| 2016 Biennial Conference | Florence |
2016 Biennial Conference | FlorenceROUND UP14th ELIA BIENNIAL CONFERENCETURN MIRRORS INTO WINDOWS30 November – 3 December 2016 Florence, Italy We would like to thank the 400 delegates, the speakers and presenters, our partners and our dear host and co-organiser Palazzo Spinelli for their dedicated contributions and for a phenomenal week in Florence. Furthermore, we are proud to announce that the next ELIA Biennial Conference will take place 21-24 November 2018 in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. The 15th edition will be hosted by Codarts and Willem de Kooning Academy.
ThemeTURN MIRRORS INTO WINDOWS Europe has transformed almost beyond recognition over the past years. Thanks to technological evolution, globalisation and open border policies, we find ourselves working and living in close connection to the rest of the world. At the same time Europe's self-conception as a place of tolerance, inclusion and prosperity is increasingly challenged by complex issues such as large migration processes, an ageing population, emerging radicalism and shifting economic powers.
What do we see when we look at ourselves, our institutions, and the world? To what extent do we adapt, make use of or even contribute to the challenges and opportunities presented? And how shall we move forward?
TURN MIRRORS INTO WINDOWS provides a platform for ELIA members to discuss these questions and consider the role artists, arts educators and arts education institutions have in the creation of tomorrow's society. Florence, with its turbulent political and artistic history, a beacon of European cultural heritage, is the ideal city to have this conversation. Strands The conference theme TURN MIRRORS INTO WINDOWS will be discussed in detail through various thematic strands, each addressing a specific issue: Preparing the Artists of Tomorrow Preparing the Artists of Tomorrow showcases different approaches to meet the opportunities and challenges that young artists and creative professionals encounter in today’s society and while facing the industry, during their education as well as after graduation. Crossing Borders Crossing Borders reflects on change versus the status quo in today’s society, prompted by actors such as globalisation, diversity and gender, and how the arts and higher arts education play part in this. Artistic Research This session addresses current developments in artistic research, with a distinct focus on the 3rd cycle. It discusses a joint ELIA/EUA position paper and showcases challenging practice examples. Making a Living from the Arts Through the project NXT - Making a Living from the Arts, ELIA looks into what higher arts education institutions are doing to support the career development of emerging artists. How can young artists make a living from their artistic practice? How are higher arts education institutions evolving? What is the role of the arts in the societal context? The role of the creative industries and the activities developed by creative hubs all over Europe and beyond are taken into consideration. Quality Assurance and Enhancement Quality Assurance and Enhancement discusses the quality management process of higher arts education institutions and programmes across Europe and beyond, investigates how higher arts education institutions and programmes could be supported in quality assurance and accreditation processes and addresses current influential developments. Community/Activation Community/Activation discusses the arts and higher arts education as a catalyst for social, cultural, political or rural transformation and its impact on communities. Transformations in Learning and Teaching Transformations in Learning and Teaching showcases new approaches in didactic strategies and practice in higher arts education. Analogue/Digital Analogue/Digital goes into the relation between online and offline creation, conservation and learning processes. The Role of the Arts Schools The Role of the Art Schools presents papers and best practices on strategies of higher arts education institutions. Speakers Cristina AcidinisArt Historian, Writer and President of l’Accademia delle Arti del Disegno of Florence, Italy Before taking on her current position as the President of the l’Accademia delle Arti del Disegno of Florence –the oldest fine art academy in the world- Cristina Acidini worked amongst others at the Ministry of National Heritage and Culture and was Superintendent of the State Museums of Florence. She is widely recognised for her contribution to art restoration and conservation and has curated numerous exhibitions in Italy and abroad. In addition, Cristina Acidini has written many essays on art history and has published two novels. Photo Credits Luca Moggi, New Press Photo 
Carla DelfosFounder and Executive Director ELIA Carla Delfos graduated from the Theatre school in Amsterdam and worked as actress, theatre director and writer. She served on numerous boards, national and international, including the Amsterdam School of the Arts. She is the founder of the European League of Institutes of the Arts – ELIA – and has been the organisation’s Executive Director since. She gave leadership to the development of ELIA into an influential independent network of over 300 institutions/universities in 55 countries, representing more than 350.000 art students. ELIA contributes to the recognition of the European Higher Art Education Sector and to improved conditions for higher arts education and graduating artists. In the frame of ELIA she successfully realized several research projects funded by the European Commission and numerous events and conferences, including the annual graduate festival NEU NOW. She was knighted 'Chevallier dans l'ordre des Arts et des Lettres, awarded an Honorary Fellowship by the Hong Kong Academy of Performing Arts and Music and a Degree of Doctor of Arts by Columbia College Chicago and an Honorary Doctorate by the Robert Gordon University in Aberdeen. Photo Credits: Simon Bosch 
David GreigPlaywright and Theatre Director, Scotland David Greig was born in Edinburgh in 1969. He spent much of his childhood in Jos, Nigeria during the 1970’s where his father worked in the construction industry. In 1980 his family returned to live in Edinburgh where he went to school. His first involvement with theatre was with Edinburgh Youth Theatre where he acted in a number of shows. In 1987 he went to Bristol University to study English and Drama. He graduated from Bristol University in 1990 and began to work with Graham Eatough and Nick Powell as Suspect Culture on the Edinburgh Fringe. Over two years he wrote and directed five shows and was twice nominated for The Guardian Student Drama Award and won a Scotsman Fringe First for Stalinland. In 1993 he moved to Glasgow where he received his first professional commissions from The Traverse Theatre and The Royal Court. Since then he has written many plays, most of which have premiered in Scotland. From 2005 to 2007 he was the first Dramaturg of The National Theatre of Scotland. His work has been produced extensively abroad. His plays have been translated and produced in most of the countries of Europe, USA, Canada, Brazil, Australia, Japan and Korea. As a workshop leader David Greig has worked on many projects to teach or develop playwriting, in which he has a particular relationship with writers in the Middle East, such as from Palestine, Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Tunisia and Morocco. He also worked with April De Angelis on a major two year collaboration between the Royal Court Theatre and The British Council. The plays produced in that project were published in English and in Arabic and have been given performed readings New York, London, Beirut and Cairo. From 2006 David Greig has been on the board of The Traverse Theatre in Edinburgh. Photo Credits: Murdo MacLeod 
Daan RoosegaardeArtist and Social Designer, Studio Roosegaarde, the Netherlands With studio’s in Rotterdam and Shanghai, he develops innovative, interactive landscapes that are accomplished through the objective of pulling technology ‘out of the screen’ and integrating it into the real world.The key to accomplishing this task, believes Roosegaarde, is his Dutch attitude of artist-entrepreneur, which he considers equal parts “priest and entrepreneur” in order to perfectly merge technology and creativity. Through the creation of social designs that instinctively respond to sound and movement, he is able to pursue the widest possibilities of technological innovation. Roosegaarde is best known for his internationally awarded projects such as ‘Dune’, ‘Intimacy 2.0’ and ‘Sustainable Dance Floor’. In 2008 he developed the ‘Sustainable Dance Floor’ which is the interactive dance floor that generates electricity through the motion of dancing. The interactive technology creates an environment in which dancers are sensually engaged with sustainability. But Roosegaarde wants to go further. Together with the infrastructure company Heijmans, he is currently developing ‘Smart Highways’ which are interactive and sustainable roads. Roosegaarde’s professional mission is to create the missing links between bullshit and beauty, between fantasy and budget. He believes that The Netherlands must lose its “yes, but...” attitude and “look for the missing links”. This link between between ideology and technology, is what Roosegaarde calls “techno-poetry”. Roosegaarde has won the Dutch Design Award, Charlotte Kohler Prijs, Design for Asia Award and China's Most Successful Design Award. He has been the focus of exhibitions at the Tate Modern, the National Museum in Tokyo, the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, and various public spaces in Rotterdam and Hong Kong.HostThe 14th ELIA Biennial Conference took place at the PALAZZO SPINELLI PER L’ARTE E IL RESTAURO.PALAZZO SPINELLI PER L’ARTE E IL RESTAURO was founded in 1998 as a non-profit association linked to Palazzo Spinelli Institute for Art and Restoration (founded 1978). The association consolidated and extended Palazzo Spinelli’s aim of safeguarding world cultural heritage by promoting, organising and managing initiatives and courses for the study, conservation, restoration, promotion and fruition of cultural and artistic heritage. Palazzo Spinelli now offers accredited courses in restoration, conservation and management of cultural heritage, carries out research and surveys, campaigns for archaeological excavation, documentation and cataloguing, develops integrated plans for cultural tourism, organises conferences and seminars and provides training activities and consulting. Palazzo Spinelli’s mission is to contribute to education and the conscious use of the artistic and cultural heritage of humanity by developing models of governance aimed at increasing a sense of belonging, interest, respect and awareness of one’s own and others’ cultures. Our students enjoy the hands-on learning environment and working on restoration and cultural development projects in some of the world’s most important and culturally defining places. The campus in Florence’s antiques quarter provides endless opportunities to see the way our art history has been shaped and to take it forward for the next generation.
Acknowledgements and Partners
STEERING GROUPEmanuele Amodei, General Director, Palazzo Spinelli Istituto per l’Arte e il Restauro, Florence, Italy Carla Delfos, Executive Director, ELIA – European League of Institutes of the Arts, Amsterdam, Netherlands Philippe Hardy, Executive Managing Director, Ecole Européenne Supérieure d’Arts de Bretagne, Rennes, France Maggie Kinloch, Vice Principal, Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, Glasgow, United Kingdom Michael Kwakkelstein, Director Dutch University Institute for Art History, Florence, Italy Thomas D. Meier, President, ELIA; Zurich University of the Arts, Zurich, Switzerland SCIENTIFIC COMMITTEEStefano Baldassarri, Director of ISI - International Studies Institute, Palazzo Rucellai Monica Stefania Baldi (President), President of Pinocchio by Carlo Lorenzini Cultural Association, Former Member of European Parliament for Culture, Education, Youth and Sport Marina Bistolfi, Head of Education at Fabbrica Europa Giò Carbone, Director of Le Arti Orafe Jewellery School Eugenio Cecioni, Director of Accademia di Belle Arti di Firenze Alessandro Colombo, Director of IED Florence – European Institute of Design Corinna Del Bianco, Board member for international relationships at Fondazione Romualdo Del Bianco Elisa Gradi, Art Historian, Art Critic, Curator at Lorenzo de’ Medici Institute Anne Chantellier Pellegrini, Senior Administrator at SACI (Studio Arts Centers International) Paolo Pieri Nerli, Conservation Architect at Palazzo Spinelli per l’Arte e il Restauro Francesco Torrigiani, Lecturer at Conservatorio Musicale Luigi Cherubini Riccardo Ventrella, Director of Communicatons at Fondazione Teatro della Pergola CONFERENCE ORGANISERSMarte Brinkman, Conference Manager, ELIA – European League of Institutes of the Arts, Amsterdam, Netherlands Catherine Burnett, Head of International Projects and Cooperation, Palazzo Spinelli Instituto per l’Arte e il Restauro, Florence, Italy PARTNERS
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