Bob and Roberta Smith Launch The First Art Party Conference

The Art Party Conference, which will be held today (23 November)  is the first of its kind, initiated by the artist Bob and Roberta Smith in the name of The Art Party, and follows on from his 2011 artwork LETTER TO MICHAEL GOVE MP SECRETARY OF STATE FOR EDUCATION:

The Art Party Conference 2013 will be an antidote to all other conferences. It’s not aligned with any political party but an opportunity to celebrate art and artists and acts as a forum for debating the future of the arts in today’s climate of spending cuts and changes to the education system. The Art Party hopes to influence decision makers to listen and to think again.

Artists and speakers who are confirmed to contribute and participate include Jeremy Deller, Maureen Duffy, Leo Fitzmaurice, Haroon Mirza, Lynda Morris, Cornelia Parker, John Smith, Mark Wallinger and Richard Wentworth. David Shrigley and Bobby Baker will be lending their creative support from afar. The Art Fund, the national charity for art, whose National Art Pass supports purchases of key works of art for Museum collections, are helping to promote the event. The Art Fund’s Director, Stephen Deuchar, will be ‘in conversation’ with an artist or two, revealing what first turned him onto art and discussing why art is so important.

“TAKE ART OUT OF SCHOOLS AND YOU SHUT THE DOOR ON CHILDRENS’ DEVELOPMENT AND YOU WILL EMASCULATE BRITISH CULTURE. WHERE ARE OUR FUTURE DESIGNERS, ARCHITECTS, CRAFTSMEN, ENGINEERS, TECHNICIANS, SOFTWARE DESIGNERS AND MATHEMATICIANS GOING TO COME FROM IF NO ONE CAN DRAW?”

 Bob and Roberta Smith is interested in these questions:

    • What first turned you on to the arts?
    • Why are the arts important?
    • How do you think the arts should be taught in schools?

 “ART IMAGES, ARTIFACTS, SONGS, CULTURE ARE THE PRINCIPAL MEANS BY WHICH HUMAN BEINGS DEFINE THEMSELVES”

The Art Party Conference 2013 is being held in Scarborough, home of many important conferences, hosted by The Spa Conference and Entertainment Centre, a magnificent nineteenth century seafront building in the South Bay run by Sheffield International Venues. Crescent Arts in Scarborough, which houses six resident artists’ studios with workshops and a small gallery, and has created opportunities for new work and artists’ professional development for over thirty years, is co-producing the event with Bob and Roberta Smith.

Art and artists are the focus of the event with debate merging with performances, films, music, improvisations, readings, and artists’ interventions at every turn. Surf your way through stands, stalls, installations and happenings celebrating the work of some of our most significant artists.

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