Event "Intersections between Contemporary Art and Football" at Technopolis, Nikšić, Montenegro
Oct 20, 2023
Source Grad Kulture, Montenegro Summary I was invited to give a lecture on art and football by the National Museum of Montenegro, to accompany their exhibition "Great Dream of Great Friends", held in Cetinje in September-October 2023, on intersections between art and football in the country. (Details here: https://narodnimuzej.me/2023/12/06/pravi-san-velikih-prijatelja/)
The lecture was covered on Montenegrin television and in a national cultural portal as the article shows.
Further details on the exhbition and my own critical reflection on it are here: https://jonblackwood.net/2023/11/19/on-art-and-football-in-montenegro-feat-slobodan-rubezic/People Jon Blackwood Org Units Legacy Gray's School of Art Themes Inclusive & Creative Societies Research Centres/Groups Curatorship URL http://www.gradkulture.me/aktuelnosti/video-niksic-u-tehnopolisu-odrzano-predavanje-ukrstanja-savremene-umjetnosti-i-fudbala/
News (5)
Universities co-host summit to discuss North-East's cultural life
Feb 22, 2023
Source Aberdeen Live Summary Press coverage of the inaugural Aberdeen Cultural Summit hosted by RGU in collaboration with the University of Aberdeen, Friday 3 March 2023. The summit was addressed by the chief executive of Aberdeen City Council Angela Scott, RGU Principal Professor Steve Olivier, amongst others. People Jon Blackwood Org Units Legacy Gray's School of Art Themes Inclusive & Creative Societies Research Centres/Groups Curatorship URL https://www.aberdeenlive.news/news/aberdeen-news/universities-co-host-summit-discuss-8175994
Public Discussion : Everyone Wants a View, KRAK, Bihać, Bosnia-Herzegovina
Nov 19, 2022
Summary KRAK Center for Contemporary Culture (Hamze Hume Street, Bihać)
Saturday, November 19, 2022, at 7 pm
Irfan Hošić in conversation with Alban Muja, Jonathan Blackwood and Sabina Šabić
Public discussion Everyone Wants a View is an opportunity to bring attention to at least two important issues by using Bihać as an example – the shaping of public space on the one hand and the issue of collective environmental awareness on the other. The starting point for the conversation will be the same-name sculpture by the artist Alban Muja, which after several months of planning was placed on the roof of Kombiteks skyscraper in the Hatinac neighborhood of Bihać. By placing it in a dominant location within the city view and stepping into the public space, Muja's sculpture actually strikes the individuals who privatize the river bank and shape it according to their narrow-minded views. Therefore, this intervention is a distinct criticism addressed not only to those with extremely exclusive access to the river banks, but also a direct reminder to the authorities that they are obliged to protect the common good and natural wealth by all means to the satisfaction of all citizens.
In addition to Alban Muja as the author of the art intervention, the discussion will also see the participation of art historian Jonathan Blackwood, expert on cultural and artistic situations in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Sabina Šabić, activist in the field of the protection of Bosnia and Herzegovina's rivers. This is an opportunity to raise awareness of the endangerment of water assets in the environment, but also to mark a promotion – placing an art object in the city area.
This project is being implemented by KRAK Center for Contemporary Culture. The curator is Irfan Hošić, project partners are the City Administration of the City of Bihać and the Government of Una-Sana Canton. The implementation of the project is supported by the Open Society Foundation Bosnia and Herzegovina. Administrative support during the implementation of the project is provided by the Institute for Spatial Planning Bihać, the Tourist Board of the City of Bihać and the Local Community Hatinac. The public discussion is supported by the British CouncilPeople Jon Blackwood Org Units Legacy Gray's School of Art Themes Inclusive & Creative Societies Research Centres/Groups Curatorship URL https://www.krak.ba/en/event/public-discussion-everyone-wants-a-view
Macedonian Performance Art Presented in Switzerland
Aug 26, 2022
Summary An article in the Macedonian cultural portal "UMNO" which reviews an exhbition of Macedonian video art that I curated for a programme on contemporary Macedonian performance art, organised by Maricruz Penalloza and Verica Kovacevska, and hosted by the Tinguely Museum, Basel, Switzerland People Jon Blackwood Themes Inclusive & Creative Societies Research Centres/Groups Curatorship URL https://umno.mk/makedonskata-perfotmans-umetnost-pretstavena-vo-shvajcarija/
Students from RGU Organise Event to Support victims in Ukraine
Mar 8, 2022
Summary This was an online fundraising exhibition co-organised with Fine Art and Design students at Gray's School of Art, in response to the Russian aggression against Ukraine beginning on 24 February 2022.
The exhibition was associated with an organised teach-in chaired by myself and featuring guest speakers from Belarus and Moldova, as well as recent graduates from Ukraine and Russia.
The exhbition raised over £1,000 for Ukrainian charities and NGOs and was subsequently voted RGU Community project of the year.People Jon Blackwood Org Units Legacy Gray's School of Art Themes Inclusive & Creative Societies Research Centres/Groups Curatorship URL https://www.rgu.ac.uk/news/news-2022/4866-students-from-rgu-organise-events-to-support-victims-of-ukraine