One-Day Conference Constellations critiques. 30 ans d’Archives de la critique d’art
by Henry Meyric Hughes
This event, organised by Antje Kramer-Mallordy and her colleagues at the Archives de la critique d’art, marked the culmination of the 30th anniversary celebrations of the founding of the ACA in 1989 and the end of a year-long programme of seminars, publications and public events. It was postponed from January 2010, on account of the strikes and public unrest at the time.
The organisers succeeded in bringing together some 30 representatives of the three principal institutional supporters of the ‘Groupement d’intérêt commun’ (GIS), established in 2014 to protect the long-term interests of the archives – namely, the Association des critiques d’art (AICA), whose members and networks have provided the (already) 2.3 linear kilometres of archival material that constitute the collection; the National Institute of Art History, in Paris (INHA, established after AICA, in 2000), which now legally owns the collection; and the University of Rennes 2, which provides the premises and funds the staffing and services; together with representatives, primarily, of Rennes Metropole, the City of Rennes and local artistic institutions, such as the Art School, Art Museum and contemporary art spaces, including the FRAC (Fonds Régional d’Art Contemporain) and the Maison des Sciences de l’Homme en Bretagne (MSHB), which have supported the ACA, in varying measure, mostly from the very beginning. In addition to Antje Kramer-Mallordy, the ACA was represented by its former director, Nathalie Boulouch, who had skilfully guided the organisation through four years of change, uncertainty and expansion, and all their colleagues from the ACA: Jelena Le Magoarou (administration), Laurence Le Poupon (archives), Sylvie Mokhtari (review Critique d’art) and Emmanuelle Rossignol (library).
AICA was represented by Jean-Marc Poinsot, the founding President of the Archives and Professor Emeritus of Art History at the University of Rennes 2, and Jacques Leenhardt, a past president of AICA International and AICA France, who represents AICA on the Governing Board of the GIS, along with Elisabeth Couturier, the current president and Christoph Domino, a past president of AICA France, Elisa Rusca, from AICA Switzerland and Henry Meyric Hughes, past international president of AICA UK and international president of AICA, who represents AICA on the Scientific and Cultural Council of the Archives, along with numerous members of AICA France – many of them, from Paris - who stayed on for a lively , free-wheeling debate the following day, at the Art School in Rennes, on the theme: ‘Critiques d’art, commissaires d’exposition: contamination’. READ MORE
See the whole podcasts of the day-event here: https://www.lairedu.fr/media/video/conference/constellations-critiques/
