Symposium
Anti-Monumentality and the Afterlives of ‘Land Art’ in Britain
10:00–18:00
Henry Moore Institute, Leeds
This one-day symposium sets out to stimulate new inquiry into the histories and futures of ‘land art’ in Britain.
Seeking to understand the afterlives of ‘land art’ – and the contentious nature of the label – this symposium examines the approaches, techniques, materials, and modes of documentation associated with the movement, and the ways it continues to inform contemporary art today.
This event is programmed to coincide with Passing Strange: British Land Art Through Time at Henry Moore Institute.
Main image: Anya Gallaccio, ‘Six Dozen Red Roses’ 1992.
© Anya Gallaccio. All Rights Reserved, DACS 2025. Courtesy Leeds Museums and Galleries (Leeds Art Gallery). Photo: Norman Taylor.
Tickets
Tickets to this event are free, and can be booked online via Eventbrite.
Programme
Arrival and registration
10:00
Welcome and introduction
10:15
Dr Sean Ketteringham, Henry Moore Institute
‘About the Planet: Land Art, Anti-Monumentality, and the Labour of Listening’
10:30
Ashish Ghadiali, artist
Prof Joy Sleeman, Slade School of Fine Art
Session One: Extraction
11:30
Chaired by Ben Tufnell, independent
‘Land Art and its Political Ecologies: Charles Jencks’s Fife Earth Project (2009-13) – A Case Study’
Dr Edward Christie, independent
‘Peat in Practice: A Performance Lecture’
Manon Awst, artist
‘Burning the Thames: Floating Fire Machine (1975)’
Trey Burns, artist/Texas State University
‘The Terrain of the Image: Revisiting On Living Stones and Reaching (2020)’
Alexander Mourant, artist/Kingston University
Lunch
13:00
Served in The Studio on the second floor
Session Two: Documentation
14:00
Chaired by Prof Joy Sleeman
‘Envisioning a Kincentric World: Filmic Anti-Monuments and the Legacy of Land Art’
Dr. Sajda van der Leeuw, University of Utrecht
‘Pissing In/On Nature’
Dr Naomi Pearce, Aberystwyth University
‘‘De-Architecturization’ in the Digital Age: Reimagining Hotel Palenque’
Allyson Packer, artist/Stevens Institute of Technology
Break
15:00
Session Three: Exhibition
15:30
Chaired by Dr Sean Ketteringham
‘Offending Shadows. Jeremy Deller’s Triumph of Art and subversions of Land Art in Britain’
Daniel F. Herrmann and Emily Stone, The National Gallery, London
‘Making Outside for Inside: How Attitudes Became Exhibitions’
Amanda Geitner, PGR Norwich University of the Arts
‘Land Art Lives: (Inter)national Program on the Future of Land Art’
Anne Reenders and Martine van Kampen, Land Art Lives
Open Discussion
16:30
Drinks reception
17:00
Refreshments served in The Studio on the second floor
Finish
18:00
Accessibility
We want to make it as easy as possible for all to attend, so please get in touch if you have any access needs that you would like to discuss before the symposium.
Step-free entrance
We have an accessible entrance via lift (doors 100cm wide) on Cookridge Street, bringing you onto the ground floor of the building.
Internal lift
There is an internal passenger lift (doors 72cm wide) to all floors of the building.
Induction loops
There are induction loops at the welcome desk on the ground floor, library reception and in the seminar room.
There is a portable induction loop available for visitors to use in the galleries and in The Studio (please ask at the welcome desk).
Toilets
Outside the seminar room on the basement level we have three gender-neutral superloos (self-contained cubicles with a toilet and sink).
Additionally, we have one gender-neutral, accessible superloo, and one superloo with baby changing facilities.
The Studio has its own toilet facilities, including one fully accessible superloo and two additional gender-neutral superloos.
Changing Places toilet
The closest Changing Places toilet is located in Leeds City Museum (approximately 350m away from us over a mostly flat route).
Guide dogs
Guide dogs, hearing dogs and other badged assistance dogs are welcome in our galleries and at this event.
The nearest green space is Park Square.
Related exhibitions and events
Exhibition
Passing Strange: British Land Art Through Time
Learn more
Getting here
Henry Moore Institute
74 The Headrow
Leeds
LS1 3AH
United Kingdom
T: 01132 467 467
E: institute@henry-moore.org
