Jerwood Arts, 171 Union Street, London, 9 December 2019
Symposium: Array presents ‘If you don’t play the game, don’t make the rules’
‘If you don’t play the game, don’t make the rules’ is a symposium presented by Belfast-based artist collective Array as part of their commission for the exhibition Jerwood Collaborate! at Jerwood Arts. This symposium expands on their collective research into current activism in Northern Ireland around LGBTQ+ rights, feminism and anticolonialism.
Array invites artists and activists from different generations to directly address current and future issues within Northern Ireland, platforming voices that fall outside current sectarian narratives.Speakers include Northern Irish curator, activist and community organiser Jane Wells (Chair) with feminist activist and writer Ann Rossiter, queer drag artist Electra La C*nt, Deputy Leader of the Green Party in Northern Ireland Malachai O’ Hara, and journalist, broadcaster and author Una Mullally.
Jerwood Collaborate! is a major group exhibition presenting commissions by early-career artists working in collaborative and collective practices based across the UK. It was presented at Jerwood Arts from 2 October – 15 December 2019. The exhibition responds to research about the challenges faced by early-career artists working in collaboration and provides a dedicated high-profile opportunity that supports and promotes this method of artistic practice. It features four new commissions by Array, Keiken + George Jasper Stone, Languid Hands and Shy Bairns, contributing to critical dialogues about collaborative and collective practices in the visual arts sector.
Array
Array is a collective of artists rooted in Belfast who together create collaborative actions in response to the socio-political issues affecting Northern Ireland. Array’s studios and project space act as a base for the collective, however participating artists are not limited to studio holders. Embracing humour and a DIY sensibility, Array’s art/activism focuses on projects that involve and benefit the wider community. Partnering with a range of creative individuals and organisations they merge artistic expression, participate in direct action and instigate public interventions across urban environments. Individual members work in performance, photography, print, installation and video and have exhibited and collaborated throughout the UK, Ireland and internationally, giving global focus to marginalised communities in Northern Ireland.
