Jessica Holtaway – författare

This book explores how contemporary art can alter the ways in which we visualise and conceptualise the world and the social relations that shape it. Drawing from the writings of philosopher Jean-Luc Nancy, it spotlights the concept of ‘world-forming’ and the political significance of art-making and viewing.The central theme of ‘world-forming’ focuses attention on the processes of globalisation. The book explores how artists can facilitate shared creative spaces within and beyond the apparatuses of global capitalism. The book traces a philosophical progression from ontology to the political through a series of participatory practices. It forwards Jean-Luc Nancy’s idea of ‘world-forming’ in order to show how contemporary art sustains critical and creative engagement with social practices. The overall objective of the book is to show, through participatory practices, how contemporary art can facilitate social change.The book will be of interest to scholars working in art history, contemporary art, philosophy and politics.

This book explores how contemporary art can alter the ways in which we visualise and conceptualise the world and the social relations that shape it. Drawing from the writings of philosopher Jean-Luc Nancy, it spotlights the concept of ‘world-forming’ and the political significance of art-making and viewing.The central theme of ‘world-forming’ focuses attention on the processes of globalisation. The book explores how artists can facilitate shared creative spaces within and beyond the apparatuses of global capitalism. The book traces a philosophical progression from ontology to the political through a series of participatory practices. It forwards Jean-Luc Nancy’s idea of ‘world-forming’ in order to show how contemporary art sustains critical and creative engagement with social practices. The overall objective of the book is to show, through participatory practices, how contemporary art can facilitate social change.The book will be of interest to scholars working in art history, contemporary art, philosophy and politics.

Written by artists, curators, historians, and cultural workers, Art Encounters in the Nuclear Age: Radiant Objects is a collection of essays that offers an idiosyncratic cross-section of nuclear history, foregrounding stories of objects and artworks.This collection aims to expand discourse around nuclear power and bear witness to the strangeness of living in the nuclear age and to contribute to a culture of care for nuclear subjects. Particularly the collection seeks to direct attention to the marginalised voices of those who have experienced nuclear traumas more directly. The book can be read as a kind of inventory of objects, of things close-to-hand, which can allow us to sense the magnitude and complexity of issues arising from nuclear technologies. Amidst prevailing eco-anxiety, these essays ask us to sit with these experiences, to ‘hold’ these objects and to come closer to understanding our nuclear heritage. Topics include: the legacies of nuclear bombs; the nuclear archive and ‘noise prints’, nuclear decommissioning; the past and present of nuclear bunkers; and art in Fukushima.This text is suitable for researchers in the visual arts, history, philosophy, and environmentalism.

artWork: Art, Labour and Activism brings together a variety of perspectives on contemporary cultural production and activism in order to interrogate how the concepts of art, labour and activism intersect in practices for social change. What can we learn about contemporary art and politics by looking at the intersections between art, labour and activism? What theoretical tools can help us arrive at a deeper understanding of these intersections? In order to address these questions, this collection explores the role of art as activism, the use of social media and technology in creative production and organising, the politics of artmaking, the commodification of culture and the possibility of a creative commons, and the work of artist activists as educators. In addition to offering a variety of new perspectives from researchers and practitioners, it proposes new paths towards interdisciplinary research in this field that combine sociological, anthropological, philosophical and art theory perspectives. It will be of interest to students and scholars interested in creative labour, social movements and political arts practice.