Upfront: The Visual Arts and the Department Store, a Symbiotic Relationship?

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Zeitgeist expressions of twenty first century visual arts practice include increasing engagement with inter-disciplinary approaches, site-specific work, the influence of curatorial practice and developing partnerships. This has been in conjunction with an awareness of the need to increase audiences, extend audience participation and embrace the marketing and promotion of practice. Simultaneously there has been an increasing emphasis on the retail experience as a leisure activity. Have visual artists formed an effective partnership with the department store as patron, promoter and publicist of the arts? Has the visual merchandiser become a twenty-first century curator? Is there a symbiotic relationship between the visual arts and the department store? Using a case study approach focusing on Selfridges, London: Harvey Nichols, London: and Galleries Lafayette, Paris: this paper explores the developing, complex relationship between visual arts practice and the retail environment.

Stream: Arts Policy, Management and Advocacy

Paper: A paper has not yet been submitted.

Marlene Little originally qualified in Fine Art Printmaking, followed by an MA in Textiles/Fashion, and subsequently an MA in Visual Communication. She is particularly concerned with expressions of symbiosis and zeitgeist within the visual arts, design and craft communities. Her personal practice includes a blend of exhibiting, curatorial practice and cross disciplinary academic research. Particular concerns are the relationship between photography and textiles, the inter-disciplinary impact of technology, and evolving visual arts/ design/craft practices. The work is in the broad arena of cultural exchange between the UK and Australia.