Events
This section includes text from the post-exhibition report produced by Somerset House, describing the events programme for the exhibition, its statistics, and feedback from audiences. Curator Sarah Cook worked closely with the Education and Outreach team on the concept and realisation of the programme and hosted the opening panel discussion.
Events Programme
OVERVIEW
Total number of participants: 1,866
Public Talks and Events: 581
For adult audiences 16-65+ with the highest engagement from 25 -34 years, providing free & ticketed access points for experts and enthusiasts alike:
X3 artist gallery talks
X2 ticketed panel discussions (one cancelled to prioritise '24 hours in uchronia' event)
X1 new notions masterclass
X3 after-hours events
Creative Careers: 46
For audiences 18 – 25, discovering routes into creative industry (pipeline into core public talks and events
audience):
X1 open skills event
X1 creative jobs studio
Outreach & Participation: 91
Audience development for target groups and communities (pipeline into careers programme and
public talks and events programme):
Group Bookings: 1,148
IN DETAIL
Artist Gallery Talks: Full Moon Mondays
On the weeks of the full moon exhibiting artists spoke in the gallery about their work, practice and on themes of the show.
MON 11 NOV: Mat Collishaw
Theme: Control Surveillance Acceleration
MON 9 DEC: Thomson & Craighead
Theme: Sleep and Attentiveness
MON 3 FEB: Rut Blees Luxemburg
Theme: The Wreckage of the Day
In Conversation: 24/7, A Wake-up Call for Our Non-Stop World
24/7 Curator Sarah Cook was joined by a panel of guests for the opening event of the exhibition, including Judy Wajcman, LSE Academic & Author of Pressed for Time, Hasan Elahi, Exhibiting Artist and Aaron Bastani via Verso Books Fully Automated Luxury Communism, A Manifesto. Together they tackled themes of our time, presenting provocations and time perspectives from active artist, academic and futurist viewpoints.
Participant Feedback:
Personally, I believe that Judy Wajcman's voice was an invaluable analogue and complement to the artistic and normative understandings of our modern world.
Group Bookings, Tours & Education Group Intros
For universities, colleges and community groups, coordinated via online
Exhibition introductions offered to education groups, delivered by the Learning Team subject to availability.
Freelance tour guide job description was drawn up and advertised to work with corporate bookings, for a set fee. Fixed tour dates delivered by the trained guides for public interaction on Late Night Thursday 28 November and at set times on Saturday 25 January.
New Notions Masterclass Self & Surveillance
A series of quarterly masterclasses, taking on the topic of self and surveillance. A visit to the exhibition
followed by a workshop with artists and experts, presenting new ways of hiding in plain sight. The
masterclasses worked on developing skills in expressing identity whilst hacking societal systems such as CCTV.
- Artist-led introduction -Manu Luksch, SHS
- Contextual Screening
- Exhibition Visit
- Hands-on hacking activity - open discussion & skills development, collaborating with one another &
creative apps on i-pads
Creative Careers: For Audiences 18-25
OPEN SKILLS EVENT: TECH, THUR 7 NOV
A tech-focused workshop connecting participants and industry professionals to demystify the language and skills necessary to situate a successful Tech career within the creative industries.
CREATIVE JOBS STUDIO: FREELANCE, 28 NOV
Looks at freelance practices and navigating the gig economy in today’s ever-demanding world. Participants met face to face with artists, creatives and peers who balance their professional roles, portfolio careers, personal projects and client needs.
NIGHT WALK OF NIGHT WORK: WITH ELOISE HAWSER
Somerset House Studios artist Eloise Hawser leads a night walk of London, discovering the hidden landmarks, stories, and workplaces of Fleet Street's historic 24-hour print industry alongside today’s digital 24/7 newsfeeds. Hawser’s practice explores the way we relate to architectural, mechanical, and electrical infrastructure.
Attendees:18
Type: Experts & Enthusiasts - Adult, Student, Artist,
Industry
Event Feedback:
Highlights include seeing wonderful print artefacts at the St Brides Foundation, and being dazzled by
the contemporary 24/7 global news and financial data operations at Bloomberg.
SHS Artist Eloise Hawser followed up with a SH Blog Post
Outreach & Participation
Free, Continued Partnerships with Invited Groups
Nov 2019 –Feb 2020
Collaborating with 24/7 featured artist and Somerset Studios resident Ted Hunt to deliver a series of artist-led workshops with Westminster Kingsway College students challenged the notion of consensus that 'the way things are is the way things have to be'. Through weekly sessions at Somerset House and Westminster Kingsway College, participants were invited to openly consider, discuss and create alternative methods for measuring and managing the passage of time through rapid digital prototyping, exploring the themes of the exhibition and being introduced to professional working practices.
Other visiting groups returning and developing their relationship with Somerset House and the cultural programme through facilitated visits and discussion included Holborn Community Association and National Saturday Club.
Attendees: 91
Westminster Kingsway x Ted Hunt: 30
Holborn Community Association: 14
National Saturday Club: 47
Type: Continued Group Partnerships, age 12-18 years
Artist Feedback:
Ted said that spaces can be quite intimidating to first-time visitors with it being an imposing colonial building. We agreed that it would be good to make sessions more interactive and student-led, giving them the opportunity to shadow artists and have a mini-residency here with a mock-up studio space.
24 Hours in Uchronia: With Helga Schmid
FRI 7 – SAT 8 FEB, ticketed
Friday 17:00-00:00 / Saturday 09:00-17:00
+ extended exhibition hours & online content 00:00-9:00
Somerset House Studios artist Helga Schmid led an experimental 24-hour event, centred around the discovery of new time scales. Uchronia (the temporal utopia) featured installations, conversations, screenings, performances and an exclusive out-of-hours exhibition viewing. Each element invited the audience to address the 24/7 culture crisis through exploring alternative time structures in relation to our societal, natural and bodily rhythms.
Including Artist & Expert Contributors:
United Visual Artists, Nick Ryan, Baum & Leahy, Jayoon Choi, Michaela French, Yaprak Goker, Federico Campagna, Laura Lorenzi, Project Instrumental, Debra Skene, Sarah Cook, Jonathan Reekie, Lucy Mercer, m.c.Schraefel, Nayan Kulkarni
