The AICA Podcast, initiated and moderated by Mihaela Ion, started in September 2024, promising to deliver engaging content and discussions on topics related to art, culture, art criticism, and curation.
This online podcast features a moderator and invited speakers discussing various aspects of AICA’s international projects in English, as well as their own curatorial and artistic endeavours while exploring the current state of contemporary art and art criticism. The engaging conversations aim to highlight the challenges and emerging ideas within the art world, fostering a deeper understanding of its trends and potential developments. The AICA Podcast seeks to showcase the diverse personalities within our international association, creating a vibrant community of art commentators, managers, and curators from around the globe. By sharing insights and information in real time, the podcast not only promotes AICA’s mission but also facilitates meaningful dialogue and collaboration within the art world. The podcast is broadcast on several online platforms, as well as AICA’s website and social media channels.
The first three shows are already online and have key AICA personalities. In the first episode, we discussed AICA’s mission, global projects, importance, and history with Małgorzata Kaźmierczak. Featuring Małgorzata Kaźmierczak, the current president of AICA, the first episode provided valuable insights into the organization’s mission and impact. The subsequent discussion with her enriched the conversation, highlighting AICA’s worldwide projects and historical significance and engaging the audience with the important work being done by AICA.
The second episode had a discussion with Niilofur Farrukh, a Karachi-based art interventionist and chair of AICA’s Censorship and Freedom of Expression Committee.
AICA, in collaboration with its international network, is actively developing a Censorship Toolkit aimed at supporting cultural workers facing censorship challenges. In the podcast, Niilofur Farrukh presents a short version of the Censorship Toolkit that holds strategies for navigating censorship situations effectively, highlights resources available for assistance, and promotes solidarity among artists, curators, art critics and cultural practitioners.
The third episode featured Alfredo Cramerotti as a guest speaker, where he delved into digital strategies employed by AICA and his curatorial projects and explored changes in art criticism. The episode highlights AICA’s initiatives and the crucial role of the digital strategies committee in promoting visibility for these projects, showcasing their efforts to enhance engagement and outreach in the digital space.
The episode also highlights a transformative shift in the roles of art criticism and curatorial practices, emphasizing how these positions are increasingly embracing broader engagement with communities. This change fosters deeper connections between artists, audiences, and cultural narratives, allowing for more inclusive dialogues and diverse perspectives, ultimately enriching the art ecosystem.
Alfredo Cramerotti’s curatorial and art criticism works encourage deep audience engagement with contemporary art by challenging established narratives and promoting critical dialogue. His projects focus on the intersection of art and new media, highlighting the significance of context and perception in interpreting artistic expressions. The podcast is focusing on his latest curatorial and collaborative projects.
About the moderator: Mihaela Ion – Ph.D in History. Mihaela Ion is a curator, cultural manager and art researcher based in Bucharest. Since 2021, she is an AICA member. Since 2022, she has been an International Board Member in AICA and part of the Digital Strategies Committee in the same association. In the last 17 years, she presented papers about Communist Art, Cultural Wars, contemporary artworks at the most important conferences organized in Europe. She collaborates with several art galleries and museums in Europe. Her PhD thesis focused on the heritage of communist artworks. She has had the good fortune of being a grant keeper as a cultural manager in London at body>data>space, and in Paris, Sélestat, Strasbourg and Nancy during her Courants du Monde grant from the French Ministry of Culture. In 2010, she cofounded the project Atelierul Magazine (https://www.revista-atelierul.ro/ ) – an international active online and offline platform that creates an intercultural dialogue between the design creators and the public.