Sonia Boyce, Elvira Dyangani Ose, David Kohn and others took part in a panel discussion about the role of art and culture in shaping the built environment, as part of Therme Art's collaboration with Virtual Design Festival today.
The talk was organised in partnership with the British Council and was the third instalment of Therme Art's new initiative, Wellbeing Culture Forum, which is a programme of online discussions that explore the role of culture and art during the coronavirus pandemic.
Therme Art is the creative arm of the Therme Group and provides artworks to its spas and resorts around the world.
Titled the Social Culture of Cities – Shaping a Participatory Reality, the third session of the series explored the role of art and culture in shaping how we live in cities.
The panel discussed the ways in which artists can contribute to the planning and design of urban architecture and whether art and architecture can come together in order to create urban spaces equipped for the challenges posed by climate change.
The panel was co-moderated by the CEO and curator of Therme Art Mikolaj Sekutowicz, and director of the British Council's visual arts programme Emma Dexter.
On the panel was London-based artist Sonia Boyce who has been chosen to create the British pavilion at the Venice Biennale 2021, the first black woman to receive the commission. Boyce is also a professor of black art and design at the University of the Arts in London.
The panel also featured Elvira Dyangani Ose, director and chief curator of London-based art space the Showroom and London-based architect David Kohn.
Also joining the panel was Cedar Lewishon, curator at the Southbank Centre in London, Gavin Wade, director of Birmingham-based artist-run gallery Eastside Projects and Suzy Wilson, artistic director of multi-disciplinary performing arts group Clod Ensemble.
The talk was the third in Virtual Design Festival's partnership with Therme Art. The first panel discussion in the series, which featured Hans Ulrich Obrist, Frida Escobedo, Stefano Boeri and more, explored the relationship between art and architecture.
The second panel of the series featured a discussion about the value of live cultural events amidst global unrest with Es Devlin, Zoé Whitely and Marc Spiegler among others.
About Virtual Design Festival
Virtual Design Festival runs from 15 April to 10 July 2020. It brings the architecture and design world together to celebrate the culture and commerce of our industry, and explore how it can adapt and respond to extraordinary circumstances.
To find out what's coming up at VDF, check out the schedule. For more information or to join the mailing list, email vdf@dezeen.com.