Fourteenth International Conference on the Arts in Society

Abstract

In these last two decades it can be observed a clear tendency among artists to work collectively. This is a cyclical phenomenon that can emerge in moments of political and economic uncertainty, as stated by Grant Kester. In Portugal a similar tendency has been noticed. However, the lack of a historiographic mapping of these collectives shows an evident need to undertake deeper research on the field in order to question the ratio essendi for a proliferation of artist collectives in some particular moments. Considering the concept of artistic common, the research aims at clarifying the role played by knowledge, language, codes, information and affects in the process of communication between the elements of a group and the production of the artistic work. What kind of semantic the dialogic basis of these collectives allows them to create? What sort of knowledge is produced when working collectively? Is it possible to speak specifically of a “savoir-faire artistique?” If so, can it make us reconsider the way of making art and the idea of art itself, when produced collectively? If the common is the biopolitical condition for life and democracy a form of life in common (Antonio Negri), is it possible to think a collective as a space of freedom where singularities can coexist, while suggesting new forms of sharing and producing the common? The research intends to determine whether art collectives have the capacity to reinvent the concept of democracy and be a transformative force of everyday action.