Beatrice Persson
Om Beatrice Persson
I am a Senior lecturer in Art and Visual Culture. I have a PhD in Art History and Visual Studies from the Department of Cultural Sciences at the University of Gothenburg. In my dissertation I discussed what criteria constitute contemporary art in a globalized art world in general, based on the Australian art scene, specifically pinpointing the postcolonial context of Australia and the fact that the contemporary art scene is divided into Australian and Aboriginal art respectively.
Through both Australian and Aboriginal works of art, analyzed and interpreted from a cultural semiotic point of view, I further investigate whether the contemporary global art scene is global or still emanate from a Western perspective. I also investigate the concept of contemporaneity, and how various artistic expressions with different time conceptions appear when created simultaneously in different, closely connected, yet mutually incomparable cultures. This is art that communicates across the divide between cultures and as such grasps the driving spirit of the contemporary.
My research has continued to focus on critical theory and art, foremost contemporary art within postcolonial and decolonial settings in relation to power structures within the Western world, and as such my research has expanded into intersectional analysis and the field of art and migration. This has also affected my thoughts on education and my role as educator, which have led me into critical pedagogy and anti-oppressive education, as well as phenomenology, art-based research and art based educational research.
I coordinate courses and teach, tutor and examines at all levels at the Art Teacher Education, Visual Arts, in subjects such art theory and critical theory in relation to art and art practices, art history, image analysis and interpretation. I also work within the field of intercultural education, critical pedagogy and the writing of essays as an interaction between pedagogy, theory and art.
I coordinate courses, teach, tutor and examines at the Craft department, BA and MA level in Ceramic art, Jewellery art and Textile art. Working within the fields of art theory, critical theory and the writing of essays as an interaction and reflection between art practice and theory.
I also supervise two doctoral students within the Research School in Artistic Practice in the subject of Design.
I have been the course coordinator and examiner for the doctoral course Mapping the Research Field of the Project, where we worked through Artistic Practice and critical theory in relation to the doctoral students’ own projects.
My field of expertise is critical theory (postcoloniality and decoloniality within the arts, as well as critical pedagogy). Contemporary art and intersectional analysis in relation to artistic practice and art education, writing of essays as an interaction and reflection between art practice and theory.
Projects: Aspects of the Global Art world and Contemporary Art. In this (at the moment unfinanced) project I study various structures in contemporary art, such as the art scenes in Rome, Istanbul, Sweden and Australia. I also investigate art, pedagogy and artistic practices from perspectives of art-based research and art-based education.
Platforms and Networks: InSEA – International Society for Education through Art, www.insea.org Swedish Secretariat for Gender Studies, University of Gothenburg, www.genus.se NORDIK – The Nordic Association for Art Historians, www.nordicarthistory.org PARSE – Platform for Artistic Research Sweden, Dialogs on Art and Migration and Intersectional Engagement, http://parsejournal.com/platform-for-artistic-research-sweden/ NIFTI – Network for Intersectional, Feminist, Transdisciplinary Inquiry.