Nocturnal Creatures
Saturday 21 July 2018
Whitechapel Gallery and local locations, Free Entry
Sponsored by Broadgate
In association with Sculpture in the City
#NocturnalCreatures
6 July 2018
– Final line-up announced for Nocturnal Creatures, Whitechapel Gallery’s inaugural late-night contemporary arts festival taking place Saturday 21 July
– Artists and musicians Kai Althoff, Lucia Monge and NO UFOs complete the line-up
– The one night festival includes sound, live visuals and performance from Larry Achiampong, Tom Lock, Rachel Pimm, Alexis Teplin and Andrea Luka Zimmerman
– Also featuring Sculpture in the City artists Marina Abramovic, Tracey Emin, Sarah Lucas and Sean Scully
– Plus the premiere of new music from Sarathy Korwar, Midori Komachi, Bambooman and Angele David-Guillou with Musicity
The final line-up for Nocturnal Creatures is announced. On Saturday 21 July, the heart of the East End is transformed by performance, video, sculpture and sound. Cultural and historic venues within walking distance of the Whitechapel Gallery feature spectacular artworks and performance for one night only. Local galleries open their doors late into the night. In association with Sculpture in the City, artist tours and new audio compositions will celebrate the rich history of the local area. For its inaugural year the Nocturnal Creatures festival coincides with Whitechapel Gallery’s triennial summer exhibition The London Open 2018, highlighting a number of the exhibiting artists.
Iwona Blazwick, former Whitechapel Gallery Director, said: “Demand for accessible, night-time arts and culture in London is ever-increasing. Last year, we participated in the momentous Art Night, and we were truly inspired. So we’re hugely excited to be launching a new, free, late-night arts festival for the East End. A celebration of London’s creativity and resilient contemporary art scene, it will be a coming-together of practitioners, unusual spaces and audiences. Come and join us.”
All events are free to attend and accessible to all. The Whitechapel Gallery Refectory will host a Happy Hour between 9 and 11pm, plus a special offer of a toastie and beer for £5 all night.
The full Nocturnal Creatures programme features:
An immersive audio-visual environment created by Tom Lock staged with our headline sponsor, Broadgate
Multimedia artist Tom Lock (b.1981, UK) will present an expanded, live version of his monumental audio-visual work Within (2018). Developed in collaboration with choreographer Fernanda Munoz-Newsome, and musicians Manuela Barczewski and Rudi Schmidt, they create an immersive and expansive landscape featuring organic live visuals. The work is inspired by Octavia E. Butler’s 1987 novel Dawn, which describes the reactions of humans having to assimilate and potentially interbreed with an alien race that comes to earth. The performance is situated within Broadgate, London’s largest pedestrianised neighbourhood, a public arena for food, retail and culture.
An installation by Rachel Pimm hosted at the Grade II* listed Whitechapel Bell Foundry on Whitechapel Road
Rachel Pimm (b.1984, Zimbabwe) will present a new performance work inspired by the Grade II* listed Whitechapel Bell Foundry in a rare opportunity to see inside the new foundry building. The building operated as a bell foundry from the 1740s to 2017 and was the site for the creation of some of the world’s most famous bells, including Big Ben and the original Liberty Bell. Working with audio artist Graham Cunnington Test Dept) and former staff of the decommissioned foundry, the work features performers including the building’s current live-in guardians. The empty space is re-animated to map out the materials used in the casting of bells- copper, tin, clay, loam and water. Set to the industrial sounds of the machinery and in stages distinct to the 5 tones of each bell (the hum, the prime, the octave, the fifth and the minor third) the work tells the stories of the agricultural, ecological, military and political histories of the materials as they transform.
A multi-media experience accompanied by an intense, beat-driven soundtrack from Larry Achiampong with Shiraz Bayjoo at the White Chapel Building
Titled Forgotten Worlds, Larry Achiampong’s (b.1984, UK) work takes over the spacious atrium of the White Chapel Building. Forgotten Worlds is part of Relic Traveller (2017), Achiampong’s afro-futurist multi-site project comprising of performance, audio, moving image and prose. This new work will see Achiampong expanding this audio-visual journey with Shiraz Bayjoo using themes of lost testimony, fallen empire and displacement to deconstruct the architectures of colonialism.
Plantón Móvil, with Peruvian artist Lucia Monge, a ‘walking forest’ of plants and people moving together down Brick Lane
Lucia Monge’s organises walking forests all over the world. Nocturnal Creatures sees the international project take place along the East End’s most iconic street, Brick Lane. Shrubs, flowers and trees have the opportunity to ‘walk’ down the streets and to claim their place in our public space. Commencing at the Whitechapel Gallery at 6pm, all are invited to take part in this walking forest. Families are also invited to join the artist to make props for the walk at a Family Day event from 3pm.
Screenings of Forerunner, a film by artists Kai Althoff (b. 1966, Germany) and Yair Oelbaum (b. 1988, USA)
Spoken language is almost entirely subdued in Forerunner, which Oelbaum and Althoff started to film in 2013, and finished in 2016. Argumentative bombers having lost all attraction, light, several female protagonists with their unfathomable knowledge of what will be when Moshiach (the Messiah) comes, and a forebearance not to be confused to the slightest with tepidity, are the elements to rule this disposition. The film will be presented within the historic St. George’s Lutheran Church, which opened in 1763, and is the oldest surviving German church, many of its original Georgian interiors well intact.
At Whitechapel Gallery, hourly performances of Alexis Teplin’s mesmerising Arch (The Politics of Fragmentation) This captivating work is performed by three actors in three acts within free major exhibition The London Open. Teplin (b.1976, USA), a painter whose practice expands beyond the limits of the frame, situates the action in front of her large-scale painting. Referencing Indian street theatre, 1960s Hollywood film and the traditions of Russian abstract theatre, the actors recite scripts composed of Teplin’s own writings, interwoven with fragments collected from an eclectic array of sources including news reports and the works of Doris Lessing.
A series of readings from Andrea Luka-Zimmerman marking the 50th anniversary of 1968 at Whitechapel Gallery
Six readers invited by Andrea Luka Zimmerman (b.1976, USA) choose and read aloud key texts from 1968 that speak directly to them and resonate in our present moment. Featuring housing campaigner Aysen Dennis, artist Evan Ifekoya, poet and film activist So Mayer, artist and filmmaker Liberty Anthonia Sadler, editor Daniella Shreir and artist and activist Andrea Luka Zimmerman. This shared reading echoes Luka Zimmerman’s film Civil Rights, included in The London Open 2018. The cine-poem takes as its starting point Martin Luther King’s 1967 speech, given on receipt of his honorary doctorate from the University of Newcastle. It explores how the core themes of poverty, racism and war continue to haunt our lives.
Music from NO UFOs all night in the Whitechapel Refectory
Justin Quirk of NO UFOs will soundtrack the bar with a journey through the digital sounds of the future: from space-age electro and futuristic synthpop to cosmic funk and dancehall. Quirk regularly DJs at London’s art galleries and at Spiritland. He has also curated exhibitions at Cob Gallery and KK Outlet. NO UFOs is an independent photographic imprint. Publications include NOUR, a photographic study of neon light in Saudi Arabia, and BATTLEJACKET NUMBER ONE, a year long project photographing the homemade customised denim jackets found at heavy metal gigs in London.
Artist-led tours of artworks installed across the surrounding area for the 8th edition of Sculpture in the City including Amanda Lwin, Shaun C Badham and Jyll Bradley
Nocturnal Creatures takes place in association with Sculpture in the City, the City of London’s annual public art programme which situates 18 works from internationally renowned artists amongst City of London architectural landmarks close to the Whitechapel Gallery. Sculpture in the City will host expert tours with participating artists. This year, the project welcomes works by established international artists including Marina Abramović, Sarah Lucas, Tracey Emin and Sean Scully, and also gives the platform to younger emerging artists, presenting Shaun C Badham’s I’M STAYING, a neon work situated in Leadenhall Market, and Amanda Lwin’s new commission A Worldwide Web of Somewheres, a textile map of the City of London. Amanda Lwin, Shaun C Badham, Jyll Bradley and more of the participating artists will lead tours drawing on their experience of the area and consider, amongst other themes, current and social issues linked to the works on display and how they are inspired by the locality. Thomas J. Price will host an artist conversation in the Leadenhall Building and Juliana Cerqueira Leite will perform next to her sculpture in Mitre Square.
The premiere of audio compositions created in response to East End sites, Musicity x Sculpture in the City to include Sarathy Korwar, Midori Komachi, Bambooman and Angele David-Guillou
Launching to coincide with Nocturnal Creatures, Musicity x Sculpture in the City, supported by Brookfield Properties, will enliven local sites with sound. Attendees of the festival will experience for the first time newly commissioned audio tracks. Created in response to the area’s landmarks and historic venues, they link music and architecture and provide a new way of seeing and hearing the area. Covering different corners of the City, Musicity adds to the digital transformation of Sculpture in the City and will animate self-guided tours. Musicity sites range from Principal Place in the north to Aldgate Tower close the Whitechapel Gallery and will include new site-specific work by Sarathy Korwar, Midori Komachi, Bambooman and Angele David-Guillou. The music mix will range from modern classical and electronic to 80s inspired electro-pop and globally inspired soundscapes.
Galleries open late into the night across the East End
Local galleries will open their doors to late night visitors. The programme includes Calvert 22 Foundation, Caravansérail, Espacio Gallery, Gallery 46, Peer, SCAN Project Room, Union Gallery and Yamamoto Keiko Rochaix.
An artist and writer-led walking tour of the local area
Elsewhere, artist Jaspar Joseph-Lester and writer Simon King will lead a semi-fictionalised walk from Walkative, which looks for elements of Los Angeles in the East End. The walk draws on their publication Parallel Urbanisms: London-Los Angeles. Walkative is a research project that explores how walking can trigger processes of making, thinking and researching.
Notes to Editors
The London Open: The London Open 2018 brings together the most dynamic and critical contemporary art being made in the capital today. The latest edition of this triennial summer exhibition offers a free, lively space to discover new work and reflect on a time of significant change in this global city. The exhibition features a diverse selection of 22 artists working in London and engaging with topical concerns; from the rapidly changing urban context, the environment, technology, gender and race to queer representation, human relations, activism and post-colonial histories. Many work in unprecedented ways and across different artistic forms, ranging from painting, video and sound to installation, sculpture, performance and work online.
Whitechapel Gallery: For over a century the Whitechapel Gallery has premiered world class artists from modern masters such as Pablo Picasso, Jackson Pollock, Mark Rothko and Frida Kahlo to contemporaries such as Sophie Calle, Lucian Freud, Gilbert & George and Mark Wallinger. With beautiful galleries, exhibitions, artist commissions, collection displays, historic archives, education resources, inspiring art courses, dining room and bookshop, the Gallery is open all year round, so there is always something free to see. It is a touchstone for contemporary art internationally, plays a central role in London’s cultural landscape and is pivotal to the continued growth of the world’s most vibrant contemporary art quarter.
About Broadgate: Broadgate is where innovation and finance play. It is the largest pedestrianised neighbourhood in Central London: a diverse community connecting innovation and finance, and a public arena for new food, retail and culture. Lying adjacent to the busy transport hub of Liverpool Street station and surrounded by Shoreditch, Spitalfields, Old Street and the City, Broadgate connects Europe’s capitals of investment and technology. Joint owners British Land and GIC are investing £1.5 billion in Broadgate’s evolution into a world class, mixed use destination for London. Their masterplan for Broadgate will deliver 4.9 million sq ft of new and redefined workplaces, retail and restaurants, bringing people together to work, shop, drink and dine. Broadgate’s rare collection of public spaces combines the community and feel of the historic piazza with the energy of modern London. These spaces play host to over 100 cultural events annually, providing a showcase for emerging ideas and talent.
Sculpture in the City: Sculpture in the City is a unique collaboration between the City of London Corporation (the elected body which looks after the Square Mile global business district), local businesses, and the art world, providing the opportunity for new audiences to engage with established and emerging contemporary artists. The initiative is delivered through a partnership between the City of London Corporation in partnership with Aon, Aviva, Blackstone, Bloomberg, British Land, Twenty Two, Brookfield, CC Land, Generali Real Estate, Hiscox, TH Real Estate and Tower 42. The project is also supported by the City of London Corporation’s Women: Work & Power Project Patrons include: Ascend, JSRE 30 St Mary Axe Ltd Leadenhall Market, Make, MTEC, PLP/Architecture and Price & Myers. With thanks to participating artists and galleries: Amanda Lwin, Blain Southern, Clare Jarrett, Galerie Chantal Crousel, Galerie Fons Welters, Gagosian, Hales Gallery, Jyll Bradley, l’etrangere, Lisson Gallery, Richard Rome, Sadie Coles, Shaun C Badham, Sprüth Magers, T J Boulting, Thomas Dane Gallery, Waddington Custot and White Cube. For more information please visit: www.sculptureinthecity.org.uk
Sculpture in the City x Musicity: Supported by Brookfield, Musicity is a web app that provides a new way of seeing and hearing the city where you can experience architecture-inspired music and sound art in the very place that sparked its creation. Musicity invites musicians and recording artists to compose tracks for buildings in cities around the world and will be delivering 9 new tracks as part of this unique collaboration.
About White Chapel Building and Derwent London plc: Derwent London is known for its innovative approach to architecture and design. Abundant natural light, volume and high quality detail are found in every one of their projects. We believe in a building directly responding to its place and we partner with the most talented architects and designers who share our passion. Equally, we believe in making spaces that are sustainable – both to their environments and users. We adopt this ethos and know we have succeeded when we see our tenants happy in their surroundings. Our portfolio is some 5.5 million square feet with a value of around £4.9 billion. In 2017 Derwent London completed its Phase 1 refurbishment of The White Chapel Building and, at the end of 2018, will complete Phase 2 which has been pre-let to Fotografiska for their London Museum of Photography. This will be their first gallery outside Stockholm and will add another important cultural venue to the Whitechapel area.
About Whitechapel Bell Foundry: Raycliff, the owner of the former Bell Foundry buildings, is working with a heritage-led design team to deliver an exciting new and sustainable future for the site which celebrates and retains the architectural and historical significance of the Grade II* listed foundry building on the Whitechapel Road. Operating on this site since the 1740s, the Whitechapel Bell Foundry was responsible for the creation of some of the world’s most famous bells, including Big Ben and the original Liberty Bell. The Westley Group, based in Stoke on Trent, continues the manufacture of tower bells under licence and Bells Of Whitechapel Ltd continues the production and maintenance of musical handbells and small bells. The archives are being conserved at the London Metropolitan Archives to allow public access to the collection at the expense of Whitechapel Bell Foundry Ltd. Most of the skilled employees formerly employed at Whitechapel are re-employed within the industry. John Taylor & Company, based in Loughborough, continue to cast new tower bells. Visit www.thebellfoundry.co.uk for more information on Raycliff’s proposals.
About St George’s German Lutheran Church: The oldest surviving German church in the country opened in 1763 and has a rare, mostly original Georgian interior and a colourful social history, particularly in the 1930s, when the Pastor was actively helping people fleeing persecution in Germany. The church is owned by the Historic Chapels Trust and events are organised by the Friends of St George’s German Lutheran Church, a volunteer support group.
Additional partners and supporters include: Brick Lane Regeneration Partnership, K2 Screen Ltd, Michael Werner Gallery, School of Horticulture and Landscaping – Capel Manor College and Time Out.
Visitor Information
All exhibitions and displays at Whitechapel Gallery will be free and open until 11pm.
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