Performances during the opening of the Venice Biennale
May 9–10, 2019
The Royal Institute of Art in Stockholm is pleased to announce its support and co-production of a project by artist and electroacoustic composer Tarek Atoui, in connection to his participation in the 58th Venice Biennale.
The production will be performed together with the research platform Composing/Public/Space (C/P/S) from the opening week up to the end of the biennial. Atoui is presenting his work as a part of the main exhibition and will also take place in the biennial's performance program during the opening days. In addition to the official program, a series of extra performances will take place.
Tarek Atoui is known for performances marked by his intense physical presence and where he utilizes custom-built electronic instruments and computers. Though partly improvised, his work is consistently grounded in a search for new sounds and meticulous exploration into sound archives and collections. This approach is present in his work with C/P/S, a post-masters course part of the research program of the Royal Institute of Art. The class consists of Alan Affichard, Julia Giertz, Ami Kohara, Johanna Martensson, Rossana Mercado, Igor Porte and Jeremiah Runnels, all professional practitioners from areas such as music, visual arts, art history and performing arts. The group’s approach stems from Atoui’s work with music, instruments and performance. Together they think around these notions and their interconnections; experimental instruments and instrument making become the starting point for creating encounters with diverse audiences and engaging with the reality and musicality of a place.
Since September 2018, the work and research of C/P/S has been enabled with the support of the Royal Institute of Art in Stockholm. Participants of the course have contributed to Tarek Atoui's practice and played an active role in a series of events: Printemps de Septembre (Toulouse, September 2018), CIMAM (Moderna Museet, Stockholm November 2018), and recently at the V-A-C Foundation (Palazzo Zattere, Venice February 2019). These events took the shape of workshops, performances and exhibitions in which the group interacted with audiences by questioning notions of participation, mediation and activation in the fields of contemporary sound practices and performance. Ideas from Atoui and C/P/S’s exploration will be used as the basis for a program of activations and encounters and will be in constant change for the duration of the Venice Biennale.
About
Tarek Atoui (born 1980 in Lebanon) lives in Paris, France. His experimental and performance-led compositions have taken place recently at the NTU, Centre for Contemporary Art Singapore (2018); Kunstenfestivaldesarts 2017, Brussel, Belgium; Tate Modern, London, United Kingdom (2016); Fondation Louis Vuitton, Bois de Boulogne, France (2015); the 8th Berlin Biennial (2014); Bonniers Konsthall, Stockholm, Sweden (2013).
The Royal Institute of Art in Stockholm is a leading art institution of higher education and research located in Stockholm with a long artistic tradition dating back to the beginning of the 18th century. The education offers both undergraduate and postgraduate studies in Fine Arts and postgraduate studies in Architecture. The Royal Institute of Art also run an active international program with projects, lectures, exhibitions and publications. The Vice-Chancellor of the Royal Institute of Art is Sara Arrhenius.
C/P/S: Alan Affichard, Julia Giertz, Ami Kohara, Johanna Martensson, Rossana Mercado, Igor Porte and Jeremiah Runnels
With special appearance by: Shane Aspegren and Vivian Wang
Production and administration: Anne Becker, PLATÔ
Production in Venice: Elena Mazzi & Rosario Sorbello
PR/Communication: Alida Ivanov, Bohm Bohm Room (Stockholm/Sweden)
Atoui’s participation to the 58th edition of the Venice Bienniale is supported and produced by:
The Royal Institute of Art (Stockholm/Sweden), Vitamin Creative Space (Guangzhou/China), Galerie Chantal Crousel (Paris/France) and kurimanzutto gallery (Mexico City/Mexico).
In collaboration with Iaspis, the Swedish Arts Grants Committee’s International Programme for Visual and Applied Artists.
Special thanks to: Love Enqvist
Sponsored by:
Genelec
Terreno- from the heart of Tuscany
Performances by Tarek Atoui at Arsenale, Venice Biennale
Dates: May 9 and 11, 6pm, on the respective dates.
Pop-up performance May 10 at Studio Giardini, invitation only. For reservation (limited places available): rsvp@kkh.se
For further information, press images and/or interviews contact Alida Ivanov, Bohm Bohm Room alida@bohmbohmroom.com, T +46736321413
