As part of a series of talks on the inquiry The Against Nature Journal, Council participated in the international conference “Art in the Age of Digital Capitalism” on May 5 & 6, 2016 organized by CCA Estonia at the Architecture Center. The conference focused on contemporary work culture in the context of the art field.

What functions could publicly funded art institutions perform today? How do Estonian art institutions fit into the art system developed in the 1990s? How is it possible to survive as an artist in a system that constantly demands new fascinating works? The main speaker of the conference was the Italian philosopher, activist and Marxist thinker Franco “Bifo” Berardi. Representatives of art institutions, artists and theorists spoke in the panels. All discussions were also open to the public to map and solve the most important problems in the organization of contemporary art life.

Grégory Castéra, Council’s co-director, talked about The Against Nature Journal in the panel “Community Art and New Art Institutions” :

After the recession, we saw a global boom in community projects. Artists work in residencies or initiate project spaces outside prestigious urban centers to create a culture that connects people. The most well-known projects are probably Showroom in London, Konsthall Tensta in Stockholm, Lost Property in Amsterdam, Wohnung movement in Kreuzberg, WAGE in Brooklyn, and local examples include the Metropolis Gallery, Nancy Nakamura Idea Shelf and Kraam in Tallinn. What caused the community art boom? What does it react to and what has it become today? Has community art already become part of the neoliberal structure? What role do artists’ residencies play in this?