Oliver Marchart. Conflictual Aesthetics: Artistic Activism and the Public Sphere

The NED publishing house has recently released the book Estética conflictual. Activismo artístico y esfera pública [Conflictual Aesthetics: Artistic Activism and the Public Sphere] by Oliver Marchart, with a prologue by Laura Llevadot. This publication explores the relationship between artistic practices featuring political activism and art’s political power as expressed through the activism of the past decade, upholding present-day liberal revolutions.

In this regard, in the last twenty years two events have particularly stood out: the crisis of 2008 and the COVID-19 pandemic. This convulsive political moment has given rise to various activist initiatives that have challenged neoliberalism’s demands for austerity and imposed precariousness. Rather than finding haven amidst comfortable institutions, art has claimed a political vocation for itself by intervening in the articulation of activist positions, broadening spaces of conflict and dissent so as to conceive of other possible ways of living in the public sphere.

The Museu Tàpies will host a presentation of this book, accompanied by a debate on the activist turn in contemporary art in recent decades and art’s capacity to intervene in the public sphere. Participants will be Imma Prieto, director of the Museu Tàpies; Carles Guerra, independent curator; Laura Llevadot, philosopher and teacher; and Oliver Marchart, author of the book and of other publications, including Post-Foundational Political Thought (2007) and Thinking Antagonism: Political Ontology after Laclau (2018).

Programme:

11h-11.30 am    Presentation of the book by Oliver Marchart, Estètica conflictual (NED, 2024).
11h.                   Laura Llevadot: Pensament posfundacional i estètica posfundacional.
11.10 h.            Juan Evaristo Valls Boix: Oliver Marchart i la qüestió de l’art polític
11.20 h.           Oliver Marchart: Estètica Conflictual (Conflictual Aesthetics)

11.30-12.30 h. Conversation: Activism in Contemporary Art
11.30 h.            Imma Prieto (Director, Museu Tàpies): Art activista i art polític
11. 45 h.           Carles Guerra (Independent research): Art activista i art polític
12h.                  Oliver Marchart
12.25 h.           Laura Llevadot: questions and conclusions