Contemporary Art Society Annual Conference: Care in Practice
The 2026 Annual Conference of the Contemporary Art Society, Care in Practice, will explore how practices of care unfold within institutions and how they might support and reshape today’s museums and art collections. The conference proposes to approach care as a critical curatorial methodology, one with the potential to repair, transform and protect how institutions relate to their collections, histories, and the people who give life to them (artists, communities, and curators alike).
Trip to France: Lyon Biennale
This year’s international CPD trip will centre on a visit to the 18th Lyon Biennale of Contemporary Art. Curated by Catherine Nichols, the Biennale draws inspiration from Fluxus artist Robert Filliou’s Principles of Poetic Economy, exploring themes of labour, exchange, and care. It also invites a rethinking of how economies are imagined and how artistic practice can illuminate the social and political structures that shape economic relations.
The Biennale will take place across both emblematic and unconventional sites throughout Lyon, reflecting the city’s long history as a centre of industry and finance.
Still Doing the Work
Still Doing the Work is a professional development series from the Contemporary Art Society and UAL’s Decolonising Arts Institute. It builds on Doing the Work, a programme of workshops launched in 2021 to support arts and culture professionals working with anti-racist and decolonial practice.
Workshop 1: Curating (online, Wednesday 15 April 2026, 2:00–4:00 pm).
Workshop 2: Custodianship (online, Wednesday 24 June 2026, 2:00–4:00 pm)
Workshop 3: Care (in person, CSM, Kings Cross, London, Wednesday 1 July 2026, 11:00 am–4:00 pm)
Curator’s Day: Frieze London
Friday 16 October 2026
Our yearly gathering brings curators together to visit the fair. The day includes an exclusive viewing of this year’s CAS acquisitions for both the Collections Fund and the new Focus Fund. It is a fantastic opportunity to network, conduct research, and experience a global breadth of contemporary art.
Online talk: Hannah Starkey's DGLAM commission
CAS hosted an online event with artist Hannah Starkey on May 27th to discuss her ideas, artistic research and creative processes around her commission created for Danum Gallery, Library and Museum (DGLAM), Doncaster. DGLAM is the recipient of the Valeria Napoleone XX CAS Award, working with the artist on the production of a large-scale photographic collage addressing issues around the experience and complexity of the role of women during the miners' strikes in the region during the 1980s.
Watch the full talk via the link.
Rodney, Donald Gladstone (1961 - 1998): © The estate of Donald Rodney.Travel Bursary and Resources
Our CPD Programme for curators of Museum Members of the CAS across the UK focuses on the many issues that lie at the heart of our work in growing, sustaining and using public collections of contemporary art.
In order to ensure that our Museum Members can be active within the programme we are offering travel bursaries for both national and international events to support travel and some expenses for participants. Our listings indicate which ones are supported through this scheme.
