ICA

In formation

30 Jan - 25 Feb 2018

IN FORMATION
30 January 2018 – 25 February 2018

Is there really such a thing as no-thingness when you encounter an empty exhibition space? Is nothingness an aesthetic, or can nothingness be foundational for a coming-into-being – a gesture of multiplicity rather than a gesture of absence? Who has access to this space of freedom to think about 'What we are going to do'? - Nana Adusei-Poku

In Summer 2017, the Institute of Contemporary Arts inaugurated In formation, a recurring platform for discussion and experimentation, and for the sharing of ideas and knowledge. In February 2018, a second period of this platform will occur across the Institute of Contemporary Arts' spaces, encompassing public talks, workshops, performances, residencies and screenings.

In formation stands as an ongoing and historic commitment to periods in which the Institute of Contemporary Arts' galleries, cinemas and theatre are used fluidly, inviting publics and participants to treat the 'Institute' as a place of connected relationships and sustained engagements. This platform discusses the need for, and practices the formation of, spaces necessary for the production and advocacy of greater social justice. It builds on long-term dialogues between artists, collectives and other groups, and considers the role of a 'civic' institution in relation to these exchanges.

By focusing particularly on instances of collective production and sociality across performance and the moving-image, this period of In formation continues some of the inquiries of Summer '17. Threaded throughout the programme is a tension between deep pessimism with an existing social order, and forms of departure, resistance and futurity emanating from collective and collaborative work between individuals and organisations.

Participants include Ayo Akingbade, Myriam Ben Salah & Martha Kirszenbaum, Blu Fiefer, Season Butler, Seke Chimutengwende, Design for Disability, Alexandrina Helmsley, GUAP Magazine, Social Creative Network, Last Yearz Interesting Negro/Jamila Johnson-Small, Klein, London Community Video Archive, Tavia Nyong’o, Lafawndah and Adania Shibli.
 

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