The course aims to foster an understanding of the art system, including its agents, institutions, and professional contexts, both emerging and established. It seeks to examine its mechanisms and modes of operation from a critical and contemporary perspective.
The course is structured around different thematic blocks that will be addressed transversally rather than sequentially. Class dynamics combine theoretical approaches (lectures, text readings, screenings of films and documentaries, debates, etc.), individual and collective development of theoretical-practical proposals related to the topics discussed, and visits to organizations and institutions within the artistic sector in Barcelona and its surrounding areas.
Block 1: Institutions, Power, and Legitimation
The functioning of the professional, institutional, and economic context of art. Characterization of the art system, its agents, and institutions. Discrimination against women and marginalized groups within artistic practices. Administration and the market; public and private sectors. Circuits and mechanisms of delimitation and legitimation. Economic-administrative models operating in relation to culture. Art and the cultural industry, innovation, and entrepreneurship.
Block 2: Economics of Art
Tax regimes and taxation. Forms of funding. The artist as a worker and related documentation. Rights and duties. Legal and labor frameworks. Professional career paths. Intellectual property. Elements, transfer, and termination of copyright. Alternative distribution and attribution licenses. Professional best practices in the visual arts. The social responsibility of the artist.
Block 3: The Art System from Artistic Practice
Creative strategies for addressing the relationship between artists, their creative work, and the institutional, professional, and market contexts in which they develop their practice and careers. Institutional critique, decolonization, deconstruction, and critique of the art system from within artistic practice itself.
Assessment will be based on the completion of three assignments and participation in class dynamics and debates. Participation, continuity of work, student reports, and the completion of required assignments or projects will be evaluated. Throughout the course, several visits to institutions and organizations of various kinds will be conducted, serving as the basis for Assignment 2 (reports on visits to institutions and organizations) and Assignment 3 (a creative project related to the art system).
Thematic and reference-based presentations
Screening of audiovisual materials
Debates, conversations, and discussion groups
Reading and writing of texts
Bibliographic research and documentary investigation
External visits
Fieldwork
Analysis and critique sessions of works and projects
Seminars
Extension and synthesis assignments
Preparation of working documentation, portfolios, and reports
Case studies
Oral and/or audiovisual presentations
Individual reviews and follow-up sessions
Collective reviews and follow-up sessions
Design and execution of artistic projects
Bibliography
Aliaga, J.V. y Navarrete, C. (Eds.) (2017). Producción artísfica en fiempos de precariado laboral. Madrid, España: Tierradenadie
Almirall, C i Vives, M (2018) La Xarxa de Centres d’Arts Visuals de Catalunya i els vuit centres que la formen: anàlisi per a una època de canvis. ACCA. https://acca.cat/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Informe-xarxa-de-centres-gencat.pdf
Bourdieu, P. (2006). La distinción. Criterio y bases sociales del gusto. Madrid: Santillana.
Butinx, G., & Karp, I. (2006). Tactical Museologies. In I. Karp, C. A. Kratz, L. Szwaja, T. Ybarra-Frausto, G. Buntinx, B. Kirshenglatt-Gimblett, & Ci. Rassool (Eds.), Museum Frictions:Public Cultures/Global Transformations (pp. 207–218). Durham and London: Duke University Press.
Brun, L. (2008) Manual de buenas prácticas profesionales en las artes visuales. Unión de Asociaciones de Artistas Visuales . https://aavib.files.wordpress.com/2014/05/manual_buenas_practicas.pdf
CHECA ARTASU, M. (2011) Gentrificación y cultura: algunas reflexiones. Biblio 3W. Revista Bibliográfica de Geografía y Ciencias Sociales. [En línea]. Barcelona: Universidad de Barcelona, 15 de marzo de 2011, Vol. XV, nº 914.
Delgado, M. (2008). «La artistización de las políticas urbanas. El lugar de la cultura en las dinámicas de reapropiación capitalista de la ciudad». Scripta Nova. Revista Electrónica de Geografía y Ciencias Sociales, vol. XII (270). Recuperat de https://www.ub.edu/geocrit/sn/sn-270/sn-270-69.htm.
Diego, C. Ribes, J. (2017) Cartografia d’Artistes Visuals de Catalunya. Generalitat de Catalunya. https://issuu.com/icec_generalitat/docs/190507_cartografia_arts_visuals_web
Duncan, C. (1995). Civilizing Rituals. Inside Public Art Museums. London and New York: Routledge.
Duncan, C. (2014). Ritual in the early Louvre Musum. In R. Tsang & E. T. Woods (Eds.), The Cultural Politics of Nationalism and Nation-Building. Ritual and performance in the forging of nations (pp. 87–103). London and New York: Routledge.
Elorza Ibáñez de Gauna, C. y Ayerbe, N. (eds.), En riesgo. Diagnósticos, propuestas y luchas en torno a la precariedad del arte contemporáneo. Madrid: Dyckinson
Gasol, Daniel (2020) Art (In)útil. Sobre com el capitalisme desactiva la cultura. Raig Verd
Kratz, C. a. (2011). Rhetorics of value: Constituting worth and meaning through cultural display. Visual Anthropology Review, 27(1), 21–48.
Karp, I., & Wilson, F. (1993). Constructing the Spectacle of Culture in Museums. Art Papers, 17(3).
Lessig, Lawrence (2004) Por una ultura libre. Traficantes de sueños.
https://traficantes.net/sites/default/files/pdfs/Por%20una%20cultura%20libre-TdS.pdf
Oliveras, Jordi (2022) Més enllà del corporativisme cultural. Revista Nativa, música i cultura vistes des de Barcelona. https://nativa.cat/2022/07/mes-enlla-del-corporativisme-cultural/
Oliveras, Jordi (2018) Una altra economia per a la cultura. Revista Nativa, música i cultura vistes des de Barcelona. https://nativa.cat/2018/11/una-altra-economia-per-a-la-cultura/
Rowan, J. (2016). Cultura libre de Estado. Traficantes de Sueños. Recuperat de https://www.demasiadosuperavit.net/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/LEM7_cultura-libre-de-Estado.pdf.
SUB, Societat U de Barcelona (2013) MACBA: La dreta, l’esquerra i els rics.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r9OEcEXdtU8
VVAA (2919) Textus. Plataforma Assembleària d’Artistes de Catalunya.
Zafra, Remedios (2017) El entusiasmo : precariedad y trabajo creativo en la era digital. Editorial Anagrama.
Other resources:
Models de contracte per a artistes: https://www.paac.cat/i/models-de-contracte/
Rubèn Guilanyà i Samuel Muñoz (2018) Llibre blanc. Models comentats de contractes per a artsistes visuals. Plataforma Assambleària d’Artistes de Catalunya. https://www.paac.cat/site/assets/files/1563/llibreblpaacdefinitiu20190223.pdf
GRAF: https://www.graf.cat/
Plataforma Assamblearia d’Artistes de Catalunya: https://www.paac.cat/
Fiscalitat per artistes en quatres passos: https://www.paac.cat/i/fiscalitat-per-artistes-en-4-passos/
Assoaciació de Galeries Art Barcelona: http://www.artbarcelona.es/
Xarxa d’Espais de Creació i Producció de Catalunya, Xarxaprod: https://xarxaprod.cat/
Associació Catalana de Crítica d’Art (ACCA): https://acca.cat/
Gremi de Galeries d’Art de Catalunya: https://www.galeriesdecatalunya.org/
Demonstrates the ability to operate effectively in complex situations or in contexts that require the development of new solutions. (CB2)
Analyzes domain-specific knowledge and its contextualization within national and international settings. (CT3)
Acts with respect for diversity and equal opportunities, taking into account the intersection of gender inequality with other axes of inequality (such as age, class, race, sexuality and gender identity/expression, functional diversity, etc.). (CT8)
Proposes strategies to promote gender equality and equity among individuals within the context of their professional practice. (CT8)
Appropriately analyzes key terms and fundamental concepts in the economics of art and is able to examine their connections with the cultural field. (CE1)
Analyzes the main sectors, institutions, and agents within the artistic field, their modes of operation, and the roles they play. (CE1)
Demonstrates solid knowledge of the economic, labor, administrative, and legal conditions under which artistic practices operate, including the status of the artist as a worker and the associated documentation. (CE2)
Effectively uses analog and digital resources that facilitate collaborative work. (CE10)