Thematic Seminar Gabriel Lester
Lectures - Gabriel Lester | The Outsider | Flex the Mind | Cross-over | Life after the academy
For at least a decade Gabriel Lester has been teaching at academic level. For the Piet Zwart Lens-Based masters, Lester will combine four lectures into two seminars.
On the 6th of October the position of “The Outsider” as the fly on the wall, the person who thinks, acts and lives differently is paired with the many ways to think different and, as it were, flex the mind.
The Outsider
It is often understood that the artist is someone who has a core sensation of being different. May this be personal, cultural, sexual, ethnical or through alternative upbringing or mental or physical conditions, the position of the outsider is one that is both relevant and inspiring. Through various perspectives of the outsider, may it be via outsider art, ousted art or out of the ordinary art, the perspective, disposition and attitude of the outsider is discussed. Flex the Mind In this lecture I will explore forms of brain gymnastics, so that we can better relate to the imaginary and concrete world - and the future. Furthermore, the session will focus on different actions and methods to stretch your thoughts, alternative ways of thinking, living and techniques to interpret, digest and associate. A lecture on how to train the mind, as much as a musician would practice his or her instrument. On the 13th of October Lester will address how specific artistic practices could cross-over into other disciplines, so that a more diverse application of ones art can be imagined and pursued. This then leads to opportunities for life after the art academy, which are include ways to fund ones work, artist residencies, artistic collaborations, entrepreneurship, art in the public realm and commissioned works of art.
Cross-Over
Art outside its institutional existence often leads to a cross-over. With this I refer to working in other domains and/or applying one’s visual art to other artforms. Having worked on art in public space in the past twenty years now, I have obtained good insight into0 how it is to work with other disciples and in other contexts. I believe the public space holds an important future, when it comes to the relation between art and its public. Working with cinema and within music production is another such cross-over that will be highlighted. This lecture emphasises on practical information, tips and tricks.
Life after the academy
What happens, what is possible after the academy? How to position oneself? How to get funding? Galleries? Exhibition spaces? Finding a studio? Through a set of examples and anecdotes, the basics of post-academic reality are illustrated and addressed. Drawing from personal experience, the lecture speaks about opportunities, but also about what to be aware of and which possible roads to follow.