During 2011 Wysing Arts Centre presents THE INSTITUTE OF BEYOND; a series of artists’ residencies based within three research departments each lasting six weeks, with a series of special public events and talks running throughout, and culminating in a public presentation in Wysing’s gallery.

For the past three years Wysing has been testing out new ways of supporting artists to undertake research and respond to location and context; through residencies, retreats and camps. THE INSTITUTE OF BEYOND takes that work a stage further by inviting artists and others to respond to three themed departments across the year: The Department of Wrong Answers, The Department of Psychedelic Studies and The Department of Overlooked Histories. 

An Open Call for interest was distributed in November of last year and artists including Karin Kihlberg & Reuben Henry, Laure Provost and Francesco Pedraglio, Damian Roach, Giles Round, and Hilary Koob-Sassen will be undertaking residencies within the departments.

Public events and talks will be ongoing and given by the artists and also other invited contributors including the art critic Jan Verwoert; Grizedale Arts, who are working on re-instating John Ruskin’s Institute of Mechanics in the Lake District; and Dr Philip Barnard, a programme leader at the Medical Research Council's Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit in Cambridge.

Donna Lynas, Director of Wysing Arts Centre, says “The Institute of Beyond has been developed with the input of the artists who have taken part in residencies and retreats at Wysing over the past few years and we hope offers a new way to work together around shared ideas”.

The Institute of Beyond officially launches at The Cambridge Conflab on Saturday 15 January. For more information about the program, please visit: www.wysingartscentre.org or telephone 01954 718881.