Art Critics Forum 2016

Transparency | Opacity

Friday, September 23 | 2:00pm
300 Level Rooms, Navy Pier

Mark Rappolt, ArtReview and ArtReview Asia Editor-in-Chief, Kolja Reichert, Art Editor of the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Judd Tully, BLOUIN ART+AUCTION Editor-at-Large, and Iona Whittaker, Ran Dian Editor.

Moderated by Sarah Douglas, ArtNews Editor-in-Chief.

It has been said that we are living in the age of a kind of consumer-centric journalism—that, in the era of the internet and social media, publishers are increasingly basing content more on what they think their readers want, and less on what those publishers think their readers need. What kinds of pressures are the “consumer-centric” approach placing on writers and editors of art journalism? How do they define their audience? As The New York Times film critic A.O. Scott recently wrote, "It’s the mission of art to free our minds, and the task of criticism to figure out what to do with that freedom." This consumer-centric phenomenon is intensified on the visual art beat, where coverage of art increasingly means coverage of the market.  To what extent do critics need to forge a connection with readers through social media? What is involved in producing quality journalism in the age of the art market, a subject known for its opacity? The panel will address these and other issues through the voices of leading national and international critics. The forum will feature a series of short presentations by national and international art critics addressing the transparency and opacity of arts journalism in the current market.  Presenations will be followed by a roundtable discussion moderated by ArtNew Editor-in-Chief, Sarah Douglas. Presented in partnership with Virgin Hotels Chicago.

Panelists