Roel Griffioen: Plaats vergaan

‘The studio’ has been declared dead multiple times in art history – first by the rise of conceptual art, later by the digital revolution. But anyone looking at contemporary art practice sees that artists and cultural workers still desperately need their workspaces. Policymakers, too, remain fond of studios for their own reasons. They view studio policy as a panacea for boosting livability, stimulating entrepreneurship, or driving gentrification.

This  network notion  explores the politics and practice of studio development. It maps the world hidden behind misleadingly therapeutic policy terms such as ‘flow-through’, ‘placemaking’, ‘incubator’, and ‘talent development’. It shows that the studio issue is intertwined with other – larger – issues, such as the distribution of urban space; changing conceptions of artistry; the organization of labor in the cultural sector and the creative industries; and demographic and economic decline and growth. Finally, it attempts to force a crack in the policy black box. For one thing is clear: studio policy can and must be more pluralistic, more user-oriented, and less precarious in the future.Roel Griffioen