This symposium is occasioned by the To refuse/To wait/To sleep and M&A exhibitions at the Morris and Helen Belkin Art Gallery. The paradoxical nature of money means that it has long been of interest to artists. Money’s tense and ever-changing relationship with the spiritual and material worlds are echoed in the visual arts - both money and art seem to have the capacity to conjure substance and value out of nothing. Although the relationship between the visual or performance arts and money is an old one, it is only relatively recently that artists have produced works that seek in some way to emulate or model economic practices. Both visual and performance artists are increasingly using their work to explicitly reflect upon the economic conditions in which it is being created. This has intensified in recent years as contemporary art has become ever more closely associated with high finance, appearing more and more as a global industry in its own right.

In conjunction with the book launch, Marianne Nicolson will be presenting an artist talk beginning at 1 pm in the Gallery. [Read more...] <http://belkin.ubc.ca/events/marianne-nicolson-artist-talk>

We are excited to welcome the UBC Contemporary Players back to the Belkin Art Gallery for a concert inspired by the exhibitions To refuse/To wait/To sleep and M&A. The program will showcase original compositions written specifically for the ensemble by UBC composers, as well as a new improvised work developed through workshops with visiting artist Douglas Finch. Led by directors Corey Hamm and Paolo Bortolussi with coaching support from Laine Longton, this graduate and undergraduate music ensemble from the UBC School of music will animate the Gallery for an afternoon program exploring themes from the exhibition including a range of affective expressions of late capitalism.