A reading/watching group exploring conservation and preservation through diverse perspectives. We bring together practitioners, researchers and those interested in reimagining cultural heritage care. Through film screenings, texts and discussions, we examine conservation's evolving role in contemporary social, political and environmental contexts.
For our next gathering, I propose exploring themes of transformation and institutional care through multiple perspectives:
Exhibition Visit (Optional) I encourage you to visit Theaster Gates's exhibition at White Cube Bermondsey before our meeting. Gates's practice, which often involves the preservation and reactivation of cultural materials, offers compelling insights into alternative approaches to conservation. I have attached the exhibition notes for reference.
Reading Hélia Marçal's "Becoming Difference: On the Ethics of Conserving the In-Between" examines how conservation might embrace the multiple material possibilities of objects. Her work challenges traditional notions of authenticity and proposes more inclusive approaches to preservation.
Watching Irit Rogoff's talk "Becoming Research" (2019) explores how research has evolved from examining stable bodies of knowledge to becoming a dynamic space where inherited knowledge meets contemporary conditions. This perspective offers valuable insights for reimagining conservation practice. You can watch the talk here: https://youtu.be/D3AcgQoGaSU?si=WMtG0Tad2GT86clI
These materials collectively examine how we might expand our understanding of conservation beyond traditional institutional frameworks.
Meeting Details: Date: Tuesday 18th March Time: 6:30pm Location: Studio 23B Archway Studios, 25 Bickerton Road, N195JT Format: In-person discussion (online participation available)
Additional audio material will be shared during our gathering.
Turner Prize 2024 Exhibition Visit at Tate Britain A focused exploration of conservation/preservation themes through the work of Pio Abad and Jasleen Kaur…
Two Turner Prize nominees whose work resonates deeply with questions of cultural heritage and preservation. Pio Abad, nominated for his exhibition "To Those Sitting in Darkness" at the Ashmolean Museum, explores museum artifacts and colonial histories through drawings, etchings and sculptures. His work reframes institutional collections and questions how we preserve and present cultural objects. Jasleen Kaur, nominated for "Alter Altar" at Tramway, transforms everyday objects into installations that challenge traditional approaches to cultural preservation. Through her work with inherited objects and sonic elements, she examines how cultural memory is maintained and transmitted across generations.
Join us for a screening of Mati Diop's 'Dahomey' (2023), winner of the 2024 Golden Bear. The film traces the journey of 26 objects returned from Paris to Benin in 2021, examining how we receive and care for restituted cultural heritage.