PDF is free to join and held in English (due to its transnational setting)

PDF is PRAKSIS’s monthly peer-discussion group for creative people offers a friendly, informal hub for practitioners to meet, share and discuss works-in-progress.

Curator and artist Shannon Rae Stratton will open session 54 of PRAKSIS Development Forum (PDF) by discussing the process and ideas behind her project, where she transforms old notebooks into new sheets of paper, embedding traces of their contents and painting on the surfaces.

This session is particularly relevant for painters—especially those who work beyond traditional canvas—and for those interested in themes of memory, materiality, and transformation.

During the session up to three other participants may share their own works in progress. You may also simply join the discussion. 

Book Your Place
There are eight places for this session and booking is essential. Alongside Stratton, there are up to three places for those presenting work-in-progress and four places for those wishing to join the group conversation. If you are curious about PDF but don't necessarily want to show anything (yet), feel free to come and see what goes on.

To reserve a spot please email: pdf@praksisoslo.org

PDF Structure
Each presenting participant has around 40 minutes to share their current artistic activity. PDF’s focus is on works and ideas in progress, so please do not present finished works or projects. Projects in development can be shared in a number of ways: for example by bringing in physical works, presenting a slideshow, reading, performance, or other suitable communication strategy. A projector and laptop is available for the group to use throughout the session. PDF encourages variety and experimentation, so please get in touch if you have questions or special requirements.

More About Shannon Rae Stratton
Shannon Rae Stratton is an artist, curator, and educator based in Chicago and Saugatuck, Michigan. She co-founded and led the Chicago non-profit Threewalls (2003-2015) and served as Chief Curator at the Museum of Arts and Design, New York (2015-2019). Since 2020, she has been the Executive Director of Ox-Bow School of Art and Artists’ Residency. Stratton’s work focuses on artist-run spaces, craft, and marginalized makers, and she recently won the 2022 Lois Moran Award for Craft Writing. She currently chairs the post-baccalaureate program in painting and drawing at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.

More About PDF
PDF is a monthly group meeting which provides a constructive space for artists, curators and writers to share and discuss their current practice. It is opportunity to learn what other creatives are up to, speak about your own work and share perspectives. PDF is open to individuals at all career stages. Every participant’s contribution to the group is valued.

Support PDF
PDF is only partly-funded by the Norwegian Arts Council. As with all of PRAKSIS’s activity, we intend to keep it free and open to all. If you’ve enjoyed taking part in PDF, or have benefitted from some other feature of PRAKSIS’s programmes, please consider supporting us via www.patreon.com/praksisoslo. Every small contribution - for instance, the cost of a cup of coffee a month - helps us keep our programmes going.

About PRAKSIS
PRAKSIS is a non-profit arts catalyst that fosters creative practice and knowledge production through collective activity and the exchange of ideas, skills and information. PRAKSIS seeks to establish dialogue between artists, thinkers and organisations locally and internationally, at all career stages, and across diverse cultures and disciplines.