Commoners in Common (Mapping and Walking the City)

Velorose

1 June - 30 June

Velorose‘s ‘Commoners in Common‘ showcases an edit of a 2021/2022 original Craftspace touring exhibition, ‘We are Commoners’, for the London Festival of Architecture 2023, the theme for which is ‘In Common’.

‘Commoners in Common’ invites the viewer / you the artist to become, or recognise yourself, as a ‘commoner’. The commons is historically thought of in relation to land and resources that are held for common use. Now it also includes the cultural commons such as open source software and knowledge in the digital world. Increasing privatisation, individualism and the impact of austerity have eroded the commons; this exhibition activates the verb ‘to common’ as a way to renew public life, especially after the many shared and unshared impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic across the globe.

With a focus on ‘Mapping your Commons’, an ‘instructable’ activity devised by Deirdre Nelson, ‘Commoners in Common’ allows every visitor – in person and online – to become an artist in common. Nelson’s activity and her work sits alongside that of Alice McLean and Justine Boussard, Ele Carpenter, Alinah Azadeh, ODG Assembly with Hefin Jones, and Kate Hodgson / Heart of Glass, and through interaction both inside and outside the gallery the exhibition will expand throughout June as Velorose’s latest Mail Art / Mapping project evolves to include you the artist.

Curated by Craftspace and Velorose, the exhibition also acts as the starting and ending points of two idiosyncratic walking tours led by David Rosenberg for the Twentieth Century Society, ‘(Mapping) The Barbican Estate – Uncommon Antisocial Housing)’ on 17 June and ‘(Mapping) The Golden Lane Estate – Uncommon Social Housing’ on 24 June. ‘Commoners in Common’ literally starts and ends with celebrations to which all are naturally invited, on 1 June and 30 June.