Whitechapel Gallery

16/12/2022

As the year draws to an end, so does our latest programme of exhibitions. Don’t miss your last chance to see…

Moving Bodies, Moving Images
★★★★ – ‘…worth carving out … an afternoon to see’ – Evening Standard‘
Until 8 January 2023

Christen Sveaas Art Foundation: PORTAL DE PLATA Selected by Donna Huanca
'Incredibly immersive, poignant, accessible... I love the sensory work' - Visitor Feedback
Until 31 December 2022

Tracing Absence
‘A stirring collection of artworks’ – Visitor Feedback
Until 31 December 2022

Out of the Margins
‘A good overview of performance art during an exciting time in London’ – Visitor Feedback
Until 15 January 2023

Find out more via the Whitechapel Gallery website.

14/12/2022

Want to get closer to Moving Bodies, Moving Images?

Published to accompany this exhibition of eight contemporary films each set against a backdrop of climate change, social justice movements, and a global pandemic, this 200-page book features newly commissioned essays exploring the political and narrative potential of the performing body alongside a full selection of colour stills.

With dance and choreographed movement at the heart of each film, both the exhibition and book ask the question - why have visual artists taken a new interest in choreography and its focus on the body in recent years?

Featured artists and choreographers include Alexandra Bachzetsis, Pauline Boudry / Renate Lorenz, Eglė Budvytytė in collaboration with Marija Olšauskaitė and Julija Steponaitytė, Eric Minh Cuong Castaing, Alia Farid, Hetain Patel, Bárbara Wagner and Benjamin de Burca, and Alberta Whittle.

Get your copy today by following the

http://ow.ly/Wlc850M3x7z

09/12/2022

‘We seek a second life, an alternative during the traumatic, the gloomy, the bottom of the abyss. and so I am an artist. and I am emerging. and I stay afloat so I do not get choked by too much toast in working from home, by racial and climate injustice, by the lamentable impossibility of turning back time and knowing the future’
- From Yulin Huang’s ‘I Am (not in my bed)

On 15 December Whitechapel Gallery will host a special edition of the Young Creatives Night series, celebrating the achievements of Yulin Huang as the Gallery’s inaugural Young Writer in Residence.

Join Huang and fine artist Natasha Brown for an informal and existential evening of unwrapping mysterious objects and collective experiences. Through a series of writing and discussion activities, the evening will see reflection and writing around the experiences of being an emerging artist.

Huang will also give a special reading of ‘I Am (not in my bed)’, her residency submission in response to The London Open 2022 – a confession of what it feels like to exist as a young emerging artist in London.

No prior experience in writing is necessary, this workshop is best suited to those who identify as young creative or emerging artists, as well as those who are interested in joining the conversation.

Book your free ticket and find out more on our website.

http://ow.ly/5sft50LWuRW

07/12/2022

‘It was hard to reach inside myself and take that raw thing that I was feeling and string it into words, but in other ways, it was such a cathartic process to just spill out my thoughts and create something at the end where I felt I had made sense of my experience.’
- Yulin Huang, Young Writer in Residence

In 2022 Whitechapel Gallery announced artist Yulin Huang as the inaugural Young Writer in Residence following an open call responding to our summer season. Huang’s winning entry ‘I am (not in my bed)’ touched upon the ‘daunting abyss of being an ‘emerging artist’’, the pressure of surviving the art world, and the longing to be remembered amidst countless global crises.

Read an interview between Youth Programmes curator Amelia Oakley and Huang, now two months into her residency. The two explore what has consumed Huang’s time so far: the artist’s obsession with documentation, inspirational napping, and a fascinating journey into an archival folder labelled ‘Exhibitions That Died’.

Read the full interview and follow Huang’s journey on our website.

http://ow.ly/CHSo50LWu4U

03/12/2022

‘[These] paintings were regarded not as images, but as events… [to change] ideas around aesthetics, poetry, philosophy and politics'
- Laura Smith, Curator

Whitechapel Gallery is delighted to present Action, Gesture, Paint: Women Artists and Global Abstraction 1940-70. Opening on 9 February 2023, this major exhibition brings together 150 paintings from an overlooked generation of 80 international women artists – this is the first time that many of the works will be on public display in the UK.

Reaching beyond the predominantly white, male painters whose names are synonymous with the Abstract Expressionist movement, this exhibition celebrates women artists from all over the world exploring similar themes of materiality, freedom of expression, perception and gesture. Each included artist endowed gestural abstraction with their own specific cultural contexts – from the rise of fascism in parts of South America and East Asia to the influence of Communism in Eastern Europe and China.

Find out more and pre-book your ticket on the website. Members go free.

Image Credit: Wook-kyung Choi, Untitled, 1960s
Acrylic on canvas, 101 x 86 cm © Wook-kyung Choi Estate and courtesy to Arte Collectum.

http://ow.ly/FbIJ50LSHoz

02/12/2022

How can you use your body to create shadows, shapes and sounds?

On 10 December, join us in the Gallery for a drop-in Families workshop led by multidisciplinary artist Rosie Gibbens to collaborate and play using unusual objects and materials inspired by Gibbens’ own art practice and Moving Bodies, Moving Images, an exhibition that brings together a selection of short films made in the last decade by contemporary artists exploring the intersection of dance, choreography and moving image.

Book your free tickets and find out more on the website.

http://ow.ly/8qen50LSJB2

26/11/2022

Join us in the Gallery on 11 December for an evening of discussion between multidisciplinary artist Alberta Whittle and curator Lydia Yee as Whittle explores her methods for comprehending global-scale issues in art.

Whittle is a contributing artist to the exhibition Moving Bodies, Moving Images. Her included work RESET responds to a landscape of adversity; composed amidst the pandemic, the Black Lives Matter Movement, and the climate emergency. Through the collaged voices of writers, performers and musicians, Whittle connects fears of contagion, moral dilemma and xenophobia and urges the audience to become active rather than passive spectators by calling for healing, rest and community at a time of inequality.

The evening will see opportunities for audience members to join the conversation through a live Q&A. The talk will be followed by a performance by Mele Broomes in the gallery space, performing an extended version of her choreography for RESET.

Find out more and book your tickets on the website.

http://ow.ly/eon550LMSY6

24/11/2022

In January 2023 Whitechapel Gallery will celebrate the lifetime achievements of Jenny Holzer, the tenth artist to receive the prestigious annual Art Icon Award.

Whitechapel Gallery Director Gilane Tawadros said:

“We are delighted that Jenny Holzer will be Whitechapel Gallery’s Art Icon in 2023 in recognition of her ground-breaking practice as an artist who has consistently addressed social justice issues with elegance and humour throughout her decades-long career.”



http://ow.ly/JLRg50LMO60

18/11/2022

By its very nature, the art of street dance rejects definition. Constantly evolving and fusing influences from various geographies, street dance represents a continuous migration across histories, a journey between genres in search of endless composite configurations and a fine blend of collectivity and individuality.

Inspired by street dance, on 1 December Whitechapel Gallery will be taken over by performances centred around the notion of fluidity. Exploring street dance as an embodiment of the identity in flux, this takeover brings together artists from disparate backgrounds who seamlessly blend sonic and dance styles, including Algo Au, Chandenie Gobardhan, Chris Zhongtian Yuan, Duane Nasis, and Jamal Sterrett.

In a series of performances, these performers will activate the public spaces in and around Whitechapel Gallery, guiding the audience on a metamorphic journey.

Book your free ticket on our website.

This event is curated by Erin Li, Asymmetry Curatorial Fellow.

http://ow.ly/PRLw50LH0k8

17/11/2022

We're delighted to announce that Jenny Holzer will receive Whitechapel Gallery's annual Art Icon award for 2023. Holzer has been selected for her outstanding contributions to contemporary art and influence upon this and future generations of artists.

Holzer is a conceptual and installation artist whose work deploys text in public spaces across an array of media, including electronic signs, carved stone, paintings, billboards, and prints. Holzer invites public debate and illuminates social and political justice.

Celebrated for her inimitable use of language, Holzer creates a powerful tension between the realms of feeling and knowledge, with a practice that encompasses individual and collective experiences of power, violence, joy, idealism, corruption, vulnerability, and tenderness.

Discover more about the award and upcoming gala on our website.

http://ow.ly/hjFq50LGQwE

14/11/2022

This month, Whitechapel Gallery's Head of Editions, Vicky Steer, has been reflecting on the posters from our Rare & Archive Exhibition Poster collection that resonate with her.

The first in Steer’s list is a Raoul De Keyser exhibition poster from the legendary 2004 group painting show ‘Edge of the Real’. Steer visited this exhibition as an art student in the early 2000s; it left a lasting impression that has stayed with her throughout her career. Steer has gone on to publish editions with several of the exhibited artists.

Next is a signed poster from the late Rodney Graham’s 2002 self-titled solo show. In Steer's words, ‘This is another iconic exhibition in the Gallery’s long history, and the addition of the artist’s signature makes this a poster particularly collectable'.

Steer's final pick is the poster that accompanied the 1997 ‘Antechamber’, which she remembers collecting at the time. Reflecting, she notes, ‘I just loved the image by Francis Alys, which depicts a sign writers’ studio.’

Steer has been publishing artist editions for over 15 years; her eye for detail and passion for working with artists shines through in this carefully curated and personal selection.

If you have taken inspiration from our Head of Editions selection and want to explore our entire collection of Rare & Archive Exhibition Posters , you can find out more on our website.

http://ow.ly/ijw650LAUsU

13/11/2022

Jonas Mekas, the influential Lithuanian filmmaker, poet, curator, archivist, and diarist, said that if he lived to be 100 years old, he would go to the Himalayas. It was widely believed that he would go. Sadly, Mekas died in 2019 at the age of 96. In the tradition of the expansive retrospectives held on his 70th, 80th and 90th birthdays, this year, his centenary, his spirit and art are celebrated worldwide.

Join us in the Gallery on 26 November as we celebrate 100 years of Jonas Mekas in an afternoon of screenings, readings, and discussion. The event will revel in his friendly, creative and informal ways of being in art and the world, showing Mekas’ own short films and his 1997 documentary Letters from Nowhere alongside readings and reflection from Lithuanian poet Rimas Uzgiris and London’s own Stephen Watts.

Don’t miss this opportunity to get an intimate look into the extraordinary life of Jonas Mekas.

http://ow.ly/UtgK50LBo0N

12/11/2022

Zadie Xa's commission for Whitechapel Gallery ‘House Gods, Animal Guides and Five Ways 2 Forgiveness’ blends Korean spiritual references with motifs from pop culture and science fiction.

Painting, sculptures and textiles are installed in and around a hanok, a traditional Korean home and represents various spiritual figures. Sculptures of household deities and animistic avatars guide visitors to the spirit realm, conjuring ancient belief systems in an exploration of Xa’s diasporic identity. The space exists between night and day, life and death, the home and the spirit world.

On 24 November, Whitechapel Gallery hosts a unique opportunity to hear Xa discuss this major new commission with curator Tarini Malik. The evening will see Xa unpack the religious, cultural and mythological symbols within the work and reflect upon her creative process as she transformed a gallery in Whitechapel into a portal to another realm.

Audience members will be able to pose questions to Xa in a live Q&A, and to visit the display before or after the talk.

Book your tickets on the website.

http://ow.ly/sm2H50LBn2z

10/11/2022

Young Creatives Night - Whitechapel Gallery

Are you an early career artist or young person interested in contemporary art?

On 24 November Whitechapel Gallery presents the next instalment of the Young Creatives Night series, marking a year since its inception.

Facilitated by alums of renowned Gallery youth collective Duchamp & Sons, November’s Young Creatives Night includes an informal workshop inviting collaborative reflections on what it means to be a young creative at this moment in time.

Sit, chat, and make with creative peers, as you share your unique practices, insights and experiences of working in the creative sector.

Book your free tickets today by following the

Image Credit: Zenhofer

https://www.whitechapelgallery.org/events/young-creatives-night-6/

Meet other early career artists and young people interested in contemporary art at our latest Young Creatives Night.

09/11/2022

An exciting opportunity has arisen to become the new Director's Assistant at Whitechapel Gallery!

Director's Assistant
Permanent Contract
Deadline - 13 November

http://ow.ly/8uUw50LyzR4

07/11/2022

The holidays are almost here! This season, why not treat your loved ones and share your support for the Gallery by gifting a recommended read, edition, or vintage poster?

Collectors of the surreal will love Gareth Cadwallader’s work 'Gaudi' (2022), while the artist in the family will delight in Andrew Grassie’s 'Palette' (2022). Or, for the lover of humour, look no further than the comical frustrations that underpin Milly Thompson’s ‘Ray grows irritated with the wait’ (2022).

Don't forget that Whitechapel Gallery Members receive an exclusive 10% discount on editions. Join our community of artists and art lovers to gain exclusive access to exhibitions and events all year round.

Shop now via the website.

Last date to order for shipping: 4 December
Last date to order for collection: 14 December

http://ow.ly/QTQr50Lwep8

05/11/2022

Bodies of Water: A Confluence of Voices - Whitechapel Gallery

‘Being vulnerable in my own work reminds me that I’m both unique and universe – my grief is your grief, my joy is your joy, my life is your life. And vice-versa.’
- Pheobe Boswell

On 17 November Whitechapel Gallery’s Writer in Residence 2022, Phoebe Boswell presents an evening of reading embracing the fluidity of language and storytelling as a means to unpack the cultural associations with which bodies of water are imbued.

Throughout history and into the contemporary, bodies of water have carried associations within the diasporic conscience. They are at the markers of geopolitical boundaries, the space between here and there, and the thresholds of non-citizenship.

Sharing new writing, Boswell explores these relentless dichotomies of water. Water becomes an archive for histories of trade, trafficking, forced migrations, fugitivity, subjugation, upheaval, violence, and refusal - while holding space for the radical imagination to propose something new

Read an interview with the artist and book your ticket now on our website.

Bodies of Water: A Confluence of Voices | 17 November | £5

http://ow.ly/TT2p50LtlK0

In an evening of readings, Phoebe Boswell, Whitechapel Gallery's Writer in Residence 2022, embraces the fluidity of language and storytelling as a means to unpack the cultural associations with which bodies of water are imbued

04/11/2022

Today, Arts Council England announced their Investment Programme for 2023-2026.

Whitechapel Gallery Director, Gilane Tawadros said:

'We are delighted to share that the Arts Council has responded enthusiastically to the plans we set out in our NPO application and has renewed Whitechapel Gallery's funding.

Located in the heart of East London for over 120 years, Whitechapel Gallery is ‘the artist’s gallery for everyone’ engaging diverse audiences locally, nationally, and internationally with its pioneering programmes of modern and contemporary art and education, in person and online.’

03/11/2022

Mark your calendars for Jarman Now! taking place on 12 November!

Celebrating the work of the artists shortlisted for Film London’s Jarman Award 2022, Whitechapel Gallery presents a day of multimedia experiences across the gallery in what would have been renowned filmmaker Derek Jarman’s 80th year.

Bringing together the six artists shortlisted for the award this year- Jamie Crewe, Onyeka Igwe, Grace Ndiritu, Morgan Quaintance, Rosa – Johan Uddoh and Alberta Whittle – Jarman Now! is an exciting opportunity to view films alongside a programme of talks and performances from the artists that made them.

We are delighted to celebrate Jarman’s own life and work with an exclusive listening experience of the artist himself reading alongside three film screenings, of which two are world premieres, and a new publication of never-before-seen writing by the artist.

Book your tickets today!

Jarman Now! | 12 November 2022 | 12 – 6pm | £5

http://ow.ly/HM6v50LthHo

31/10/2022

MA Curating Art and Public Programmes - Whitechapel Gallery

Are you looking to pursue a career in contemporary curating?

We are now accepting applications for our MA Curating Art and Public Programmes to start in September 2023.

In association with London South Bank University, the MA in Curating Art & Public Programmes offers a one-of-a-kind, integrative experience in working in the field of contemporary art, developing exhibitions and multi-disciplinary and inclusive public programmes.

Join us for an Open Day on 12 November 2022 at London South Bank University to learn more about the course or on 28 January 2023 at Whitechapel Gallery for a tour of the gallery spaces and a short presentation with the co-directors.

Find out more and sign up via the website.

http://ow.ly/t8Sr50LmRkv

This distinctive Masters of Arts programme offers a one-of-a-kind, integrative experience in working in the field of contemporary art, developing exhibitions and multi-disciplinary and inclusive public programmes. Students are introduced to aspects of curatorial practice through dedicated lectures a...