ARTS HUB AUSTRALIA: Ever wondered how art could change the world?
Ever had an opinion about how it has? Or hasn’t?
This question, along with 100 others, is being teased out and debated at the Southbank 100 Ideas Festival this month.
With a lineup of notable speakers ranging from philosopher Alain de Botton to indie band Saint Etienne and from MP Clare Short to artist Thomas Hirschhorn, the series boasts a run of events, multi-media perfomances and talks with a wide-ranging focus, and throughout the series, curators are collecting 100 key ideas provoked and inspired by the events and talkers.
Everything, it seems, from the world-changing power of art to the presence of slavery today is coming under scrutiny.
But unlike competitor, Intelligence Squared, the popular debate series held in London, The 100 Ideas Festival is re-inventing the very idea of debate.
Rather than following a dry, traditional festival format, the 100 Ideas Festival is encouraging ongoing debate from audience members and the public with the launch of the 100 Ideas Minisite. Once ideas are taken from the event itself, they are placed on the Minisite – ready for comment. In effect, a cultural blogsite.
Southbank told Arts Hub that, “The site is space for argument and comment. The public can post visual, audio or written challenges to the issues raised in any of the events or talks.’
And, in a further nod to inclusivity and progressive thinking, members of the public are being invited to post their own ideas on the Minisite. Every idea posted is considered by the Curator for inclusion in the ‘100 Ideas’.
Arguably a dynamic approach to an old fashioned idea – the debate – the Minisite is expanding. To date, the curators have posted 10 Ideas and while responses are still low in numbers, the site does appear to be harnessing some interest.
Unsurprisingly, an event held last week to examine the impact of Reality TV on modern culture has sparked debate. The panel included a diverse line-up of talkers – from Jade Goody through to MP George Galloway.
The question: What impact has Reality TV had and where should it be taking us?
The general consensus was that the panel was too skewed in favour of Reality TV, with complaints that even Galloway’s assertion ‘reality programming is democratic’ weakened the debate. Spirited arguments ranged from whether the public were all Reality TV addicts to whether or not Southbank should have spent any money on a debate about the virtues and vices of Reality TV at all.
And the debate continues. One blogger’s outrage was contained solely to Jade Goody, who reportedly asked if Crimewatch was a reality show.
In keeping with Southbank’s focus on attracting the most diverse audience of any UK venue, the line-up of events in the coming weeks is startlingly varied.
For those unfamiliar with Tracey Emin, she is in fact an acclaimed artist and self-proclaimed expert in misery. Later this month she will chair a talk on happiness – specifically, her idea of happiness. And for those looking for something a more musical, a study day is being held the following day to analyse the work of Benjamin Britten‘s music and theatre in the 1930s. Different again will be the ‘Dispense and Connect’ discussion, which sees three international editors and publishers discussing the role of the magazine as a keeper and promoter of culture.
Even MP Clare Short has taken part in the Festival, interviewed in late March by UCL School of Public Policy’s Dr Meg Russell about the role culture plays within a democracy.
The slate is full, so just what does Southbank want to see emerge from the Festival?
The somewhat novel approach – gleaning an idea raised during a talk and then encouraging the public to comment – is very much in keeping with Southbank’s progressive focus. A Southbank spokesperson told Arts Hub, “The Festival is a forum – and its been designed to foster discussion about the role of culture from the point of the debate right through to the Minisite. The discusion doesn’t have to remain contained to the event.”
And that seems to be the defining feature of this initiative – the continuation of discussion. This in marked contrast to the enduringly popular debate series, Intelligence Squared where the series format consists of the debate alone.
Notably, Intelligence Squared debates are frequently sold out weeks, if not months in advance, so it is clear there is a significant public hunger for discussion and analysis.
So it seems that the Festival organisers may have been well-advised tapping into this hunger and, by using the tools of the web, might just have created a new space for ongoing cultural exchange.
