Esther Anatolitis: "Architecture+Philosophy – an artistic framework"

How can the space opened up by architecture and philosophy generate an artistic framework that reaches far beyond the two disciplines? Reflecting on 15 years of professional practice, Esther Anatolitis will trace trajectories whose convergence has given rise to new works, collaborations and organisational models, each of which sustain independent creative practice in unique ways.

Writer and arts advocate Esther Anatolitis is Director of Regional Arts Victoria and, with Dr Hélène Frichot, Co-Curator of  Architecture+Philosophy . Esther’s work creates and sustains the frameworks for independent creative practice, with a focus on the identification of interstitial spaces for new work. Esther has held leadership positions with key Australian arts organisations in craft and design, literature, public art, culturally diverse arts, festivals, publishing and broadcasting. Her academic background is in European philosophy, and she also holds the postgraduate Zertifikat Bauhaus-Dessau for her work on the architectural “Serve City” project, for which she was awarded a DAAD Künstlerprogramm residency. Esther has developed a unique model of engagement on urban issues across workshops such as What Makes a City?, Philosophy as Public Art, and How does a network activate a public? She has created works across a diverse range of media, including the collaborative Urban Multimedia Utopia, the bilingual Light... Between, and the curated Today I make a personal commitment to the future we design together. Her writing has been published widely in Australia and internationally, most recently in The Age, The Australian, Arts Hub, un Magazine, Artichoke, and the Kiev Biennale catalogue. This month, Esther has been shortlisted for the Melbourne Award for Contribution to Profile by an Individual.

In her current role as Director of Regional Arts Victoria, Esther is developing a new approach to artistic direction defined not by artform (e.g. dance), venue (e.g. gallery) nor career stage (e.g. emerging artist), but by geographic area. From the identification of interstitial spaces for new work, to projects transforming entire small towns, Esther’s artistic framework has already inspired innovative thinking in Regional Arts Victoria’s Performing Arts Touring and Cultural Partnerships departments, offering new directions for an organisation spanning five decades.

The lecture is followed by a Postmodern Love Story presented by Helen Runting & Hélène Frichot

Supported by KTH Arkitekturskolan master studio Design Process: developing campus Fittja .