Participatory Art: an Introduction

The concepts of interactivity and audience engagement are increasingly referred to in the context of art. We will discuss what defines participatory art, or the art of participation, how it originated and how it develops. We will consider artists’ various practices, their motivation and experience working with audiences. In any participatory process, aside from the artist, there are two more participants: the organizer (the commissioning organization) and the spectator-participant. What goals do they pursue and how in practice does one build such trilateral interaction?

Lecturer Maria Ivanova is an art manager, and a graduate of the Vienna University of Applied Arts. Her areas of professional interest are art of the 20th century, current, performative and participatory art.She organizes creative and participatory events involving the audience, conducts lectures and workshops in France, Austria, Germany, Russia.