SEMINAR: GEOPOLITICS IN ART: COLLECTIONS AND RECONFIGURATIONS OF THE ARTISTIC FIELD - AUGUST 12-15

This seminar brings together art history, criticism, curating and geopolitics to examine collections, their narratives, and contemporary exhibition and writing practices. Four thematic panels structure a critical investigation into how collections and exhibitions function as active agents in constructing canons, memories and hierarchies—always intersecting with historical contexts, political tensions and social demands. The program integrates research on collection formation, institutional trajectories, art historiography and postwar exhibition circulation patterns to provide an articulated analysis of these phenomena. Each panel problematizes the choices, absences and responsibilities embedded in canon formation and art history. Case studies dialogue with theoretical reflection to clarify the political and epistemological responsibilities shaping collections and artwork circulation. The seminar diagnoses gaps and ruptures while proposing curatorial and institutional practices grounded in democracy, transparency and historical awareness. These perspectives are essential for understanding contemporary art within its historical context and the geopolitics that traverse it. The event synthesizes macro-level international relations with the microphysics of institutional and discursive practice, yielding a nuanced and critical understanding of contemporary art. By fostering dialogue among historians, curators and critics, the seminar aims to identify lacunae and breaks while formulating new questions and perspectives for the art field. August 12 | 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. August 13 | 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. August 14 | 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. August 15 | 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. | 3 p.m. to 5 p.m.