The Showroom announces its programme of exhibitions in 2023, including plans in the autumn to celebrate forty years of being a pivotal force in the development of contemporary art practice. A London-based public non-profit contemporary art organisation for emerging practices and ideas, where criticality and learning are integral in the production of art and discourse, The Showroom challenges what art can be and do through ambitious, embedded and collaborative approaches to cultural production.
The Showroom’s recently appointed Director Gabriela Salgado, says:
“The Showroom’s programme for 2023-24 is structured around research-driven clusters of multidisciplinary seasons inspired by Achille Mbembe’s description of humanity as a telluric force responsible for the current planetary crisis. The programme articulates Mbembe’s proposal for the future of life, culture and freedom under conceptual principles: repair, re-member, reassemble and reconstitute. The programme will continue to be locally rooted, nationally relevant, and internationally connected through various collaborative exhibitions, events and workshops, publications, and onsite and offsite commissions.”
Highlights include:
Editorial Tables: Reciprocal Hospitalities
25 January – 18 March 2023
Editorial Tables celebrates the production and dissemination of knowledge through independent, experimental and artist-led publishing, focusing on intersecting feminist and decolonial perspectives. It assembles the publishing practices of Ruth Beale, Sezgin Boynik (Rab-Rab Press), Minna Haukka & Kristin Luke (The Mobile Feminist Library), Minna Henriksson, Rose Nordin, and Elham Rahmati & Vidha Saumya (NO NIIN magazine) and involves a range of publishing, archiving, print and distribution practices.
Editorial Tables: Reciprocal Hospitalities is a collaborative project betweenÂ
The Showroom and Frame Contemporary Art Finland.
Further info here.
Oliver Ressler: Barricading the Ice Sheets
18 April – 25 June 2023
The exhibition is the final stop of Oliver Ressler’s European touring work addressing climate justice. Barricading the Ice Sheets (2019–2023) sheds critical light on the climate justice movements in Europe and beyond. The artist shares documentation of various initiatives of the climate movement.
In partnership with Camera Austria, the Museum of Contemporary Art Zagreb, n.b.k. – Neuer Berliner Kunstverein in Berlin and Tallinn Art Hall. Supported by Phileas.
Tanner Lane Rotational Commission:
Kathrin Böhm: Why do we care about art?
30 March 2023 – 30 March 2024
Working with local communities, Kathrin Böhm produced the first iteration of a three-year programme of rotational banners at Tanner Lane, Paddington. Responding to the overarching theme of ‘care’ led by The Showroom, the Tanner Lane Rotational Commission is part of the Paddington Square Public Art Programme. With this large-scale work, Kathrin Böhm responds to the theme of care by asking, ‘why do we care about art?’. The artist gathered the responses from the participants of collaborative poster-making workshops throughout July-October 2021. Böhm has designed the banner at Tanner Lane with designers An Endless Supply.
The Showroom Mural Commission – Kay Abude, Be Creative Remain Resilient
30 July 2023 – 30 July 2024
Be Creative Remain Resilient is a collaborative research, development, and production project. Kay Abude’s practice focuses on an inquiry of work and labour, exploring the politics of making, the economics of being an artist, and the difficulties and precariousness associated with creative careers, specifically in migrant communities. Be Creative Remain Resilient will be Kay Abude’s first presentation in the UK. The mural work results from dialogues and creative processes in collaboration with women from migrant backgrounds living in The Showroom’s neighbourhood. The annual Mural Commission is part of The Showroom’s long-standing commitment to engaging communities and individuals in the work of contemporary artists.
The Showroom’s 40th anniversary
Autumn 2023
The Showroom was established in 1983 and in 2023 will celebrate forty years by honouring and gathering the artists whose work enriched its remarkable history. The Showroom has commissioned many artists at significant points in their career, such as Ima Abasi Okon, Lawrence Abu Hamdan, Larry Achiampong, Can Altay, Rasheed Araeen, Haig Aivazian, Ricardo Basbaum, Kathrin Böhm, Marc Chaimowicz, Navine G. Dossos, Mona Hatoum, Jim Lambie, Wendelien van Oldenborgh, Uriel Orlow, Ciara Phillips, Eva Rothschild, Grace Schwindt, Simon Starling, Rebecca Warren, Alberta Whittle, Belinda Zhawi, among others.
