Alessandra Ferrini

Day 2 motto: Mapping Desires

Speaker Day 2 Alessandra Ferrini, Artist, Researcher, Educator, University of the Arts London, Corby, UK

"Museums as Catalysts of Practice-based Research"

Ferrini brings a sharp perspective on the intersection of artistic practice, academic research, and institutional responsibility.

In her talk, “Museums as Catalysts of Practice-based Research,” Ferrini examines the pressures facing research in the arts today, shaped by shrinking public funding, the neoliberal governance of universities and museums, and the global rise of authoritarian politics.

In a moment marked by environmental crisis, economic precarity, and escalating forms of state violence, she invites us to reconsider what role art museums should aspire to:
Can they move beyond the imperatives of production and display?
Could they embrace a deeper commitment to knowledge-making as a central function?
And what forms of institutional ethics, care, and responsibility would this require?