The Future of How We Encounter Art and Spaces - Open Satellites

By Kashish Saini

See exhibition on https://csmopenstudio.hotglue.me/

The graduating year of the BA Fine Art at Central Saint Martins presented their virtual Open Studios this week! The exhibition 'Open Satellites' came from the many 'orbits' of themes and ideas which were mapped out on a Miro board. A galaxy of thematic developments which lead to a very successful set of propositions. Propositions that can mould a rather unique Degree Show in a few months time. The spacey name 'Open Sattelites' comes from the process of organising this show - students using the miro board to form 'orbits' and find intersections with their practices. This process also reflects on the home page of the Hotglue site. A candid response to a dizzying body of practices.

"The last Open Studios was us finding our feet in the online exhibiting world - this Open Studios is us embracing it and running with it" - Kerensa Tereszczuk, CSM BAFA XD3

Pre-pandemic events such as this one were an opportunity for the students to open their studios to the public. To present a physical exhibition with crowded corridors, security guards looming over you, beer and wine and distant chatter. A wholesome experience indeed, however, that experience didn't allow the viewer to click and zoom out to look at the multitude of works and the diversity they present. This year's Easter Open Studios addresses issues of accessibility and allows the viewer to see impressive works at their own pace and leisure. The site revolutionises the idea of an internet rabbit hole in the context of art. 

Domestic

                                                                      THE EVERYDAY

        Abandoned spaces

                                                                                                                             Process

  the uncanny

                                                          abject

                                 trauma

..... are just some of the words that take you to several parts of this sensation of concepts designed, directed and organised by the students with overseeing from Alex Schady, Programme Director and Mia Taylor, Course Leader, CSM

The Hotglue site had an easily navigable menu leading to Livestreams; A showreel with multiple channels that looks like a zoom chat; audio page to buy an Open studios album; Publications by Placeholder print a platform for publication practices; An AR promotions page giving insight into future projects and an anonymous guestbook! The interface allows for endless possibilities appropriate with the current state of the contemporary art world. The success of this virtual experience leads to a lot of questions regarding the future of how we encounter art and spaces. 

Will the model of the Degree show be based on this? 

Will the BA course structure be changed in any way? 

What does this mean for the physicality of some practices?

I had the opportunity to have a brief conversation with Alex Schady about his thoughts on the future and he says "We got trapped in the model of the degree show because of perhaps the phenomenon of that market, which was appropriate at that time. Right now, however, to digitally examine something first is a savvy and appropriate response. What happens when you throw materiality onto a computer screen?" 

This doesn't mean that practices have to be strictly digital it just means there would be a digital footprint that makes these experiences more accessible by flattening the hierarchy. The broad outlook that comes with the virtual experience does still, to some extent, restrict the feasibilities of some works that may be better experienced in physical spaces - these problems motivate an urgency of change not just within the institution but beyond it. The world has changed forever and the way we encounter art and spaces has too.