For the last 5 months I have been co-ordinating the pilot phase of the Communal Knowledge programme at The Showroom gallery, a new programme that aims to develop a collaborative body of knowledge on local issues and to re-think established norms, values, codes, roles and relations within the locality. Working on projects with Dutch artist Mieke van de Voort and Ricardo Basbaum, from Brazil, the pilot phase concluded this month with an exhibition of both artist’s work at the gallery. This opened with a pannel discussion between Sophie Hope and I, Mieke and Ricardo, exploring the nature of both projects. The discussion questioned the gallery as a problematic site for radical action in its framing of the work as perfromative, explored the terminology and illusory constructions of ‘collaboration’ and questioned heirarchies and agendas of empowerment.
Leading on from this programme and by means of further developing the research that this has entailed I am now commencing a one year fellowship with The Showroom to produce new work, programme a series of discursive events and develop research. The work will explore the relation of gallery to place through research, pedagogy and practice developing processes that mobilise froms of tacit knowledge held within the neighbourhood.
