Critical Writing Index

Better Worlds. Activist and utopian projects by artist

by Jan Allen, Laura U. Marks and Janet M. Brooke

Kingston: Agnes Etherington Arts Centre, 2002

"This exhibition of activist and utopian art examines the relationship between individual and collective wills as they navigate the shifting matrices of economy and state. In works ranging from concrete, action-oriented proposals to poetic critique, the artists seek to animate polity through representations that question or imaginatively re-configure assumed goals and power relationships. Better Worlds touches on: the politics of urban space and homelessness, alternatives in education, modes of dissent, the allure of corporate hegemony, class struggle and technological change, and globalization. The artists span generations and their manifold perspectives are echoed in references to the sweep of time, to failed ideologies and recurring expressions of utopia." [source text: AEAC website] An audio guide, symposium and this catalogue were all produced in conjunction with the exhibition shown in Kingston from July 9 To October 27, 2002.

ITEM 2002.219 – available for viewing in the Research Centre

Videos, Artworks and Artists Cited

Eleanor Bond

Robin Pacific

Mindy Yan Miller

David Best

Luis Jacob

Blah Blah Blah Collective

Tony Cokes

Istvan Kantor

New Error Art Collective