WOOL 
Susan HansenAU-UK
TALK 01
“How do these urban expressions work in low-density territories and rural contexts?”
14th of JUNE
9h45 > 11h45
CIEC – Centro de Inovação Empresarial da Covilhã _ Rua António Angusto Aguiar, 60
Researcher in representation of NUART FESTIVAL (NO)
Susan Hansen is Chair of the Visual and Arts-based Methods Group at Middlesex University, London. She has research interests in viewers’ material engagements with, and affective responses to, street art and graffiti; the analysis of street art and graffiti as a form of visual dialogue; and in the promise of an archaeological approach to understanding uncommissioned independent public art. Susan is Editor of Nuart Journal, Co-Editor of Visual Studies, and President of the International Visual Sociology Association.
Nuart Festival (est. 2001) is the world’s longest running street art festival. Unusually, it developed in concert with the now legendary electronic music festival Numusic. This multimodal genealogy continues to inform the creative energy of the festival, which includes a focus on a range of activities beyond physical art production. These include an international research program, a peer reviewed journal and other publications, artist presentations, panel debates, workshops, education programs, film screenings and more. As part of these activities, Nuart convenes the world’s first annual conference dedicated to dedicated to street art practice. Our peer reviewed journal was built on the foundations of over a decade’s content from this annual conference and strives to bring these conversations to a wider audience. Nuart Journal was first published in 2018 to widespread critical acclaim. Professor Jeff Ferrell, from Texas Christian University has called Nuart Journal “the most exciting mix of political, visual, and intellectual energy I’ve seen in a long time!” In this talk, we will explore the history and legacy of Nuart Festival, and we will critically consider future directions for street art festivals, as part of a turn from monumental murals to more ‘human scale’ work.