The AICA Podcast, hosted and initiated by Mihaela Ion, will debut on September 26, 2024, featuring an episode with Małgorzata Kaźmierczak, the president of AICA, promising to deliver insightful discussions on contemporary art and art criticism issues.  The podcast will be available on:

  • AICA’s YouTube account
  • AICA’s website

In the first part of the podcast, we will explore AICA and its significant role in shaping contemporary art criticism and cultural visions. Mihaela Ion and Małgorzata Kaźmierczak, will discuss how AICA provides a wealth of resources and historical context that can enhance understanding and appreciation of art, along with opportunities for emerging critics, cultural managers to engage with the established AICA community.

In the second part of the podcast, the discussion centers on the concept of freedom in the arts, examining how artistic and art criticism expressions can inspire and also spark controversy.  Małgorzata’s input delves into the role of censorship, the impact of political climates on creative expression, and the importance of protecting art critics’ rights to voice their perspectives, highlighting the ongoing struggle for autonomy in contemporary cultural environments.

About the moderator:  Mihaela Ion – Ph.D in History. Mihaela Ion is a curator, cultural manager and art researcher based in Bucharest. Since 2021, she is an AICA member. Since 2022, she has been an International Board Member in AICA and part of the Digital Strategies Committee in the same association.  In the last 17 years, she presented papers about Communist Art, Cultural Wars, contemporary artworks at the most important conferences organized in Europe.  She collaborates with several art galleries and museums in Europe. Her PhD thesis focused on the heritage of communist artworks. She has had the good fortune of being a grant keeper as a cultural manager in London at body>data>space, and in Paris, Sélestat, Strasbourg and Nancy during her Courants du Monde grant from the French Ministry of Culture. In 2010, she cofounded the project Atelierul Magazine – an international active online and offline platform that creates an intercultural dialogue between the design creators and the public.

About the speaker: Małgorzata Kaźmierczak – Ph.D. in History. Since 2004 an independent curator of art projects in Poland and USA, especially performance art events. Researcher and author of many essays and reviews. Between 2011-2014 – editor, writer and translator of livinggallery portal; 2006–2012 – president of the Foundation for the Promotion of Performance Art “Kesher” in Kraków, Poland; 2012–2014 – managing editor of the Art and Documentation journal; 2014–2016 – director of the City Art Gallery of Kalisz, Poland. Between 2016–2017 – editor-in-chief of the Publishing House and Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Painting and New Media of the Art Academy of Szczecin, Poland. Currently an Assistant Professor at the KEN University in Krakow and a Chief of the Board for the Discipline of Art Studies. Lectures in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, USA, South Korea, Israel, Taiwan, Spain, Italy, Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland. Since 2020, vice-president of AICA Poland and AICA International. From 2024 president of AICA International.

About AICA: The International Association of Art Critics (AICA), established in 1949 under the patronage of UNESCO, aims to advocate for and promote art criticism globally, adapting to the evolving landscape of the art world while fostering the exchange of ideas and best practices among critics from diverse disciplines.

AICA, comprising around 5,000 art professionals from 95 countries and organized into 63 National Sections and an Open Section, has a strong presence globally, notably in Europe, Australia, the Americas, and increasingly in the Middle East, Asia, and Africa. The organization has hosted Annual Congresses across diverse locations such as the Caribbean, Hong-Kong, and various European cities, with recent conferences held in Dakar, Istanbul, Addis Ababa, Cape Town, and Skopje over the past two decades. The next congress will be held in Bucharest and Iaşi, România, in November 2024.

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