There’s something in the conversation that is more interesting than the finality of (a title) at the Showroom Mar- May 2018 was an exhibition of new work by artists Adam Farah, Onyeka Igwe, Jamila Johnson-Small, Jade Montserrat, Ima-Abasi Okon, Raju Rage, Daniella Valz Gen and Alberta Whittle.

The exhibition grew out of a year-long exchange between the eight artists selected to participate in the artist associates programme Holding Space, which convened at The Showroom during 2017. Taking the conversation beyond this framework into the space of an exhibition, there’s something in the conversation that is more interesting than the finality of (a title) sought to articulate and embody some of the common areas of concern emerging from the artists’ shared dialogues and individual processes of research Integral to this as a continuing reflection on how artists and institutions relate to one another.

In the exhibition these concerns played out through a meeting of critical practices, ranging from the material to the performative, and through interventions into the hosting organisation that question and negotiate institutional routines and behaviours. Beyond the resounding dialogues between the works, the exhibition was choreographed through sound, lighting, a floor work and scent to create intersection points between shared infrastructures.

Holding Space was initiated in the framework of Object Positions, a series of conversations, workshops, research and events led by curatorial fellow Teresa Cisneros. These explored the legacies of colonialism, processes of decolonisation, cultural equity and questions of care, whilst considering how intersectional thinking and practices can potentially create more equitable sites of practice.

The exhibition is supported by an Arts Council England Change Makers grant.

https://www.theshowroom.org/exhibitions/theres-something-in-the-conversation-that-is-more-interesting-than-the-finality-of-a-title