September 2021 - "Rethinking visual art practices in the Highlands and Islands from an archipelagic perspective" (Roxane Permar)
Thursday 30th September, 1-2pm
The evolution of visual art in the Highlands and Islands reveals expanded practices which are
locally grounded and at the same time involved in a matrix of cultural relationships beyond the
local. These practices generate networks of social and cultural interchange which contribute to
changing social relations not only within their local communities, but also in relation to other
places. Networks emerge which undermine the notion of the ‘edge’ and lead to questions
concerning the status of place in a global context and the role of cultural imagination and exchange
in dismantling the legacy of colonialism, hierarchy and duality implied by ‘edgeness’. As Arturo
Escobar asks, can we, by critically interrogating the local, re-invent our thinking, and thus the
world, “according to the logic of a multiplicity of place-based cultures?” (2001)
In this presentation I will examine visual art practices in the Highlands and Islands, including
Shetland, from an archipelagic perspective, where there is no fixed centre, but a multiplicity of
place-based cultures, interrelations and overlaps that employ immersion, openness, connection,
relational process and “fluid movement across porous margins.” (Thompson, 2017)
How have these practices emerged, why are they radical, and where might they lead us?
Prof Roxane Permar (Research Fellow, Reader and Programme Leader, MA Art and Social Practice, Shetland College UHI)
*Please be aware that we will record these seminars and make them available to the public on our website. If you choose to share your video feed/audio feed/name when you join a seminar this information may be captured as part of the recording. If you ask a question at the end of a seminar this will be recorded. You can avoid your personal data being recorded by:
- Turning off your webcam
- Turning off your microphone
- Writing ‘guest’ in place of your name when prompted to enter your name