Dezeen Magazine

Wellbeing Culture Forum 2021 launches with Experiencing to Reconnect talk

Dezeen promotion: this year's Wellbeing Culture Forum kicks off today with a discussion on the innovative and transformative power of art and creativity in the midst of crisis. Watch it on Dezeen.

The talk, titled Experiencing to Reconnect: The Transformative Potential of Art, is presented by Therme Art in partnership with Serpentine.

Mikolaj Sekutowicz
Therme Art co-founder Mikolaj Sekutowicz has curated the Wellbeing Culture Forum and will co-host the talks programme

It will be the first of the 2021 Wellbeing Culture Forum, an interdisciplinary talks programme of virtual and mixed-reality events initiated by Therme Art and curated by its co-founder Mikolaj Sekutowicz.

Sekutowicz is co-hosting each panel discussion with various partners and partner institutions, including Serpentine artistic director Hans Ulrich Obrist, who will moderate this first talk.

Hans Ulrich Obrist
Serpentine artistic director Hans Ulrich Obrist will moderate the Experiencing to Reconnect discussion. Photo by Tyler Mitchell

They will be joined by panelists Es Devlin, Torkwase Dyson and Tino Sehgal – artists that work across different media and scales, but all explore themes of shared space and relationships.

"We always look to artists to reimagine our futures with clarity and energy," said Obrist. "Discussions like this help expand our thinking and engage our audiences for these vital topics."

Es Devlin
Panellists include artist and designer Es Devlin, who has created an installation for new experiential arts centre Superblue Miami

This virtual panel discussion and upcoming Wellbeing Culture Forum events are curated in response to the recent social and cultural upheavals, which have revealed the need for artistic projects that offer shared experiences.

Experiencing to Reconnect will touch upon how art can help to foster connection in times of uncertainty and navigate future crises.

Torkwase Dyson
Also on the panel is artist Torkwase Dyson

"Cultural experiences are central in developing new forms of connections," Sekutowicz said. "These cannot only take place in theoretical space, either, but must be tried out in real life."

The talk's theme ties into Therme Art's recent strategic investment in Superblue Miami – a space created to host large-scale, immersive installations that is poised to open with a new work by Devlin.

Tino Sehgal
Artist Tino Sehgal rounds out the panel. Photo by Jean Baptiste Béranger

Experiencing to Reconnect is available to stream on Therme Art and Dezeen's Facebook channel from today, 14 April 2021. More information can be found on the Wellbeing Culture Forum website.


Partnership content

This article was written by Dezeen for Therme Art as part of a partnership. Find out more about Dezeen partnership content here.