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), New Carlsberg Foundation, The Obel Family Foundation, Beckett Fonden, and Danish Arts Foundation.

    Vertical Migration was developed in close collaboration with Kollision and is part of ‘Interspecies Assembly’ by SUPERFLEX for ART 2030. Photography by Lance Gerber. Courtesy of SUPERFLEX.

    12:00pm CST / 7:00pm CET
    CONNECTING ART AND THE UN GLOBAL GOALS
    Luise Faurschou 

    Working with world renowned artists and partners, ART 2030 is a non-profit that facilitates projects connected to the UN Global Goals through public events, installations, multi-platform communication, and educational activities. Join the founder and curator for a conversation on the organization’s recent projects.


    1:00pm CST / 8:00pm CET
    SOCIAL AVALANCHES (NORDIC TALK SESSION)
    Christian Borch and Christian Falsnaes 

    Author Christian Borch from the book Sustainable Societies for the Future (Motto, 2021: ed. Cristello, Junge-Stevnsborg) discusses the themes of crowds and solidarity alongside artist Christian Falsnaes, whose newly commissioned work SOLO (2020) debuted at the Malmö Art Museum exhibition.


    2:00pm CST / 9:00pm CET
    STRUCTURAL RACISM IN THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT (NORDIC TALK SESSION) 
    Imani Day, Max Guy, and Minna Henriksson 

    Engaging with two artists from the Sustainable Societies for the Future exhibition following their commissions for the Malmö Art Museum, this talk traces how the contemporary image of cities such as Chicago and Helsinki are impacted by histories of segregation and class struggle. The artists will be joined by Detroit-based architect Imani Day, on how design can function as an intentional act of social justice and advocacy to combat racism and inequities within the built environment.