I used my subsidy from the EC to organize and chair the conference Foucault: Art, Histories and Visuality in the 21st Century at the Ontario College of Art and Design University, Toronto
in association with Assistant Professor Anton Lee (Ph.D UBC), Nova Scotia College of Art and Design University on May 29-30, 2024. The thought and criticism of the French philosopher Michel Foucault (1926-1984) has had a lasting impact over the forty years since his death. The World Congress – Foucault: 40 Years After sponsored academic events worldwide concerning the legacy of Foucault’s philosophy. Known for his theories regarding the critique of power, social institutions, language, sexuality and political thought, the conference in Toronto attracted a multi-disciplinary group of scholars and artists who reassessed Michel Foucault’s legacy in the fields of art research and creation, particularly in regard to decolonization and race, sexuality and community, post-truth, artificial intelligence and contemporary subjectivities. The conference explored how Foucault’s thinking— ultimately concerned with human existence in a time of crisis—emerged from, and contributes to, the visual arts and an “aesthetics of existence”, aspects of his philosophy concerned with a mode of living. Soussloff’s research contribution to the conference consisted of a paper entitled “To Be an Artist, according to Michel Foucault.” She argued that while Foucault recognized art as being always in relation to “the artist,” the philosopher’s major interest lies in a figuration of the artist tied to artistic freedom and political liberty. Soussloff defined Foucault’s figuration of the artist in relation to Nietzsche’s philosophy, and the figure of the artist as central to a concept of truth. The convenors are preparing the conference results for publication in a university press book.