Christian Nyampeta

28 September (2017)
Nathalie Du Pasquier and Christian Nyampeta talk with Stella Bottai, Programme Curator at Stanley Picker Gallery, about their new exhibitions.

Stella Bottai is Programme Curator at Stanley Picker Gallery, Kingston University London, where she curates the Gallery’s programme of commissions, exhibitions and events. Recent exhibitions include 31 Candles: Jessi Reaves feat. Bradley Kronz, and P!CKER curated with P!, showcasing work by the late Elaine Lustig Cohen and Céline Condorelli. Between 2015-16, she focused on in-depth research and writing towards Goshka Macuga’s solo exhibition and artist monograph at Fondazione Prada, Milan (2016). She was Associate Curator of Over you/you, the 31st Biennial of Graphic Arts, Ljubljana (2015) and has previous experience working as Curator, Fiorucci Art Trust, London (2014-15); Assistant Curator, Frieze Projects London (2013-14) and Assistant Curator, Serpentine Galleries Public Programmes (2012). Prior to completing an MA in Curating Contemporary Art at the Royal College of Art (2013) she worked at White Cube, London (2006-09).

Nathalie Du Pasquier was born in Bordeaux in 1957 and relocated to Milan in 1979. Until 1986, she worked as a designer and was a founding member of the design group Memphis. In 1987 painting became her main activity. Between 1989 and 2008 she worked regularly with Le Cadre Gallery, Hong Kong, allowing her to develop from her early still lifes to more abstract compositions. Her work has been the subject of solo exhibitions, including The Fruitmarket Gallery, Edinburgh (1992) and Pace Gallery, London (2017). The first comprehensive exhibition of Du Pasquier, curated by Luca Lo Pinto was held at Kunsthalle Wien in 2016 and a second iteration will take place at the ICA Philadelphia in September 2017.

1 October (2017)
On the occasion of his exhibition Words after the World, Christian Nyampeta will be in conversation with curator Taylor Le Melle. The talk will focus on Nahum D Chandler’s notion of desedimentation first mentioned in his work Towards an African Future – of the Limit of World in relation to the temporal and geographic movement in translation. Nyampeta and Le Melle will consider these movements between French, English to Kinyarwanda and the sedimentation that happens with these translations of words which contain their own history, geography and philosophy.

Taylor Le Melle is a curator, writer and researcher. Recent exhibitions include McKenna Museum of Art (New Orleans), Chisenhale Dance Space, Arcadia Missa, Assembly Point (all London). Writing has been featured in: Dream Babes (Speculative Futures) by Victoria Sin and published by PSS, Archipelago Magazine (Goldsmiths, Politics Dept) and Basic Instructions B4 Leaving by Zadie Xa. Taylor has a chapter in the forthcoming Gender and Space (Macmillian) ed. Aimee Meredith Cox.

15 – 29 November (2017)
In response to the current exhibitions, this three-week course led by Stephanie Sutton examined how artists, designers and architects have responded to and often challenged dominant forms of urban and social space. Taking a chronological approach from 1945 onwards, it introduced the idea of space as socially ‘produced,’ constructed and often contested by different groups over time. Alongside examples from architecture and design history, participants also considered everyday practices which challenge and (re)produce space, such as playgrounds, self-build communities and local history groups.

Week 1 introduced key ideas on space and place, focusing on the post-war city, self-build communities and the ‘right’ to inhabit and occupy land.

Week 2 explored design for alternative living and sites of collective action. This session will consider how designers and practitioners were responding to shifting socio-political contexts, from post-war anxiety to the influence of pop culture in the making of radical alternatives.

Week 3 will examine how space can be represented, with a particular focus on the non-existent and imaginary. We will think about how different groups reimagine and relocate space and place.

Stephanie Sutton is a curator and researcher, working across art, design and architecture. Her research has focused on post-war architecture, urban history and the material culture of childhood. She has worked with organisations including RIBA, Focal Point Gallery, Camden Art Centre, V&A Museum of Childhood and the Royal College of Art. Stephanie holds an MA in Design History from the RCA/V&A and will be undertaking a collaborative PhD at Queen Mary, University of London and the V&A Museum of Childhood, entitled Adventures in the City: The Politics and Practice of Children’s Adventure Play in Britain, c. 1955 – 1997.