| 2014 Biennial Conference | Glasgow |
2014 Biennial Conference | GlasgowLOCATION/AESTHETICS13th ELIA BIENNIAL CONFERENCEThe Glasgow Royal Concert HallGlasgow, 13 - 15 November 2014 We would like to thank the nearly 300 Biennial delegates, the Biennial keynote, thematic, open space and pecha kucha presenters, our partners and dear friends The Glasgow School of Art and the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, their dedicated and delightful staffs and the city of Glasgow for a phenomenal week.
About the 13th ELIA Biennial Conference Following the success of the 2012 ELIA Biennial Conference in Vienna (hosted by Die Angewandte – University of Applied Arts Vienna), ELIA, the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland and The Glasgow School of Art hosted the 13th ELIA Biennial Conference in the vibrant and cosmopolitan city of Glasgow from 13-15 November 2014. The ELIA Biennial Conference is the largest conference on higher arts education worldwide, drawing an audience of approximately 500 directors, artists, teachers and thinkers. The programme of events included high profile speakers, plenary discussions, networking events, mobile cultural sessions and much more. Partnership The strong partnership between the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland and The Glasgow School of Art as hosts of the 13th ELIA Biennial Conference provided a fantastic opportunity for staff and students from two of the world’s finest small specialist intuitions to work alongside the globally renowned arts practitioners from ELIA member institutions. In addition to the conference programme, the NEU NOW Festival ran simultaneously providing delegates with an unrivaled experience of both the business networking and learning opportunities of the conference as well as the chance to see firsthand the work of emergent artists from across Europe and beyond.
ThemeLOCATION/AESTHETICSThe 2014 conference theme focused on the relationship between the creative and the city and the dynamic interplay between place, culture, creativity and the artist. Recognising that the arts are both the most local and the most international of activities - proud of their traditions and identity, but at their most exciting when they break down barriers and cross borders, LOCATION/AESTHETICS explored the cultural, social and economic role that creative individuals and institutions play in creating and transforming a city, regional or national identity and place in the world.
Four sub-themes were identified to address more specific issues:
The conference saw Glasgow Royal Concert Hall as its main venue, located in the vibrant heart of Glasgow, Scotland’s largest city and its creative hub, and close by the city’s art schools, galleries, museums, national performing arts companies and cultural venues.
Speakers Pier Luigi SaccoPier Luigi Sacco is Professor of Cultural Economics and Deputy Rector for International Affairs at IULM University in Milan, Director of Siena its candidacy for the European Capital of Culture 2019 and recently appointed as Scientific Director of the Fondazione Campus. His work covers the topics of economic theory, game theory, cultural economics, the creative industries and cultural policy design at the urban, regional and national level and he is the author of more than one hundred and fifty papers, which appeared in international journals and edited books of major scientific publishers such as Oxford University Press, Cambridge University Press, Elsevier and Springer. In addition, he does extensive consultancy and advisory work for governments, local administrations and cultural institutions on the issues of culture-led local development and European Capital Culture Programmes. 
Geoffrey CrossickGeoffrey Crossick is Distinguished Professor of the Humanities in the School of Advanced Study, University of London and Director of the AHRC Cultural Value Project. He is a social historian of 19th- and 20th-century Britain and continental Europe, including the world of small enterprise, which adds a historical dimension to his interest in contemporary crafts. He speaks nationally and internationally on the importance of the arts and humanities and on the creative economy. He is Chair of the Crafts Council, sits on the governing boards of the Courtauld Institute, the Horniman Museum and the National Maritime Museum, is a member of the British Library Advisory Council and Chair of the Board of the Arts & Humanities Research Institute at Trinity College Dublin. His previous roles include Vice-Chancellor of the University of London, Warden of Goldsmiths, Chief Executive of the former Arts & Humanities Research Board, and Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Academic Development) and Professor of History at the University of Essex. 
Josette Bushell-MingoJosette Bushell-Mingo OBE studied performing arts at Barking College of Technology and is a Swedish-based English theatre director and actress. She is currently the artistic director for The Swedish National Touring Theatre ensemble. Her production of The Odyssey, performed in Swedish Sign Language received huge critical acclaim in Scandinavia. It was while appearing as Rafiki in the London production of The Lion King, for which she was Olivier-nominated as Best Actress in Musical, that Bushell-Mingo became troubled that more of her peers were not enjoying the same chances for success. To counter this, in 2001 she co-founded at the Young Vic a black-led arts festival called PUSH, with the aim of inspiring diversity and promoting more Black artists into mainstream British arts. She was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in 2006 and is one of the nine board members of the Swedish Film Institute. 
Martin BoyceMartin Boyce is a Scottish sculptor and mulimedia installation artist inspired by early 20th century modernism, who studied at the Glasgow School of Art in the late 1980s. He won in 2011 the Turner Prize for his installation Do Words Have Voices, displayed at the Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art in Gateshead. The installation is a recreation of a park in autumn. He is in particular interested in the psychological experience of space, abandoned or abject terrains, and the material manifestations of time. He borrows the forms of objects found in daily indoor and outdoor settings, such as wire gates, lights, trees, benches, tables, and trash bins. Boyce then reduces, skews, and abstracts these shapes such that they feel familiar but are not immediately recognizable. Recurring motifs include wire fences, glyph-like shapes, and alternating use of flowing curves or angular geometry. In tandem with his installations, Boyce has cultivated an immense archive of photographic works detailing images that inform his practice. Cultural EventsTours
The Glasgow School of Art & Royal Conservatoire of Scotland
The Glasgow School of Art and Royal Conservatoire of Scotland gave delegates the opportunity to see behind the scenes, experience their unique atmosphere and discover more about the hosts of the 13th ELIA Biennial Glasgow. Delegates could choose to visit either one or both institutions. The tours took place on Wednesday afternoon, starting at 14.00, at 15.00 and at 16.00.
'Blind Date' Dinner
On the evening of Wednesday beginning at 19.30, an optional dinner was planned for delegates who wish to start networking straight away. The conference organisers facilitated the matchmaking - placing participants on tables of 12-14 people at several restaurants in Princes Square, Glasgow.
Grand Opening
Following welcome speeches from the organisers and national representatives, a live performance heralded the opening of the doors of the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall Auditorium to all participants on Thursday morning.
Civic Reception
On Thursday evening, participants of the ELIA Biennial Conference wereinvited to attend the Civic Reception hosted by the Lord Provost of the city. The Civic Reception took place in Glasgow City Chambers, a renowned and eminent example of Victorian civic architecture, constructed between 1882 and 1888.
Closing Party
On Saturday night, the delegates had the opportunity to meet, dance and relax during a live music event, with a traditional Scottish Ceilidh and DJ's spinning their records.
NEU NOW Festival
The NEU NOW Festival is an innovative international platform for talented graduating and recently graduated artists across disciplines. Participants are nominated by higher arts education institutions and universities across Europe and beyond and selected by an international jury of experts to present themselves to a wider international audience within a professional arts context. This year, the NEU NOW Festival will run alongside the ELIA Biennial Conference in Glasgow. For more information, see www.neunow.com.
HostsRoyal Conservatoire of ScotlandAs Scotland’s national Conservatoire, we are in a unique position sitting at the very heart of Scotland’s cultural life. Eager to ensure we remain at the forefront of performing arts education, we have spent the last 6 years redesigning our entire curriculum offer. Now, two years into delivery of the new undergraduate curriculum , we have re-identified ourselves as a conservatoire for the 21st century. Uniquely in the UK, we have the 5 performing arts disciplines of dance, drama, music, production, and screen all under one roof. This has allowed us to create a curriculum which balances the demands of individual disciplines, with opportunities for students to work in genuinely inter-disciplinary ways. Our curriculum also places value on artistic collaboration, on social engagement and on Human Rights. Across all of our specialisms, we currently have around 900 students on degree programmes. Our students enjoy a dynamic learning environment and experience an extraordinary blend of intensive tuition, professional partnerships, performances and the creative space to co-create across the disciplines on their journey towards realising their own individual artistic voice. The Glasgow School of ArtFounded in 1845 as a government school of design, The Glasgow School of Art (GSA) is today internationally recognised as one of Europe's leading university-level institutions for the visual creative disciplines. Our studio-based approach to research and teaching brings disciplines of fine art, design, architecture, visualisation and critical history and theory together to explore problems in new ways to find new innovative solutions. The studio creates the environment for inter-disciplinarity, peer learning, critical enquiry, experimentation and prototyping, helping to addressing many of the grand challenges confronting society and contemporary business. |
