The fourth edition of Art Night – London’s most popular free contemporary art festival – will take place on the night of Saturday 22 June 2019, beginning at 5pm in King’s Cross and 7pm in Walthamstow, and running throughout the night. Sunday 23 June will see a selection of projects open for Art Night’s Sunday Trail from 12pm to 4pm. Art Night is generously supported by international auction house Phillips for the fourth year running, and this year takes place as part of the official programme for the first ever Mayor's London Borough of Culture in Waltham Forest.
Art Night Open is the festival’s programme of independently curated projects selected through an annual Open Call with the help of an invited jury. The projects take place alongside new and ambitious Art Night Open’s Partner Projects which include commercial and non-profit arts organisations supporting Art Night’s mission to widen contemporary art audiences - connecting local venues with artists of all career stages. For the 2019 Open Call selection, Art Night Open Programme Director Zarina Rossheart was joined by an appointed jury panel consisting of: Artist Larry Achiampong; Writer, Curator and Deputy Editor of Elephant Magazine Louise Benson; Writer, Curator and Editor Paul Clinton; Creative Director for Waltham Forest, London Borough of Culture 2019 Sam Hunt; Worldwide Deputy Chairman at Phillips Svetlana Marich; and Artistic Director of Art Night 2019, Helen Nisbet.
Considering the ideas around Hope, Love and The Future, over 40 artistic projects and site-specific interventions will be presented in this year’s Art Night Open programme. Venues in Walthamstow and King’s Cross will be activated with exhibitions and events ranging from multimedia installations, film screenings and live performances, through to karaoke, a gong sound bath, a laughter yoga workshop and the art world's first ever football cup.
Celebrating local artists and organisations throughout both festival locations, the Art Night Open programme will transform compelling venues and public spaces including: a Polish deli, a fish-mongers, and a late-night internet cafe along Walthamstow Market, as well as King’s Cross landmarks Granary Square and Gasholder Park.
Art Night Open projects and events in King’s Cross will include:
Marina Abramović’s first virtual reality piece Rising (2018) will have its UK premiere at Everyman King’s Cross. Produced by Acute Art, the work addresses climate change by transporting viewers to witness the effects of rising sea levels.
On the final weekend of the Central Saint Martins’ ’Degree Show Two: Design’, the College presents a major new project in public realm to mark the centenary of the Bauhaus. In response to the German school's renowned parties, students from across all disciplines will transform Granary Square into a unified work of art, bringing together performers and the public.
Public arts commissioner UP Projects will present the latest iteration of Constellations - their annual artist development programme for artists based in the UK - in the iconic Gasholder Park. Drawing on the history of gas holders in King’s Cross, artists Amanda Ramasawmy, Angharad Davies, Dunya Kalantery, Edwin Mingard, Hannah Kemp-Welch, Katie Fiore, Mai Omer and Miki Holloway will introduce a series of participatory activities that explore ideas related to public space.
Taking over Pancras Square with live music for one night only, the Melodians Steel Orchestra UK will perform 80s and 90s hymns of Hope, Love and The Future in a full range of genres from Latin, Pop, Jazz, Rock, Calypso and Acid House.
At the London Canal Museum, Vast Forward – a live interactive performance presented by artist duo Sarah Cockings and Harriet Fleuriot – will feature two digital oracle avatars delivering personal prophecies in the form of rephrased song lyrics
Various spaces within the British Library will be activated throughout the evening with live performance and poetry alongside Michael Takeo Magruder’s digitally remixed maps project Imaginary Cities. Katherine E. Bash will present a site-specific installation and poetic performance in the King’s Library Cafe; Demelza Watts will work with local school children of Maria Fidelis Catholic School to collectively compose seven illustrated poems for a special one-off performance at the Poet’s Circle in response to Anthony Gormley’s Planets (2002); and Athena Papadopoulos will perform a reading of her book, A Tittle-Tattle-Tell-A-Tale Heart, in the context of the remarkable ‘Treasures of the British Library’ display in The Sir John Ritblat Gallery.
Chalton Gallery will curate a collective take-over of venues and public spaces in and around Chalton Street featuring artists Saelia Aparicio, Rosie Gibbens, Alice Hartley, Richie Moment, Guy Oliver and Monica Tolia amongst others. The night will culminate at the legendary Cock Tavern with a Tropical Party featuring DJs streaming live from Mexico City.
Local organisations the Aga Khan Foundation, the Francis Crick Institute, and Gagosian will host further Art Night Open events, with more details to be announced closer to the festival date.
Various site-specific works developed during and ahead of Art Night will take over parts of Walthamstow Market – Europe’s longest market – with performance, immersive installations and karaoke. Artist Byzantia Harlow will embed herself within the community ahead of the festival to develop her second re-iteration of Grey Market (2016), working for the market stall-holders and high-street shops in exchange for daily conversations, anecdotes and memories of the market. These stories and interactions will be interwoven with fictitious narrative to inform a script for a live work performed on the evening of Art Night. Presented by Pervilion, Human Microphone, a participatory karaoke project by Dorothy Feaver & Stella Scott, will invite visitors to sustain a night devoted to one track: ‘Stay Another Day’ by East 17, at Walthamstow’s The Chequers pub. Walthamstow-based artist Charlie Coffey will work closely with independent fishmongers, N&A Fish Shop. The artist will develop a new site-specific work that, referencing the everyday rituals in the store, turning it into a lullaby to the market at night.
Further Art Night Open projects events in Walthamstow will include:
Waltham Forest Feel Good Centre will host the very first OOF Cup, an art world five-a-side football tournament presented by the team behind the world's first art and football magazine, OOF. Teams from Lisson Gallery, The Art Newspaper, Victoria Miro, Christie's and a host of other art world names will battle it out for the honour of being crowned winners of the inaugural OOF Cup. Each match will be played with a ‘One World’ football, designed by Turner Prize-winning artist Mark Wallinger.
Hervisions, a Waltham Forest-based femme and LGBTQI+ focused curating and commissioning agency, will be showcasing a selection of new media works exploring ‘hope through love in the digital age’ presented in several internet cafes and phone/computer repair shops dotted around Walthamstow.
Rambling through treasures salvaged from local waste tips, charity shops, and cupboards under the stairs at the Quaker Meeting House, artists Louise Ashcroft and Fritha Jenkins will activate hoards of Walthamstow clutter to conjure humorous interconnected stories using speech, music and action.
The Garden Room in the Vestry House Museum will host Forcing Tastes, an experimental short film by Walthamstow-based artist Nisha Duggal, that animates the work and words of William Morris for the digital age.
Nearby at Vestry Road Playground, athlete and artist Beth Kettel will debut a new performance activating community space in the heart of Walthamstow, commissioned and produced by Forma. Drawing from collaborations with local clubs – including an all voice choir and local basketball team – Kettel will reimagine the Multi Use Games Area as an arena for meaning and trouble making.
Local venues and organisations including the drawing shed, Wood Street Walls and others will host further Art Night Open events, with more details to be announced closer to the festival dates.
Zarina Rossheart, Art Night Open Programme Director, April 2019, said:
“Art Night Open continues to represent London’s thriving community of artists, curators and committed arts organisations, reflecting through their practices on the changes the city is going through and creating its positive future. This year in particular we are celebrating the many E17 artists and venues as part of our festival programme in Walthamstow and are proud to be presenting extraordinary artists take-overs in London’s international hub around King’s Cross. We are especially thankful to the 2019 Open Call jury panel for working with us on shortlisting such a stellar line-up of projects for this year’s programme.”
Ksenia Zemtsova and Philippine Nguyen, Co-founders of Art Night, April 2019, said:
“Now in its third iteration, the Art Night Open programme has grown from strength-to-strength and we are thrilled to be collaborating with so many wonderfully talented artists and partner organisations, who support Art Night's ongoing commitment to widening audiences for contemporary art. Linking this year's two locations — Walthamstow Central and King's Cross — will be the 24-Hour Night Tube on TfL's Victoria Line, which will make the journey home all that much easier! We look forward to another festival edition – Art Night’s fourth - that truly celebrates what the night-time has to offer London’s residents and visitors.”
Larry Achiampong, Artist and Art Night Open 2019 Jury Member, April 2019, said:
“It was a pleasure and honour to have the opportunity to consider projects that would bring impact, fresh ideas and - at the same time - a genuine feeling of locality to Waltham Forest. My relationship with Waltham Forest goes deeper than being an artist in residence - I spent a lot of time in the borough in my youth when visiting family, so having input on this process has meant a great deal to me.”
Sam Hunt, Creative Director of Waltham Forest London Borough of Culture 2019, April 2019, said:
“Art Night Open is a real snapshot into the best of London’s contemporary visual arts scene. This year it has the added bonus of having a real focus on artists and organisations from Waltham Forest. We are proud to be hosting Art Night as a key event within the first ever London Borough of Culture and are delighted that so many talented artists from the borough are involved in what will undoubtedly be a highlight of the year.”
Rachele Caltagirone, Kings Cross Senior Projects Director, April 2019, said:
“Art and culture is very much part of the area’s rich heritage of innovative and culturally conscious communities. Through Art Night Open’s offering, King’s Cross plans to offer an eclectic programme of art from both established and upcoming artists including Marina Abramović and Christine Sun Kim. As supporters of British and international talent, we’re thrilled to welcome Art Night and its dedicated following of creatives to King’s Cross this summer, exploring art in public spaces.”
The Art Night Open programme runs alongside the 12 artist commissions and premieres in the Art Night Curated Programme, announced earlier this year.
Currently, the list of Art Night Open artists include:
Adrian Lee, Agata Madejska, Alice Hartley, Amanda Ramasawmy, Amelia Prazak, Ana Gzirishvili, Anni Kruus, Andrea Scopetta, Andrea Zucchini, Angharad Davies, Anni Kruus, Athena Papadopoulos, Barry Sykes, Basel Rajoub, Beth Kettel, Bob Bicknell-Knight, Bunny Morel, Byzantia Harlow, Cassie McQuater, Charlie Coffey, Charlotte-Maëva Perret, Chloe Feinberg, Christopher Pearson, Coralie Vogelaar, Danielle Braithwaite-Shirley, Daria Blum, Demelza Watts, Dorothy Feaver, Dunya Kalantery, Ed Webb-Ingall, Edwin Mingard, Emily Vanns, Emma Smith, Eva Papamargariti, Fabienne Hess, Fay Nicolson, Feras Charestan, Finn Thomson, Fritha Jenkins, Georgie Roxby Smith, Georgie White, Georgina Hill, Guy Oliver, Hannah Kemp-Welch, Harriet Fleuriot, Hilary Powell and Daniel Edelstyn as The Bank Job, Ines Alpha, John Thole, Jude Greenaway, Kara Gut, Karin Kytokangas, Katherine E. Bash, Katie Fiore, Keiken Collective, Lauren Lambert-Moore, Libby Heaney, Lola Zoido, Loli Kavakou, Louise Ashcroft, Lucie MacGregor, Lucy Abraham, Ludwig Meslet, Maggie Campbell, Mai Omer, Marina Abramović, Martine Syms, Masha Batsea, Michelangelo Dousis, Miki Holloway, Milda Lembertaitė, Mita Vaghela, Mohini Mehta, Monica Tolia, Monika Kuhne-Jorgensen, Naira Mushtaq, Nick Ferguson, Nicole Bachmann, Nisha Duggal, Olga Fedorava, Paul Williams, Peter Burr, Raji Jagadeesan, Richie Moment, Rodrigo B. Camacho, Rosie Gibbens, Roy Immanuel, Saelia Aparicio, Sandra Iaraujo, Sara Rodriguez, Sarah Allen, Sarah Cockings, Saroj Patel, SILVIA, Sirojiddin Juraev, Sofia Ginevragianni, Sondos Azzam, Sophie Mackfall, Sophie Mallett, Sophie Seita, Stella Scott, Suzannah Pettigrew, Tomasz Kobialka, Vanessa Woolf, Vitória Cribb. More to be announced in May.
Currently, the list of Art Night Open curators include:
Anais Castro, Bob Bicknell-Knight, Celina Basra, Cristina Ramos and Christian Lubbert as ramoslubbert, Emily Butler, Olivia Aherne, Malcolm Stow, Paulina Ascencio, Zaiba Jabbar. More to be announced in May.
Currently, the list of Art Night Open organisations include:
Acute Art, Aga Khan Music Initiative, Art in Churches, Audio Visual Mechanism, Chalton Gallery, Artistry Youth Dance, Central Saint Martins, Daata Editions, East of Eden, Forma, Gagosian, Hewing Wittare, Hervisions, Melodians Steel Orchestra UK, OOF Magazine, Pervilion, the drawing shed, UP Projects, Wood Street Walls, Zabludowicz Collection. More to be announced in May.
Currently, the list of Art Night Open venues include:
Aga Khan Foundation, Ale Gratka Polish Deli, Attlee Terrace, The Barrel Store, Battle Bridge Place, British Library, The Chequers Pub, The Cock Tavern, CRATE St James Street, Cyber World, Drover’s Rest, Everyman King's Cross, Everyman on the Corner, The Francis Crick Institute, Gasholder Park, Granary Square, Hoe Street Central Bank, King’s Boulevard, King’s Cross Tunnel, Lloyd Park, London Canal Museum, N&A Fish Shop, Pancras Square, Quaker Meeting House, St Michael and All Angels Church, Speed Fast Internet Cafe, Star of Kings, The Sunken Garden, Vestry House Museum, Vestry Road Playground, Waltham Forest Feel Good Centre. More to be announced in May.
