21–24 September

The first retreat in the third year of Syllabus with artists selected from an open call: Frederica Agbah, Chris Alton, Conor Baird, Ilker Cinarel, Phoebe Davies, Freya Dooley, Rose Gibbs, Jill McKnight, Ben Sanderson and Karis Upton. The retreat is devised and led by artists Harold Offeh and Jesse Darling, who are the programme leads for Syllabus III.

Thursday 21 September
Arrivals at Wysing for introductions and icebreaker activities devised by Harold Offeh and Jesse Darling.

Friday 22 September
"What is Your Problem?" Artists are invited to present an aspect of their practice to each other and the Syllabus partners.  Responding to the provocative question "What is Your Problem?", the aim is to identify and shape a current concern in their current practice. The group are encouraged to focus on a particular work or project that reflects these current or ongoing concerns. The presentations will be followed by a dinner with the Syllabus partners.

Saturday 23 September
Manifestos and creating a Syllabus. This day will focus on the practical aspects of building and sustaining the peer group. How do people want to maintain communication? What systems might we want to put in place. Are there any new collective goals that might have emerged from the weekend? The second part of the day will consist of a close reading group and a screening. For the screening, everybody in the group is asked to select a youtube clip (of no more than 10 minutes in length) that might reflect current interests or research. 

Sunday 24 September
A closing group activity revisits the key themes of the weekend and create a plan for future retreats.

Essential Reading:
Hannah Black, ‘The Identity Artist and The Identity Critic’, Artforum, 2016.

Suggested Reading:
Claire Bishop and Grant Kester, Discussions following her article the “The Social Turn: Collaboration and its Discontents”, Artforum, 2006
Anne Boyer, “Some Rules for Teachers”, New Inquiry, 2015
“Ivan Illich: deschooling, conviviality and lifelong learning”, Infed, 2016.

Please note that we have selected the artists for this year's Syllabus III programme.

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