This parallel activity, which takes the form of a seminar, is organised in association with the New Artists program. It seeks to address a number of issues that are of fundamental importance for any artist or agent involved in art practice, such as critical self-awareness and reflexibility; awareness of the system; the paradigms of professionalization; the institution, the market and the gallery system; the role of criticism; and the inevitable acceptance of curatees and curators as an integral part of that very art institution. Art production has evolved in parallel with the development of capitalism, so that issues such as "immaterial or cognitive work", "post-production", "mediation" and "research", and "globalisation" are fundamental to any reconsideration of artistic practice.

The historical precedent provided by the conceptual art of the late 1960s and early 1970s offers a valuable example of the contextual and economic analysis surrounding art production and distribution. Paradoxically, but necessarily, historical conceptual art was characterised both by the dematerialisation of the art works and by a materialist and immanent view of production. The identity of the figure and the social role of the artist was another of the recurring themes on which conceptual artists worked. Conceptual art will be one of the themes dealt with in this seminar, which seeks to cast some light on the complexities of the art institution, and foster an understanding and a critique of that institution. The seminar will aim to encourage participants to become actively involved in sketching an image or representation of the art system. The goal is to offer a vision that matches the economic reality of contemporary art as it occurs at international level.

This activity is part of the New Artists Program of Gipuzkoa 2013-2014.