GALA partners form the Netherlands (Utrecht), Italy (Parma, Udine), Russia (RANEPA), China (CUC), USA (CGU), Canada (Concordia) and the UK (Bath Spa University) met at Parma University from 5-7 July for the 2017 annual meeting on the theme: Curating the Future. The conference took place at the Centro Studi e Archivio della Comunicazione (CSAC), located in Parma’s former Cistercian Valserena Abbey, about 10km north of Parma and just beyond the outskirts of a suburb known as Paradigna. http://www.csacparma.it/en/

Thursday 6 July: CSAC

Professor Diego Saglia (Director, Dipartimento di Discipline Umanistiche, Sociali e delle Imprese Culturali, University of Parma), Professor Francesca Zanella (Director, CSAC, University of Parma) and Professor Christina Slade (Vice-Chancellor, Bath Spa University & GALA Founding Director) opened the conference followed by a GALA update by Professor Ian Gadd (Bath Spa University, Academic Director of GALA).

Cesare Pietroiusi delivered the keynote on the topic of: ‘Through time: integrity and transformation of the artwork’.

Delegates were given a tour of the Abbey, which contains 12 million items in the archive.

Christina Slade & Rebecca McGuire-Snieckus (Bath Spa University) delivered a talk titled: ‘Global Citizenship and outward mobility’.

Isabella Mozzoni, Chiara Donelli & Simone Fanelli (University of Parma) delivered a talk titled: ‘The 4W of cultural donations: WHO, to What, at What extent, Why? Results from Italian patronage reform’.

John Strachan (Bath Spa University) spoke on his work ‘Curating and Researching across Cultures’.

Xiting Bu (Communication University of China) delivered a talk titled: ‘Creative construction for cultural heritage city’

Kristin Doern (Bath Spa University) and Josh Goode (Claremont Graduate University) spoke about their collaboration and student exchange: ‘A Bath History of Los Angeles: Research from the CGU/BSU Curatorial Exchange’

Ian Gadd introduced student presentations including Francesco Raffo, who presented on his Chicago film project and Jacob Lewis-Leeson on the GALA Culture Club Plans for 2017/18.

Delegates were delighted by a Jazz concert featuring a trumpeter and percussionist who led the audience throughout the grounds of the Abbey and within, interacting with the exhibit in the evening.

Friday 7 July: CSAC

Stephen Vaughan (Bath Spa University) presented on his work: ‘Curating seismic histories through photographic practice: shared histories of mega-thrust earthquakes in Japan and NW America’.

Luca Cossettini (University of Udine) delivered a talk titled: ‘From the archive to the event: Preservation, analysis and promotion of historical audio recordings at MIRAGE’

Alexandra Artamonova (RANEPA, Moscow) presented on the topic of: ‘Through the Lens of the Arts: Comprehending Classical Philosophy through the History of Art’

Paola Donati delivered the second keynote: ‘Curating the present through the theatre practice’

Francesca Zanella (University of Parma), Katharine Reeve & Amy Mower (Bath Spa University) reported on the inter-institutional collaboration on International art and design publishing, including the launch of the BSU/CSAC digital book series

Alessio Malcevski (University of Parma) ‘Humanities and Sustainability: Connecting Patterns for a Culture of Complexity’

Krista Geneviève Lynes (Concordia University) ‘Curating the Future: The Feminist Media Studio in the Contemporary Future’

Mary Bouquet (University College Utrecht) ‘Making Journeys: Building Blocks for Diversity’

GALA partners engaged in a Strategy planning session before summary and closing remarks Ian Gadd, Bath Spa University, Academic Director of GALA

Students have been involved with the annual GALA meeting since 2015, and there has always been an associated summer school opportunity. This year, the summer school is an extension of the GALA Postgraduate Student Exchange Project between Bath Spa University and Claremont Graduate University, which focuses on curating the past, cultural heritage interpretation, and arts and cultural management.

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