Nation: panel discussion

Gabriela Salgado, Curator Tate Modern and artists Nada Prlja and Alexandra Handal, talk on the role of ‘nation’ in artists’ work. They consider the establishment of nations over the past 50 years and the consequent effects of globalisation. Is the concept of ‘nation’ still a relevant subject for artists working today in both their practice and the way we view their work?

Born in Argentina, Gabriela Salgado is based in London. She has a postgraduate degree in curating contemporary art from the Royal College of Art and has been responsible for international art events and exhibitions since 1990. In 2006 she was appointed curator of Public Programmes at Tate Modern where she devises a programme of educational activities including symposia and conferences, artists’ projects, courses and workshops for adults. She writes articles and essays for art publications in Latin America and the UK.

Alexandra Handal is an artist who lives and works between London and Jerusalem. Born into a Bethlehemite, Palestinian family, Handal has had a transnational upbringing. She has lived in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, and the USA, amongst orthers. She has an MA in Studio Art from New York University, graduating in 2001. She has exbihited internationally and is currently completing a combined practice/theory PhD in Fine Art at Chelsea College of Art and Design, London. Her work From the Bed & Breakfast Notebooks was selected for the New Contemporaries 2009 internationally juried exhibition, which showcases emerging artists in the United Kingdom.

Nada Prlja was born in Sarajevo (Former Yugoslavia) and graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts, Skopje, Macedonia and consequently received an MPhil (Master of Philosophy) research degree from the Royal College of Arts, London. She has lived and worked in London since she moved here in 1999. Her work deals with complex situations of inequality within different political, economic or religious formations. Working across media (video, installation and a wide range of material including flags and neon) her work is site-specific, as well as ideas rather than media driven. Her work has been shown internationally and her most recent show in London was ‘People, Signs & Resistance’ at 198 Contemporary Art Gallery.