Afterall and The Showroom Host Seminar on Participation with Irit Rogoff

On an unspecified date (last updated: 30 May 2023), Afterall and The Showroom hosted a seminar called 'Participation: A User’s Guide' featuring Irit Rogoff at The Showroom, located at 63 Penfold Street, London NW8 8PQ. The discussion focused on redefining participation in culture beyond traditional roles such as viewer, voter, listener, demonstrator, visitor, or protester. Rogoff investigated the potential for discovering new engagement methods within contemporary art spaces, emphasizing the attention they command. She argued that existing terms—'art', 'exhibition', 'audience'—do not adequately reflect the evolving dynamics in the broader art field. The seminar also examined various participation models shaped by affective regimes, knowledge production, conversation, and unexpected exchanges, suggesting a need for new critical vocabulary.