2010/11: The Right to the City

“If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost; that is where they should be. Now put the foundations under them.”  (Henry David Thoreau, Walden.)

Co-curator (with Lee Stickells) of The Right to The City an exhibition and publishing project, cosponsored by Tin Sheds Gallery and Architectural Theory Review, bringing together a series of artistic, theoretical and philosophical escape plans. These escape plans range from the whimsical to the more serious, and present real or imagined ways of reinventing life in our cities. The project will explore the challenge of “putting foundations” under these “castles in the air” - seeking connections between art, architecture, philosophy and action.  

In thinking through those connections, The Right to the City takes as its starting point David Harvey’s famous article that redefined urban existence as a contested part of modern democracy: “The freedom to make and remake our cities and ourselves is, I want to argue, one of the most precious yet most neglected of our human rights”.  Given the perilous environmental predicament we find ourselves in, coupled with our intensifying urbanisation, many artists, activists, planners and architects are seeking ways to “remake” the city in more socially connected and sustainable ways. These activities are often concerned with negotiating the increasing fragmentation and complexity of the contemporary city; developing critical spatial practices that engage in micro-political actions. The Right to the City will bring together an ambitious collection of artistic and written works that explore these urban interventions – opening up a space in which possibilities for reimagining life in the city can be discussed.

The Right to The City exhibition will be at Tin Sheds Gallery and will bring together an important group of Australian and international artists whose work is engaged with critical spatial practice.  It will combine a gallery show with offsite projects in the grounds of Sydney University and in the local area of Redfern. Participating artists: Claire Healy and Sean Cordeiro (Australia), atelier d'architecture autogérée (France), David Rogers (Australia), Makeshift (Australia), SquatSpace (Australia), Hugo Moline (Australia) – off site project, Temporary Services (USA) Sophie Warren and Jonathan Mosley (UK) and Marjetica Potr? (Slovenia).

2008/9: There Goes The Neighbourhood

Co-curator, with Keg de Souza, of an exhibition, residency and publishing project, Performance Space, Sydney, May 2009. Participating artists: Brenda L Croft (Australia), 16beaver (USA), Daniel Boyd (Australia), Temporary Services (USA), Lisa Kelly (Australia) SquatSpace (Australia), Claire Healy and Sean Cordeiro (Germany/Australia), Ned Sevil and friends (Australia), 2016: Archive Project (Australia), Micheal Rakowitz (USA), Bijari (Brazil), Jakob Jakobson (Denmark), Miklos Erhadt and Little Warsaw (Hungary) and at a satellite venue, Locksmith, there will be re-enactment of Allan Kaprow's Push and Pull: A Furniture Comedy for Hans Hofmann (with thanks to the Allan Kaprow Estate).

2007: If You See Something, Say Something

Project initiator, with Keg de Souza, of a multi-venue exhibition and publishing program involving: Dmitry Vilenksy/Chto Delat? (Russia) Contra Filé (Brazil) Etcétera (Argentina) Oliver Ressler (Austria) & Dario Azzellini (Italy)Taring Padi ( Indonesia) Richard DeDomenici (UK) Al Fadhil (Iraq) Hito Steyerl (Germany) Arlene TextaQueen, David Griggs, pvi collective, SquatSpace, Daniel Boyd and Astra Howard (Australia).cy

2005: Disobedience

Curator, with Dr David McNeill of Disobedience an exhibition held in conjunction with the Sydney Social Forum at the Ivan Dougherty Gallery, Sydney. Artists involved included: Dmitry Vilensky (Russia), Alexander Brenner (Russia), Shilpa Gupta (India), Kendell Geers (South Africa), Gorden Bennett (Australia), Raquel Ormella (Australia), Dean Sewell (Australia), SquatSpace (Australia), Micheal Goldberg (Australia).

2004: The Wedding Circle

Founding member of the five person curatorial team subito which established a free exhibition space and social centre at the former wedding dress factory The Weddding Circle.