Soul of a Nation finds a new home, Toronto hosts an all-night art party, the fantastical world of Ib Kamara and Kristin-Lee Moolman, rarely seen Russian films, and the 24-hour-long film which is an art world obsession
SOUL OF A NATION: ART IN THE AGE OF BLACK POWER, VARIOUS, BROOKLYN MUSEUM, NEW YORK CITY
Last year, Soul of a Nation debuted at the Tate Modern to rave reviews and huge queues. Starting the process of filling the huge gap that had been left out of art history, the exhibition shone “a light on a broad spectrum of black artistic practice from 1963 to 1983” – a period described as “one of the most politically, socially, and aesthetically revolutionary periods in American history”. Due to its immediate success, the Tate quickly announced it would journey onto New York City’s Brooklyn Museum. Open now, over 150 artworks from artists such as Barkley L. Hendricks, Emory Douglas, and Faith Ringgold celebrate a new chapter in the epic show’s life.
Soul of a Nation: Art in the Age of Black Power runs from 14 September 2018 – 3 February 2019 at Brooklyn Museum, New York City
AURORA, FACT, LIVERPOOL
FACT is offering visitors the chance to walk on water this month with a new site-specific installation, Aurora. Described as “an experience like no other”, the immersive experience – which includes 819 pieces of hard-carved ice – takes its audience inside the cave-like vaults of the Toxteth Reservoir. Using the sights and sounds of a monsoon, an ice cave, and a rainforest, Aurora aims to re-instill the importance, and value, of water. More information – including the very important, “what to wear” – here.
Aurora – by Invisible Flock – takes place from 21 September 2018 – 7 October 2018 at Toxteth Reservoir, Liverpool
JUMP UP! CELEBRATING LEGENDS OF CARNIVAL, VARIOUS MUSE GALLERY, LONDON
If you’re still mourning the end of another year of Notting Hill Carnival, be sure to head over to Muse Gallery on Portobello Road where YOUTH CLUB and Street Event Company have announced a new photography exhibition which celebrates the past half a century of Europe’s largest street party. Jump Up! promises to bring together newly digitised photography, flyers, and film which capture the fashion, art, and sound systems of the beloved London tradition. With contributions from Chris Steele-Perkins to Giles Moberly and Peter Anderson, amongst others, on show.
Jump Up! Celebrating Legends of Carnival runs from 20 September 2018 – 30th September 2018 at Muse Gallery, London
AU NATUREL, SARAH LUCAS, NEW MUSEUM, NEW YORK CITY
The first Major US Survey of Sarah Lucas is happening three decades after the British artist burst onto the contemporary art scene as part of an infamous group known as the YBAs. Exploring notions of gender, sexuality, and identity, Lucas’s works span found objects and everyday materials to create “a distinctive and provocative body of work”. Opening at New York’s New Museum next week, the show will feature some of the artist’s most important projects – from early sculptures made in the 90s to selections from her installations which appeared at the British Pavillion at the Venice Biennale in 2015.
Sarah Lucas: Au Naturel runs from 26 September 2018 – 18 January 2019 at the New Museum, New York City
NUIT BLANCHE, VARIOUS, TORONTO
This year’s city-wide event, the 13th edition of Nuit Blanche, promises “less sleep, more art” as it injects Toronto will an all-night celebration. From sunset to sunrise, the city will be transformed into an “artistic playground” by creatives, both local and international. From the downtown scene to burgeoning Scarborough, since 2006, Nuit Blanche has featured more than 1,400 art installations from approximately 5,200 artists. 2018’s edition will be curated by Karen Alexander (UK), Alyssa Fearon (Toronto), and Tairone Bastien (Toronto), who have each worked towards the theme of “you are here” – which focuses “on Toronto as a city for change and a city of progress”. Keep an eye on Dazed for our favourites, reported direct from Toronto.
Nuit Blanche runs 27 September 2018 – 30 September 2018 throughout the city of Toronto
SOFT CRIMINAL, IB KAMARA, KRISTIN-LEE MOOLMAN & GARETH WRIGHTON, RED HOOK LABS, NEW YORK CITY
Ib Kamara, Kristina-Lee Moolman and Gareth Wrighton have held us mesmerised with their visual collaborations since they debuted the series 2026 at London’s Somerset House in 2016, followed by Coachie this time last year. Heading to New York for their latest, Soft Criminal, the images imagine “three fantastical, interrelated narratives of characters from the African diaspora”, and are currently on show at the city’s Red Hook Labs. The fantastical garments – created by local artisans and captured in the images – are also on show, bringing the images to life in new, multi-dimensional ways.
Soft Criminal runs from 12 September 2018 – 23 September 2018 at Red Hook Labs, New York City
“THE CLOCK”, CHRISTIAN MARCLAY, TATE MODERN, LONDON
Debuting in 2010 and having since travelled around the world, Christian Marclay’s “The Clock” has gained a cult-like status amongst the art world. The 24-hour-long film is stitched together with hundreds of Hollywood film clips, all of which depict time in real time. Currently being hosted at London’s Tate Modern until January 2019, the institution promises a series of 24 hour screenings for die hard fans to see how much of the film they can catch. Before you go, make sure to read Dazed’s interview with the artist himself, here.
The Clock is free and runs from 14 September 2018 – 20 January 2019 at Tate Modern, London
NEW WORLD CONSCIOUSNESS, HARMONIA ROSALES, RJD GALLERY, NEW YORK CITY
Painter Harmonia Rosales proves that God is a black woman in her latest show, currently running at New York City’s RJD Gallery. Speaking with Dazed earlier this month about the reasons why she repaints black women into classic works of art – such as “The Birth of Venus”, which she turned into “The Birth of Oshun” – she said, “By creating positive works of art using black women, the complete opposite from which we were used to seeing, we can begin to deconstruct our power structure.” Read our interview here.
New World Consciousness runs from September 8 2018 – October 5 2018 at RJD Gallery, New York City
SERPENTINE WORK MARATHON: WORK, VARIOUS, ROYAL GEOGRAPHICAL SOCIETY, LONDON
The Serpentine Marathon returns this month with the theme “work”, building on 2017’s “GUEST, GHOST, HOST: MACHINE! Marathon”, which focused on “consciousness and machine learning”. This year, the Marathon will look to address “the complex and timely questions of work, labour, automation, and leisure”. Not content with just human contribution, it will also look at how animals and plants are “worthy of recognition, what their implications are, and how to co-operate with planetary forces”. Artists, sociologists, anthropologists, writers, musicians, architects, scientists and philosophers from around the world will be brought together for 12 epic hours of conversations, performances, and more.
Keep an eye out for Dazed friend and Dazed 100 alumni, Wilson Oryema. The poet and artist will be performing at different points during the day, reading from a short novel he has created around the past, present, and future of cities, towns, and planets. He says, “It will serve as a personal commentary on the transforming role of work and where it will go, as well as surrounding elements such as increased isolation in major cities and sharply decreasing amounts of collective sleep, amongst other things.” He’s hoping to be able to hand the novel out to everyone attending too – so be sure not to miss out.
The Work Marathon runs on Saturday 22 September 2018 from 10am – 10pm at the Royal Geographical Society, London. Tickets here
UNSEEN AMSTERDAM, VARIOUS, WESTERGASFABRIEK, AMSTERDAM
Every year, photography lovers from all across the world descend on Amsterdam to see emerging image-makers and their work. Now in its seventh edition, Unseen Amsterdam’s programme includes book and zine stalls, talks, and exhibitions. Keep an eye out for our selects from the fair, coming soon.
Unseen Amsterdam runs from 21 September 2018 – 23 September 2018 at Westergasfabriek, Amsterdam
MANHATTAN SUNDAY, RICHARD RENALDI, ROBERT MORAT GALERIE, BERLIN
Richard Renaldi’s Manhattan Sunday is a stunning photo series which captures New Yorkers on the city streets as the sun breaks on them – returning from a night out or on an early morning stroll. “I was drawn to people living out their fantasies”, Renaldi told Dazed last year, “wherein some small or large way nightlife meant something to their sense of identity.” The black and white portraits serve as a love letter to the city’s non-stop buzz of life.
Manhattan Sunday runs from 8 September 2018 – 10 November 2018 at Robert Morat Galerie, Berlin
THE ACCUMULATION OF THINGS, VARIOUS, BONINGTON GALLERY, NOTTINGHAM
Last year, Adam Murray and Lou Stoppard co-curated one of the year’s most celebrated shows; North: Fashioning Identity, which ran at Somerset House until February 2018. Murray returns with his latest feat, The Accumulation of Things, which will open at Nottingham’s Bonington Gallery and bring together seven artists – including, Aditya Babbar, Joe Bloom, Julie Greve, Alicia Jalloul, Joy Labinjo, Evie O’Connor, and Max Prus. Murray tells us that the exhibition is a continuation of his interests in subjects, such as “how everyday life and personal circumstance can inform creative work”. He adds that each artist’s work “deals with shared interests of experience, circumstance and the familiar”, and that, “personal histories, both real and imagined, are examined through painting, photography and sculpture”.
The Accumulation of Things runs from 28 September 2018 – 27 October 2018 at Bonington Gallery, Nottingham
”FASHION DESIGN, STORYTELLING, AND PERFORMING ARTS: AN EVENING WITH MATTY BOVAN, MATTY BOVAN, SOMERSET HOUSE, LONDON
Hot off the heels of his second solo runway show at London Fashion Week, British designer Matty Bovan will be in conversation this Friday 21 September at Somerset House. The talk will run alongside his current show at the institute, a site-specific installation created alongside artists Rory Mullen and Adam Leach, and shown in the Leeds’ room at the London Design Biennale. For the exhibition, he “has created bespoke garments for the project, worn during live performances, and within video projections, also displayed upon skeleton-like scarecrow sculptures formed from salvaged wood and found objects”. The installation is said to be inspired by emotions, which Bovan explaining: “I’m interested in emotions that are highly charged, mostly anger, joy, love and hate. I wanted to showcase this through video, costume and 3D pieces.” The talk this week will cover his fascinating creative process, which is “inspired by religious symbolism in reference to Elizabethan interior design, and the relationship between fashion and performance art emerging from this creative partnership between Bovan, Mullen and Leach”.
Performing Arts: An Evening With Matty Bovan will take place at Somerset House on Friday 21 September 2018 at 6:30pm. Tickets available here. Bovan’s installation is on view at Somerset House until Sunday 23 September 2018
GENERATIONS: RUSSIAN CINEMA OF CHANGE, VARIOUS, BARBICAN, LONDON
From 26 September, London’s Barbican will host four-days of screenings, featuring both cult and landmark films that chart a century of Russia’s political and social changes – some being shown in the UK for the very first time. From the early days of Communism, through to Perestroika in the 80s and 90s and Glasnost in the mid-80s, to the restless and early days of democracy. The full programme can be found here.
Generations: Russian Cinema of Change runs from 26 – 30 September 2018 at Barbican, London
FURTHERING SIGHT, VARIOUS, GLORIA’S, NEW YORK CITY
New gallery project space, Gloria’s, is opening with a show featuring four emerging artists; Jheyda McGarrell, Elliott Jerome Brown Jr., Devin N. Morris, and Carlos Rosales-Silva. Traversing the mediums of mixed media painting, photography, text, and video, each artist uses identity in their works to explore themes such as intimacy, marginality, representation, memory, and stereotypes, amongst much more. Full details on each artist are here.
Furthering Sight runs from 21 September 2018 – 16 November 2018 at Gloria’s, New York City
RITUALS OF COLOUR, ADÉBAYO BOLAJI, PUBLIC GALLERY, LONDON
London-based artist Adébayo Bolaji’s practice is focused on a “dialogue between the internal and external world”. Utilising ritual and colour to “transform our lives as well as support the deepening of our spiritual and emotional connections”, Bolaji works across a variety of materials – from scraps of paper to written text. Describing his painting as a form of psychoanalysis, he references personal history as well as both his Nigerian heritage and London, the city he calls home. To accompany the works, Bolaji has created a film, screening in the gallery space but which we are pleased to debut online, below for your viewing pleasure.
Rituals of Colour runs 4 September 2018 – 4 October 2018 at Public Gallery, London
BRIGHTON PHOTO BIENNIAL, VARIOUS, BRIGHTON
There’s no fun way to talk about Brexit, but that hasn’t stopped artists from exploring it through their own lens. The upcoming eighth Brighton Photo Biennial will lift the lid on the “current state of flux” in the UK and how it “redefines its role in Europe”. Featuring the works of Harley Weir, Heather Agyepong, Bill Brandt, and many more, over the course of a month, a series of conversations, exhibitions, and reactive works will be on display in Brighton in an attempt to make sense of what is likely to be the most important geopolitical event of our lifetimes.
Brighton Photo Biennial runs 28 September 2018 – 28 October 2018 at various locations around Brighton. Full programme is here
CHOREOPHOBIA, VARIOUS, SOMERSET HOUSE STUDIOS, LONDON
To Whom This May Concern – a self-described, “self-organised curatorial collective that functions as a multi-layered support structure – presents a performance by British-Iranian artist, Somerset House Studios resident, Lilian Nejatpour, titled Choreophobia. Curated by Nora-Swantje Almes and Lorén Elhili, the performance will see two dancers, Eva Escrich and Lauren Stewart, interpret Nejatpour’s studio practice through movement and sound. Using the theories of dancer and choreographer Anthony Shay as a point of departure (and its title), Choreophobia utilises Netjatpour’s research into Iranian history and the continued “exploration of her own cultural duality through contemporary forms” – set to a soundtrack edited by the artist herself.
Choreophobia runs on 25 September 2018 from 7-9pm at Somerset House Studios, London. Tickets are free and available here
GRAND CALME, MARTINE SYMS, SADIE COLES HQ, LONDON
Currently on at Sadie Coles HQ is its first exhibition with LA-based artist Martine Syms. The press release gives very little away – albeit a fascinating read – but expect to see a combination of video installation and text-based works. An interactive element encourages viewers to text Syms in a kind of “choose your own adventure” way. Take a digital walk-through here, but, as is with all of Syms’ exhibitions, it is best witnessed in real life.
Syms will be doing a talk and performance on Monday 1 October at 6pm. Grande Calme runs from 6 September 2018 – 20 October 2018 at Sadie Coles HQ, London