The Shared Drive - Issue 01
Hi Everyone!
Welcome to the very first issue of ‘The Shared Drive’. I write a little more down below about why I have decided to start writing this little newsletter, but I just wanted to begin by saying thank you. As most of you will know, I am a Curator (and Feminist) first and foremost, with a particular focus on collaborative and care-based curation. This new substack holds the same cooperative and supportive ethos that I carry with me through all my work. I hope this will become a regular occurrence in all your inboxes, and as such, I very much encourage all feedback, comments and questions.
Enjoy! J xx
LAST WEEK at ARC:
Community, Commensality and Companionship
Last week, I organized a very early International Women’s Day Event in the Cotswolds countryside in collaboration with Pictorum Gallery and ARC. You might have come across some posts on Instagram – envision meditation, workshops, dogs, wine, country walks, and, of course, some fantastic artists and friends. Twenty-two wonderful people made the journey outside of London, fully engaging in the day’s activities. New connections, conversations, and friendships were forged, leaving me feeling truly inspired.
For this inaugural issue of The Shared Drive, I aim to underscore the incredible importance of community, a value exemplified by the recent IWD event and one that sits at the core of all my work. Relationships are the heartbeat of the art world. We all acknowledge and contribute to it, whether by attending PVs, following people on Instagram, or participating in dinners and studio visits. We gather to meet, share ideas, and find where we belong. Arguably, as a woman, it is even more important to nurture these relationships and support one another.
Since launching my own Instagram back in the pre-COVID days, I am proud to say that a vibrant community has flourished. I have had incredible interactions with artists, collectors, curators, and writers over the years, leading to the creation of truly fantastic projects. The project "I FELT THAT," which I curated in 2022, comes to mind. While nearly two years have passed since the final publication of Ache Magazine or the culminating exhibition at the Tub, the strength of relationships built has endured. Similarly, artists I have worked with, supported, and followed throughout their careers are reaching new heights, and I am proud to have played even a small part in their progression.
Witnessing the impact of care-centered, relationship-focused work is truly exciting. Consequently, I want to use this new newsletter as a platform to highlight others and encourage mutual support, idea-sharing, and community-building. Every other week, I plan to write a small piece on something that inspires me – be it an artwork, an exhibition, or even a person – and share my thoughts. The "Contributions to The Shared Drive," a subsection within each issue, will then feature other artists, curators, exhibitions, and shows, alongside any other recommendations I may have. For future issues, I would love to incorporate suggestions from others, spotlighting diverse voices in the community.
Recommendations to keep you busy:
Some recommendations from me - books, articles, podcasts …
Ana Mendieta's 'Search for Origin’ - Currently on at MUSAC, Spain
Ana Mendieta's 'Search for Origin', a solo exhibition of the artist's work on view at Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Castilla y León (MUSAC), Spain.
Bringing together around one hundred works spanning seventeen years of Ana Mendieta's career, 'Search for Origin' is the most extensive exhibition devoted to Ana Mendieta. A great piece on the show has been published by METALOCUS here, if you can’t get yourself to Spain!
Ana Mendieta is one of those artists whose works consistently leave an impression on me. I know many artists working today who consistently look back to Mendieta’s work - a powerful testament to the discourse around feminist performance work. Last year, I became pretty obsessed with the podcast ‘Death of the Artist,’ hosted by Helen Molesworth. It delves into the timelines of Ana Mendieta’s death and the impact it has had on the art world, both in terms of the reception of her work and the work of her then-partner, minimalist sculptor Carl Andre. If you haven’t yet listened to it, I could not recommend it more.
Womb: The Inside Story of Where We All Began, by Leah Hazard
This book was recommended to me by wonderful artist Ruth Batham, one of the 13 artists who took part in I FELT THAT back in 2022. Written by a midwife, this book looks at some really important, and often infuriating, conversations that currently surround the womb. A great review is on the guardian here, if you don’t want to take my word for it.
Artist Spotlight:
Every now and then, I’m going to be spotlighting an artist whose work I love, and what they are currently up to. For inclusion in future issues, please get in touch!
Currently on show at Pictorum Gallery’s Embodied Selfhood, Toma was recently selected for the GIRL POWER RESIDENCY (Residency Coordinator and Curator: Marcelle Joseph). The artist was also just announced as one of Turkish-British curator Huma Kabakci’s ‘Top 5 Net Gen Artists’.
Melania creates textural paintings and sculptures that analyse the intersection between reality and language. Fascinated by the spiritual power of materiality, Melania collects natural fibres, pigments, dyes, straws and bones to make her works.
”During her residency, Toma will focus her research around the ideas of Arturo Escobar’s ‘pluriverses’ and Donna Haraway’s ‘children of the compost’ as well as Timothy Morton’s attempts to propose a potential space free from patriarchal, hierarchical and heteronormative forces…” - words by Marcelle Joseph, Curator GIRLPOWER residency.
Contributions to the Shared Drive:
In this section, I'll be showcasing carefully chosen exhibitions, projects, and shows from galleries, artists and curators whom I closely follow. For upcoming newsletters, feel free to reach out via DM or email to share any additional contributions or thoughts!
FRENZY OF THE VISIBLE, Sibylle Ruppert. at Project Native Informant - On till 20th April 2024
FRENZY OF THE VISIBLE is the first UK solo exhibtion of work by German Swiss artist Sibylle Ruppert. I attended the breakfast preview yesterday, and was completely blown away by the technique and talent on display by an artist I (perhaps shamefully) had never come across. The bodily and surreal works in this exhibition, reminiscent of a collaboration between Leonora Carrington, Andre Breton, and Hieronymus Bosch, are an absolute must-see.
IN FORMA: Curated by Victoria Law and Karen Tronel, at Marie Jose Gallery -PV: Thursday 7th March 6-9pm, RSVP only.
IN FORMA celebrates a renewed vibrancy in geometric abstract art at this contemporary moment. Bringing together artists from disparate continents with diverse processes, some of whom are showing in London for the very first time, curators Victoria Law and Karen Tronel elegantly demonstrate the true breadth of abstraction within contemporary art practices.
IN COLOUR: Haricot Gallery - PV: Thursday 7th March 6-9pm
Haricot Gallery is delighted to present ‘In Colour’ a group exhibition that features works by Manon Steyaert, Bobby Dowler, Constance Read, Sebastian Supanz and Jonathan McCree.
GOOD EYE PROJECTS: OPEN STUDIOS - 23rd March, 12 - 5 pm
Current residents: Rosie Gibbens, Tommy Xiexin, Anna Clegg, Isabella Benshimol, Ellie Wang and Ivy Kalungi. Residency Coordinator: Anna Woodward.
Each artist for this rendition of the residency has been supported by an external gallery. Rosie Gibbens, who previously exhibited in a group show I curated has been supported by myself/Pictorum Gallery.
MATERIAL GIRLS AND THEIR MUSES: Vitrine Gallery, Curated by Marcelle Joseph
PV: 21st March, 6 - 8 pm
Saelia Aparicio, Ludovica Gioscia, Sacha Ingber, Hannah Lim, Cathie Pilkington, Ovartaci, Polly Apfelbaum, Heidi Bucher, Mariko Mori, Marion Adnams
'Material Girls and their Muses' is a group exhibition featuring the work of five female-identifying sculptors with material-led practices alongside their chosen muses. This exhibition, curated by Marcelle Joseph, is a re-staging of an exhibition Joseph initially curated in 2014 in a disused space in the diamond district of London’s Hatton Garden.