Workshop Art Mediation: FAQ on Q&A with Geert Maarse

Educators and art mediators working within the field of arts and culture are invited to join a workshop by Geert Maarse. During this workshop we will explore the ‘art’ of the conversation. Art mediation should not be geared towards the supplying of ready-made chunks of cultural information but should focus on the inherent ability of people to ask questions; questions to oneself and questions to each other. A key element of any guided tour in a gallery setting is dialogue and conversation about the art and the themes associated with the work. Facilitating such dialogues in a constructive manner is a a skill all in itself. During this workshop programmer and science journalist Geert Maarse will explore the elements of a conversation. How and when to create space for a speaker to talk? When does the mediator interrupt? How to pose the right kind of questions and how to give feedback? Which skills from journalism and media can Art Mediators apply in their own practice? After participating in this workshop you will never look at an interview in the same way again.

This workshop is part of the 100% Contemporary professional development masterclass series initiated by Witte de With, TENT and MAMA. For each session an (inter)national guest will address the intentions and objectives of art mediation with special regard to high school students. How do we deal with the inherent contradictions of engaging with the current practice? How is the daily routine of mediation embedded in a complex network of different implicit goals between schools and institutions? Can we combine, on one hand transformation processes in institutional tendencies and on the other hand, a critical art-mediation discourse with a view towards having social impact.