The 2017 Engage International Conference
The Whole Picture: Rethinking diversity
29 – 30 November, Hull
Delegate Information Pack
Conference Timetable – At a Glance……………………………………….1
Letter from the Director………………………………………………………2
Introduction from the Conference Programmers………………………….3
Conference Programme……………………………………………………..6
Social Media and Media Partners…………………………………………11Evening Social Programme ……………………………………………….12
Engage Regional Meetings and Breakout Sessions …………………...14
Contributor Biographies ……………………………………………………19
The Whole Picture: Reading & Listening List ……………………………26
Fringe Information …………………………………………………………..31
Practical Information ………………………………………………………..33
Venue Information and maps ………………………………………………35
About Engage ………………………………………………………………..38
@engagevisualart
#EngageinHull
Please note a large print version of this Pack is available by advance request. Information may be subject to change
Conference Timetable – At a Glance
Please see the full programme from page 6 for speaker details and session content
Tuesday 28 November
14.00 – 20.00 Fringe Programme
Talks and workshops showcasing visual arts and culture in and around Hull.Advance booking required; see page 31 for details.
Wednesday 29 November
10.00 – 11.30Fringe Programme continues.
Advance booking required; see page 31 for details
12.00 – 19.00 Conference Day 1
12.00 – 13.00Conferenceopens - registration and lunch at Hull City
Hall
13.00 – 16.35Keynote, plenary sessions and discussions
16.35 – 19.00 Evening Events – refreshments, Delegate
Soapbox, Engage AGM and Marsh Awards for Excellence in Gallery Education
19.30 – 22.00 Conference Dinner - optional, advance booking required
Thursday 30 November
10.00 – 16.00 Conference Day 2
10.00 – 11.30Breakout sessions at venues across Hull.
Advance booking required; see page 14 for details.
12.00 – 13.00 Registration, lunch and regional meetings at Hull City Hall
13.00 – 16.00Plenary sessions and discussion
16.00Conference ends
Letter from the Director
Dear Delegate,
We are delighted to welcome you to the 2017 Engage International Conference.
The Engage Conference is an annual event which brings together arts and education professionals from across the United Kingdom and all over the world. This year we are exploring diversity, equality and access as they relate to gallery education.
The conference takes place at the time of Hull UK City of Culture 2017 and we are delighted that Martin Green CEO and Director of Hull 2017 will welcome delegates to conference. I would like to express our gratitude to Hull UK City of Culture 2017, Hull Culture & Leisure Ltd, ArtlinkHull and Heritage Learning for their generous support of Engage conference and for their and Engage Yorkshire contributions to planning conference and the fringe.
I would also like to thank this year’s conference programmers, Armstrong Cameron who have brought together an exciting programme addressing some key questions:
●Is diversity practice too often focused outwards at the expense of challenging internal customs?
●Who needs to be in the room when we talk about diversity and why?
●How is the agenda set: top down, bottom up or somewhere in between?
●Are we there yet?How will we know when we’ve got there? What will an inclusive, diverse sector look like?
There will be opportunities for you to add your thoughts and expertise to the dialogue and you can join in the digital debate on social media with the hashtag #EngageinHull
The ever-popular Engage conference fringe returns for a 6th year with a programme of visits and tours showcasing the best in visual arts, culture and learning in Hull, including an opportunity to see this year’s Turner Prize at Ferens Art Gallery. Our thanks to our partner organisations for their kind support.
You will have the opportunity to hear more about current inspiring practice through eleven presentations at Delegate Soapbox, and we hope you will come along and congratulate five inspiring individuals for their outstanding work at the Marsh Awards for Excellence in Gallery Education ceremony.
We are always eager to improve the conference and welcome your comments. We would appreciate it if you can fill out the evaluation form after the event and give it to a member of Engage staff before you leave.
Our thanks to everyone who has worked to develop and contribute to this year’s conference, including: speakers, chairs and facilitators; fringe partners; host venues; Axisweb; and a-n The Artists Information Company. Our thanks also to the Marsh Christian Trust for their continued support of gallery education.
With best wishes
Jane Sillis
Director, Engage
Introduction from the Conference Programmers
We’re delighted to have been asked to programme this year’s Conference and to have been given the opportunity to invite a range of artists, academics and activists to join us in exploring what diversity means in the context of education, learning and the arts and culture.
The arts and cultural sectors have not always been exemplars in respect of equality and diversity. The workforce is unrepresentative of the wider community and there remains amongst many a feeling that the arts exist for the elite, the educated and the wealthy. Many criticise equality and diversity activity for its outward facing, project-based approach and its reluctance to turn the gaze inwards to internal structures and organisational practice.
The Conference is arranged around a sequential set of enquiries, which will be explored by contributors through panels and breakouts. There will also be plenty of opportunities for you as delegates to contribute.
Conference opens with a keynote speech by Baroness Kay Andrews entitled A Commonwealth of Culture. Baroness Andrews will reflect upon her experiences of working with the Welsh Government to mainstream access to arts, culture and heritage for the most disadvantaged communities in Wales. She will argue that in an uncertain and fragmented world, shared cultural experiences can reinforce and reinvigorate communities.
Not least of our challenges in programming Conference has been conceptualising what it is we mean when we talk about diversity. This is why we’ve passed the enquiry – and the first theme of Conference – over to a panel, which will explore the question,What do we talk about when we talk about diversity?
One thing we do know is that diversity is only the latest of many terms which has attempted to encapsulate efforts to create a more equal and fair society. In decades past, policy makers and politicians have discussed equal opportunities and business cases for equality. Activists have more usually taken a rights-based approach and have considered issues of equality, social justice, power and privilege alongside efforts to bring about systemic change.
For many, the lexicon of diversity represents an attempt to sanitise issues. For others, diversity feels like an inclusive term which acknowledges individuals’ multifacetedness. We’re looking forward to hearing what our panellists and what you as delegates think.
The second key theme of Conference is, Nothing about us without us is for us. This is a rallying call which will feel familiar to disability activists but it’s a slogan which chimes for many minoritised groups who feel that they are sidelined in discussions about what is best for them. Chaired by Tonya Nelson (Head of Museums and Collections at University College London), the panel will provide opportunities to explore issues of power, privilege and intersectionality.
On the morning of 30 November, a choice of breakout sessions will enable delegates to engage more closely with the conference themes. Amongst the themes which will be explored in breakouts are trans allyship; power, privilege and anti racism; and the ways in which a travelling exhibition that tells untold stories of the US civil rights movement can be used to explore contemporary issues of ‘race’ here in the UK.
Returning from lunch, Simon Mellor of Arts Council England will introduce the afternoon’s plenaries and will provide us with an overview of the Arts Council’s values and practice in respect of diversity.
Our third plenary, chaired by writer Anthony Clavane, will focus on agenda setting. Once we have the right people in the room, how do we decide what should be the focus of discussion and action? Anthony will joined by Professor Kevin Hylton of Leeds Beckett University, artist Ivan Liotchev and Bryony Bond, Artistic Director of contemporary art space, The Tetley. We’re expecting that the panel will touch on issues of intercultural dialogue and thatdelegates will learn about how artists and institutions can make manifest their commitment to equality and social justice.
The final plenary – Are we there yet? How will we know when we get there? – will examine how it is we can measure progress. Over the years, there has been a multitude of frameworks and templates which seek to enable organisations to assess practice and to benchmark against others. How effective have these been – what tangible differences have they made? Wendy McGuinness of Lloyds Bank will reflect on the drivers forchange within her organisation whilst other panellists will bring to the conversation their insights into what success might look and how we might recognise it.
In developing the shape and content of Conference, we have been guided by an interest in making opportunities for conversation and for listening. We have tried to avoid a ‘got to’ and ‘not to’ approach, which can inhibit discussion and we are resolutely not going to provide delegates with a standard toolkit for change. Delegates should leave feeling they have learned more about how diversity can be actualised in their particular settings; they should feel more able to be effective advocates for change and should feel more confident to challenge practice where this is necessary.
Derrick Armstrong and Dawn Cameron
Conference Programmers
Conference Programme Please note that timings and content may change
Tuesday 28 November
14.00 – 20.00Conference Fringe (Pre-booked delegates only)
Showcasing visual arts and culture in and around Hull
14.00 – 15.00 Introduction to the Turner Prize Engagement Programme
Ferens Art Gallery, Education Room, Queen Victoria Square, Hull HU1 3RA NOWFULLY BOOKED
15.30-16.00: Future Ferens
Wilberforce House, 23-25 High Street, Hull HU1 1NE
16.00-17.30: A Day in the Life of an Artist
35 High Street, Hull HU1 1NQ
18:00 – 20:00: Fringe Reception (£5 advance booking required)
ArtlinkHull, 87 Princes Avenue, Hull HU5 3QP
Wednesday 29 November (Day 1)
10.00 – 11.30Conference Fringe continues (Pre-booked delegates only)
10.00-11.30Commissioning Artists in Hull
Ferens Art Gallery, Education Room, Queen Victoria Square, Hull HU1 3RA
10.00-11.30Building Foundations: 'Explore Art' Gallery in focus
Ferens Art Gallery, Education Room, Queen Victoria Square, Hull HU1 3RA NOWFULLY BOOKED
10.00-11.00RIBA
Hull School of Art & Design, Queens Gardens, Hull H1 3DG
Conference opens
12.00 – 13.00Registration and lunch in the Main Hall, Hull City Hall
13.00 – 16.35Keynotes, plenaries and facilitated Q&A sessions
13.00– 13.05Welcome and housekeeping
Lesley Butterworth, Chair, Engage
Jane Sillis, Director of Engage
13.05 – 13.10Conference introduction:
What you can expect over the next couple of days
Programmers Derrick Armstrong and Dawn Cameron
13.10 – 13.20Introduction to Keynote Speaker
Martin Green, Director and CEO of Hull 2017
13.20 – 13.45Keynote Speaker
A Commonwealth of Culture
Baroness Kay Andrews
13.45 – 14.00 Discussion
14.00 – 14.50 Plenary One: What do we talk about when we talk about diversity?
Introduction: Simon Green, Hull Culture and Leisure
Chair: Janette Robinson
Panellists: Gifty Burrows, Eona Craig, Diane Howse, and Victoria Rogers
The opening enquiry provides an opportunity for plenary panellists and delegates to interrogate what has arguably become a throw away term or – according to some – a way of avoiding the discomfort of specificity about issues of power, supremacy, prejudice and oppression.
Diversity is a complex and multi-dimensional concept which can be difficult to define, incorporating as it does not just ‘protected categories’ such as age, sex, ‘race’, sexuality and disability but also areas such as social class.
14.50 – 15.05
Discussion
15.10 – 15.30Tea & coffee
15.30 – 16.25Plenary Two: Nothing about us without us is for us
Introduction: Kenn Taylor, Artlink Hull
Chair: Tonya Nelson
Panellists: Jason Wilsher-Mills, James Hill and Jude Woods
The title of this plenary comes from a phrase whose origins are in 16th century central European politics. Loosely translated into Latin, the phrase provided the name of Poland's 1505 constitutional legislation,Nihil novi, which first transferred governing authority from the monarch to the parliament.
Its usage in English is most commonly associated with the disability rights movement of the 1980s. However, it has been adopted as a rallying call by a range of liberation struggles and by activists across the globe.
16.25 – 16.35Discussion, facilitated by Chair
16.35 – 19.00Evening Events, Main Hall, Hull City Hall
16.35 – 16.50Refreshments
16.50 – 17.50Delegate Soapbox
Hear from fellow delegates about their current projects and interests across a series of short presentations. Chaired by Engage Scotland Coordinator, Sarah Yearsley.
17.55 – 18.25Engage Annual General Meeting
All Engage members are invited to attend – come along and hear our exciting plans for 2018!
18.30 – 19.00The Marsh Awards for Excellence in Gallery Education
Five exceptional individuals will be presented with an award in recognition of their dedication to making the visual arts more accessible. Presented by Marsh Christian Trust Ambassador Rod Bugg.
19.30 – 22.00Conference Dinner at Pizza Express
Princes Quay Shopping Centre, Hull HU1 2PQ
(Optional, advance booking required)
Thursday 30 November (Day 2)
10.00 – 11.30Breakout sessions, venues across Hull
Parallel discussion/ workshop sessions exploring topics and/ or case studies related to the Conference theme, held at venues across Hull. See page 14 for details, pre-booked delegates only.
12.00 – 13.00 Lunch, Registration and meetings for Engage Area Groups, Engage Cymru and Engage Scotland in the Main Hall, Hull City Hall
13.00 – 13.25:Speaker
Simon Mellor: Deputy Chief Executive, Arts and Culture Arts Council England
13.25 – 14.15:Plenary Three: Who decides what matters?
Introduction: Jane Sillis
Chair: Anthony Clavane
Panellists: Ivan Liotchev,Bryony Bond, Professor Kevin Hylton
This plenary examines what should be on the agenda. Who decides what should be the focus of enquiry?
With this in mind, we have three panellists with apparently contrasting areas of focus: an academic, an artist who is based in both Europe and the US and the Artistic Director of a contemporary art space. All, though, in their differing ways have enmeshed issues of hybridity and intercultural dialogue into their work.
As Chair, Anthony also works across disciplines as a journalist, playwright and author with interests in social histories, sport and the histories of Jewish communities in Leeds.
14.20 – 14.30Discussion
14.35 – 14.50Tea & coffee
14.50 – 15.40Plenary Four: Are we there yet? How will we know when we’ve got there?
Introduction: Jane Sillis
Chair: Dr Nigel Morpeth
Panellists: Wendy McGuinness, Rommi Smith and Richie Turner
Progress towards a wholly inclusive, diverse sector is often discussed using metaphors of journey, struggle and challenge. There seems to be an underlying understanding that we are embarked on a particularly difficult and onerous undertaking.
This plenary should aim to counter notions that the pursuit of equity and fairness is either an entirely joyless endeavour fuelled by worthiness and a sense of guilt or that it is a very light touch, surface-only set of disparate, unconnected activities which celebrate difference.
15.40 – 15.55Discussion
15.55 Announcing Engage Conference 2018
Closing Remarks
16.00Conference ends
Social Media
Why not help us in opening the conference conversations up to a much wider audience – use the hashtag #EngageinHull to tag your social media content.
Catch up with Engage’s coverage of the event on:
Twitter @engagevisualart; Instagram @engagevisualart and Facebook
You might like to tag conference venues or speakers in your content:
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Hull City Hall @CityHallHullHull City of Culture @2017Hull
Ferens Art Gallery @HullFerensHeritage Learning @HeritageLearn
Invisible Dust @Invisible_DustArtlink Hull @ArtlinkHull
RIBA @RIBAEducationMESMAC@yorkshiremesmac
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Contributors:
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Bryony Bond @BryonyBond1
Eona Craig @eona_e
Kevin Hylton @kevinhylton1
James Hill @pyramid_of_arts
Simon Mellor @Simondmellor
Victoria Rogers @VicMRogers@thecardiffstory
Richie Turner @RichieTrnr
Tonya Nelson @museumhunter
Anthony Clavane @LUFCPromised
Mussarat Rahman @mussaratrahman
Douglas Thompson @leadartsmaker
Jason Wilsher-Mills @jasonwilshermil
Martin Spafford @mcps54
Gifty Burrows @AfricansInYorks
Rommi Smith @rommi-smith
Martin Storey @yorkshiremesmac
Zoe Partington @tightcontrol
Sylvie Fourcin & Hayley Mason @artlinkwestyork
Kenn Taylor @kenn_taylor
Jane Sillis @jane_sillis
Media Partners: Axisweb
Engage are delighted to be once again working with Axisweb on this year’s Conference.
Axisweb is a national charity committed to supporting and profiling artists. Axisweb is currently involved in a collaborative research project with Manchester Metropolitan University, titled 'Models of Validation'. The aim of the project is to create a new online platform for socially engaged artistic practice, which aims to engage, connect and facilitate conversations between the stakeholders involved in socially engaged projects.
This year the Axisweb guest blogger is the artistMaru Rojaswho will be reporting and sharing thoughts live from the event. Maru practice spans live art, writing and education and centres around forms of language. She has recently exhibited at Guest Projects, Shaped in Mexico and at the Art Licks Weekend. She has written for This is Tomorrow, HOAX magazine and COPY.
You will be able to follow her progress and updates on the conference on Axisweb’s TwitterandInstagram.
Evening Social Programme
Wednesday 29 November, 16.35 – 19.00
Main Hall, Hull City Hall
Following the close of the main programme on day 1, delegates are invited to stay on for an evening social to include refreshments, the ever-popular Delegate Soapbox, the Engage AGM and the presentation ceremony of the Marsh Awards for Excellence in Gallery Education 2017.
Refreshments and Networking, 16.35 – 16.50
Catch up with colleagues old and new over drinks and nibbles.