Art Work / Care Work? Hettie Judah in Conversation

Over the last several years, we at CAS have spoken with colleagues, artists, and friends, both casually and formally about studio visits. The issue of expectations and ethics came up repeatedly: nearly everyone has expectations about studio visits, but they're often different and very rarely communicated clearly. Although many good things can come out of studio visits, these mixed and unmet expectations can lead to feelings of resentment and frustration. In an attempt to counter this, CAS and Open Studios Stavanger & Sandnes co-hosted a public discussion about studio visit ethics. The goal was not a definitive answer, but rather an opening conversation to share our experiences, perspectives, and to raise awareness of tools that exist to help artists and curators communicate their needs and boundaries. We were honored to be joined in this conversation by Stavanger-based artist Anna Ihle* and Martina Petrelli, curator of Atelier Kunstnerforbundet in Oslo. Below is an edited transcript of our discussion.

CAS is the region's only outlet specifically for visual arts, and as such we are dedicated to representing the local art landscape within a broader national and international context. A public conversation about art criticism that took place as part of this year’s Coast Contemporary and Open Studios Stavanger is an example of these efforts. In a conversation that sparked much engagement with the audience, curators, writers and critics Arnau Horta and Foteini Salvaridi – both part of Coast Contemporary International Visitor’s Program – shared their practices and their perspectives on the state of art criticism.

OSS — Open Studios Stavanger & Sandnes er et lokalt initiativ som inviterer publikum inn i mange av de regionale kunstneratelier. OSS arrangeres for første gang helgen 30. september til 1. oktober 2023. Nasjonalt er ikke Open Studios et ukjent konsept. En gang i året inviteres publikum inn i kunstneres atelierer i flere av de stor byene i Norge. Det har også vært arrangert lignede prosjekter her i regionen tidligere, men OSS debuterer solid med hele 82 atelier som åpnes for publikum, og et besøksprogram for kunstfaglige. CAS har snakket med OSS om hvordan det hele startet, hva som skal skje åpningshelgen, og om veien videre.