Nato Thompson Speaking in Vancouver

I love this video as enticement to attend a visual art exhibition (installation). What I love, is its informality. Shooting it in situ in advance of an opening, is enticing. The viewer feels privileged in an "advance look" and savvy prior to an opening, when uploaded ahead of the exhibition. The casual tone, the sense of excitement in his voice and his complete lack of hyperbole makes both him and his exhibition credible. Written credits support his dialogue; he participates in an exhibition designed to be participatory; he sets the casual tone in his choice of words and clothes, and the editing is smart. The curator is Nato Thompson.

Hear Chief Curator Nato Thompson speak next Friday, January 28th, at 12:30pm at Langara College.

In this talk, "Creative Time: Challenging Conceptions of Art in Public," Nato will highlight several projects of the last four years embarked upon by New York City's premiere public art organization Creative Time. These projects include Paul Chan's acclaimed Waiting for Godot in New Orleans (2007), Democracy in America: The National Campaign (2008), Jeremy Deller's: It is What it Is (2009), and Paul Ramirez Jonas's: Key to the City (2010). In commissioning large scale public art projects, Creative Time has supported artists to produce historically important work in sites where cultural production can challenge the status quo.

Since coming to Creative Time in 2007, Nato has organized large scale social based projects including Democracy in America: The National Campaign, Paul Chan's Waiting for Godot in New Orleans, Jeremy Deller's It is What it Is: Conversations about Iraq (a project in collaboration with the New Museum), and most recently the Creative Time Summit. Previous to Creative Time, he served as curator at MASS MoCA. His writings appear in numerous magazines on the subject of art and activism, and his book Seeing Power: Socially Engaged Art in the Age of Cultural Production is due out by Melville House Publishing in January 2012. Nato is in Vancouver to participate in the PuSH Festival as keynote speaker on Jan 28th: "Cartographic Exploits" - Marking Territory in the Contemporary City.

Nato's talk at Langara College starts at 12:30pm in lecture hall A136a, and runs until 2:15pm. Admission is free. He is sponsored by the Langara College Centre for Art in Public Spaces Speakers Series.