Cork Caucus (, 20 June to 11 July 2005) was an interdisciplinary meeting of 60 to 80 artists, thinkers, writers,

philosophers Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, value, mind, and language. It is a rational and critical inquiry that reflects on ...

and other creative individuals, held in Cork, Ireland. The caucus investigated

cultural Culture ( ) is a concept that encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and Social norm, norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, Social norm, customs, capabilities, Attitude (psychology), attitudes ...

political Politics () is the set of activities that are associated with decision-making, making decisions in social group, groups, or other forms of power (social and political), power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of Social sta ...

and

art Art is a diverse range of cultural activity centered around ''works'' utilizing creative or imaginative talents, which are expected to evoke a worthwhile experience, generally through an expression of emotional power, conceptual ideas, tec ...

istic issues.

Organisation

The Cork Caucus project was devised by the National Sculpture Factory as part of

Cork "Cork" or "CORK" may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Stopper (plug), or "cork", a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container *** Wine cork an item to seal or reseal wine Places Ireland * ...

's tenure as

European Capital of Culture A European Capital of Culture is a city designated by the European Union (EU) for a period of one calendar year during which it organises a series of cultural events with a strong pan-European dimension. Being a European Capital of Culture can ...

in 2005, and was curated by Charles Esche, Annie Fletcher, and Art/not art (David Dobz O'Brien and Fergal Gaynor). In addition to lectures and exhibitions, the organisers also coordinated two outdoor public events.

Participants and supporters

The origins of the project date to at least early 2004 when Charles Esche, director and curator of the

Van Abbemuseum The Van Abbemuseum () in Eindhoven is one of the first public museums for contemporary art to be established in Europe. The museum’s collection includes key works and archives by Joseph Beuys, Marc Chagall, René Daniëls, Marlene Dumas, Shee ...

Eindhoven Eindhoven ( ; ) is a city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality of the Netherlands, located in the southern Provinces of the Netherlands, province of North Brabant, of which it is the largest municipality, and is also locat ...

, visited Cork. Fergal Gaynor, who was one of the co-curators of the project, was also a co-organiser of the SoundEye Festival and the 2009 festival ''The Avant: Ten Days of the Progressive Arts''. Other participants in the Cork Caucus events included

Vito Acconci Vito Acconci (, ; January 24, 1940 – April 27, 2017) was an American performance art, performance, video and installation artist, whose diverse practice eventually included sculpture, architectural design, and landscape design. His performan ...

Maria Eichhorn Maria Eichhorn (born 19 November 1962, in Bamberg) is a German artist based in Berlin. She is best known for site-specific works and installations that investigate political and economic systems, often revealing their intrinsic absurdity or the ...

Bik Van der Pol Bik van der Pol is the artists duo Liesbeth Bik and Jos van der Pol, who work together since 1994 as conceptual artists and installation artists.Sarat Maharaj Sarat Maharaj (born 1951 in Durban, South Africa) is a writer, researcher, curator, and professor. Maharaj's family was part of the large group of Indians who migrated to the province of KwaZulu-Natal in the nineteenth century. The grandfather o ...

Chantal Mouffe Chantal Mouffe (; born 17 June 1943) is a Belgian political theorist, formerly teaching at University of Westminster. She is best known for her and Ernesto Laclau's contribution to the development of the so-called Essex School of discourse ana ...

and

Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak (; born 24 February 1942) is an Indian scholar, literary theorist, and feminist critic. She is a University Professor at Columbia University and a founding member of the establishment's Institute for Comparative ...

. Cork Caucus was funded by organisations including the

European Cultural Foundation The European Cultural Foundation (ECF) is a Netherlands-based independent cultural foundation. Its mission is to “make a tangible impact on civil society, citizen initiatives, public opinion and policy proposals to combat the fragmenting force ...

Arts Council England Arts Council England is an arm's length non-departmental public body of the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, Department for Culture, Media and Sport. It is also a registered charity. It was formed in 1994 when the Arts Council o ...

British Council The British Council is a British organisation specialising in international cultural and educational opportunities. It works in over 100 countries: promoting a wider knowledge of the United Kingdom and the English language (and the Welsh lang ...

and Danish Arts Council's Committee for International Visual Art.

References

Notes

Sources

* * * (Graphic editors Can Altay and David (Dobz) O'Brien).

External links

Original Cork Caucus site (archived 2011)

Corkcaucus.ie website
{{Cork City Culture in Cork (city) Irish artist groups and collectives 2005 in Ireland June 2005 in Ireland July 2005 in Ireland Arts events Events in the Republic of Ireland