Rethinking collection and commission: Rózsa Farkas

Amalia Ulman, Labour Dance, 2016, Arcadia Missa

Led by Rózsa Farkas from Arcadia Missa, this roundtable will explore multidisciplinary approaches to the curation and commissioning of contemporary artworks.  King Charles I was an avid collector who amassed one of the most extraordinary art collections of his age, acquiring works by some of the finest artists of the past – Titian, Mantegna, Holbein, Dürer – and commissioning leading contemporary artists such as Van Dyck and Rubens. Throughout the history of art, the acts of collecting and viewing art have changed dramatically. In the current landscape of an economic crisis, where cuts are widespread and grants are being reduced, curators and gallery directors are opting for a different kind of approach when it comes to representing and commissioning artists and their works. In recent years, there has been a growing number of self-made structures, platforms and galleries that have been reshaping the way we interact with the display of work.  Rózsa Farkas is the founder and director of Arcadia Missa, a gallery focusing on “contemporary art with intent” that “began as a self-organised space in austerity Britain”. Farkas has been experimenting with Arcadia Missa as a multi-platform project space since 2011, and as a commercial gallery since 2014. The space has provided new aesthetic approaches and alternative organisational structures with the dynamic display of work through her Peckham gallery and publications. While still presenting work in major art fairs around the world, Arcadia Missa constantly explores and questions the ethics of the gallery space and of artist representation. During times of austerity how can we reimagine the frameworks for commissioning and curation?  Join Rózsa Farkas in thinking about the implications of self-organised space and how it could lead to new frameworks for the curation and commissioning of contemporary art.  This event invites audiences to participate in a roundtable discussion in the General Assembly Room, on Saturday, February 17, 2018 at 3 PM - 4:30 PM UTC, at the Royal Academy of Arts Burlington House (Piccadilly, W1J 0 London, United Kingdom). Tickets are available HERE.

-Jason Kaerofylas