Art critic JJ Charlesworth debates private patronage at Battle of Ideas event amid shifting public sphere

JJ Charlesworth will speak at the Battle of Ideas event organized by the Institute of Ideas during Frieze Art Fair weekend in October 2013. He will argue about private collectors' rising influence and who art serves as state arts funding declines. Corporate sponsors like BP and Bloomberg face activist criticism for using art sponsorship to divert from controversial activities. Public resentment toward bankers has extended to visible art world philanthropy seen as self-celebratory. The culture of conspicuous consumption dominates while state-funded provision shrinks, making art appear more beholden to private interests. Since the 1960s, art production conditions are melting away with no clear 'outside the system.' However, new nonmarket spaces like the global biennial economy expand with distinct resources and agendas. Art education emerges as a major force with new programs like Turps Banana's studio course and Open School East's fee-free model supported by Deutsche Bank. The public sphere relocates rather than disappears, with tension between art's public and its patronage remaining. Charlesworth notes he pays to speak at the Institute of Ideas, supporting its independent voice through his art magazine earnings.