Over the course of their multi-week PICA residency, the School of Critical Arts (SCA) will hold free courses and lectures in art, philosophy, culture and theory. The school aims to promote a friendly environment of enquiry, critical thinking and reflection for audiences interested in engaging with contemporary theory.  

Sianne Ngai’s Our Aesthetic Categories was published in 2012. The book proposes alternate aesthetic categories for contemporary culture – the Cute, Zany, and Interesting. This reading group will engage with each category and question their applicability now, over ten years since the publication of the book. Building on this discussion, the group will speculate on what new, or alternative, categories may be required to better understand the relationship of contemporary art to the world of today

If you are interested in participating in this reading group please contact the SCA: theschoolofcriticalarts@gmail.com

Monday 18–Friday 24 March
Monday 6 May–Friday 12 May
Monday 17 June–23 June