As part of Serpentine’s R&D Platform, the Legal Lab explores how the law can better support collaborations across art, science and technology. Led by lawyer, curator and founder of Guest Work Agency, Alana Kushnir, the Legal Lab is a space for investigating legal issues and prototyping accessible legal solutions for the art field.
Legal structures and tools, such as contracts, are crucial to structuring innovative enterprises and effective operational models. However, in the sphere of art, there is a tendency to shy away from legally onerous forms of arrangement. This has resulted in legal infrastructures being under-acknowledged for their multifaceted potential in supporting cutting-edge creative practice. These concerns are present in the internal organisation of the art field and the expanding realm of cross-disciplinary relationships between art actors and external fields.
Current
Serpentine Arts Technologies talk at Shoreditch Arts Club, 3pm BST, 4 June 2023
Join Kay Watson, Head of Arts Technologies, and Alana Kushnir for an exploration of some of the legal challenges of commissioning, producing and presenting artist world-building projects as well as an introduction to the Lab’s R&D work in forging new pathways for art and legal innovation.
Alan Turing Institute: AI in the UK, 7 June 2023
A workshop organised by the Alan Turing Institute and taking place at City University, London, bringing together artists, curators, scholars and industry to discuss the formation of a network to facilitate the exchange of ideas on AI art as well as to explore opportunities for funding and collaboration.
COALA Global NFT Licensing Taskforce
The Legal Lab participates in the NFT Licensing Taskforce, organised by COALA Global, an effort to develop semi-public licenses for NFTs. Led by legal scholar and artist Primavera De Filippi, the task force is aimed at creating a new set of licenses with modular terms and conditions—à la Creative Commons – as well as the technical implementation of linking a licence to an NFT.
Past
Legal Lab Live Series
Evolutions in Web3 Licensing ft. Primavera de Filippi
Indigenous Sovereignty in the Metaverse ft. Vanessa Lee-Ah Mat
Forging Creative Agency in the Metaverse introductory session with Alana Kushnir and Victoria Ivanova
ANAT Spectra, April 2022
Are there right or wrong ways to navigate relationships with and between our cellular and artificial intelligence? How do our bodies navigate, mediate and corporealize our ever-changing realities? The Legal Lab participated in the online symposium, 36 Ideas to While Away the Winter, with a presentation on artistic agency in the metaverse.
Radical Friends. Online DAO Summit for Decentralisation of Power and Resources in the Artworld, January 2022
This summit discussed the value of and pathways to peer-produced decentralised digital infrastructures for art, culture and society. It aims to create a new environment for mutual aid and solidarity in the cultural sector. Alana Kushnir gave a Lightning Talk on the legal aspects of DAOs. Watch the symposium here.
Emerging Tech Law Discussion, December 2021
The Legal Lab participated in an online panel discussion titled NFTs, A Legal Perspective focused on the legal considerations faced by NFT platforms and purchasers.
NFT DEB Generative Dimensions Conference, November 2021
This conference invites distinguished keynote speakers from computational and network science, business administration, European legal industry, creative industries, and environmental activism to enhance transdisciplinary discourse and inspire the global community.
Supporting Open Culture Through Open Data, October 2021
In collaboration with recreating Europe, GLAM-E Lab and the Egyptian Museum in Turin, the Legal Lab hosted a two-day workshop on restrictions and hidden opportunities of copyright law and the key roles of open data policies in the creation and re-use of cultural contents.
Legal Lab Report 1: Art + Tech/Science Collaborations, July 2021
The Legal Lab launched a report on legal issues arising in art + tech/science collaborations. Watch the launch event on Serpentine’s Twitch.
From Black Boxes to Open Systems: NFTs and the Law, June 2021
In collaboration with Rhizome, the Legal Lab convened an event that brought together leading art lawyers to discuss the legal implications of NFTs for collectors and artistic collaborators. Watch the event here.
The Legal Ambiguities of Art Collaborations and their Compatibility with NFTs, May 2021
The Legal Lab published a paper on the increased presence of digital assets within the art industry and how NFTs are posing new legal challenges as well as resurfacing existing ones. Read it here.
Art Law Coffee Talk: Introducing the Serpentine Legal Lab, September 2020
In collaboration with the Center for Art Law, the Legal Lab participating in a discussion on legal design, and art and tech collaborations.
Legal Lab Summit, October 2019
The Legal Lab held a summit with the participation of artists, curators, scholars, lawyers, legal designers and technologists. The summit consisted of presentations and think-tank discussions, which analysed and tested ideas for development. Read the report here.
People
- Alana Kushnir — Guest Work Agency
- Victoria Ivanova — R&D Strategic Lead (Serpentine, Arts Technologies)
- Alexander Boyes — Producer (Serpentine, Arts Technologies)
The work of the Legal Lab is guided by a cross-disciplinary Advisory Panel
- Astrid Kohlmeier, a lawyer and designer for legal design and legal tech
- Connal Parsley, Senior Lecturer in Law at Kent Law School, UK
- Daniel McClean, art lawyer and partner at Cypress LLP
- Ivaylo Getov, Technical Director for Fine Art projects, Co-founder and Creative Director at Luxloop
- James Wreford, Member of Black Shuck Cooperative
- Kathleen E. Kim, art lawyer at Liwu Law Group South Korea
- Lauren van Haaften-Schick, curator, writer and PhD Candidate in the History of Art and Visual Studies at Cornell University
- Marie Potel-Saville, founder of Amurabi, a legal innovation by design agency
- Rita Arrigo, Strategic Engagement Manager, CSIRO National AI Centre
- Sara Rayment, founder of Inkling Legal Design, a consultancy that reimagines legal services through design, law and emerging technology and Conjoint Associate Professor at the University of Newcastle
- Sophie Netchaef, curator and former Strategic Projects Manager, Serpentine Galleries
- Yayoi Shionoiri, art lawyer and Executive Director to the Estate of Chris Burden and the Studio of Nancy Rubins based in New York
- Safiya Ahmed, IP and technology lawyer at Russells UK
- Roxanne Peters, Creative and Cultural IP Rights Specialist, University of the Arts London
- Rival Strategy
