Energy Plan for the Western Man: Art after Capitalism round table discussion with Sylvie Denis (author), Keith Hennessy (artist),  Andrew Mount (artist), and Praba Pilar (artist/educator) at Shaping San Francisco, Eric Quezada Center for Culture and Politics (518 Valencia St, SF).

The round table discussion will center on each of the participant’s practice and individual work with an accent on the future/post-capitalism. Largely drawing on themes that are present in Joseph Beuys work, and to be more specific his pioneering concept of social sculpture, money and universal basic income, we will use his figure to discuss the future of art and the future of art/artist/author/performer, post-capitalism.

The first steps toward a post-capitalist practice involve the redefinition of art itself. Art after capitalism starts right now. Is the promised future artist’s emancipation providing only a contemplative respite from the exploitation, hierarchies and conflict present in the art world today? What does the future hold for artists, authors, performers? Will the artist abandon the authorial form? Will there be massive exodus from the museum/from the bookstore/from the performance venue? Will art finally merge with our lived experience? What new avenues can lead us toward an exit from our failed artistic paradigms? Will the rules of competition and money remain alive in the background and it is important to learn how to struggle absolutely for changes that are still only partial? Can we build a truly inclusive adequate, equitable and decentralized system that puts the artist/author/performer/curator at the forefront of this change?