Exhibition Launch Party
Join us to celebrate the launch of our new exhibitions, Abbas Zahedi: Holding a Heart in Artifice, Eva Koťátková: How many giraffes are in the air we breathe? and Kresiah Mukwazhi: Kirawa.
Abbas Zahedi’s interdisciplinary practice blends contemporary philosophy, poetics and social dynamics with sound, sculpture and other gestures. With an emphasis on how personal and collective histories interweave, Zahedi’s interest lies within the connections found or formed around specific contexts.
Eva Koťátková’s installations invite us to enter a different kind of world – one where social rules and hierarchies are critically reimagined. Combining sculptures, collages, costumes, texts and sound, her vast and playful scenographies centre the agency of the imagination.
Kresiah Mukwazhi’s work is informed by her personal experiences and observations of gender-based violence, exploitation and abuse in her native Zimbabwe. Using her bold and powerful work as a form of visual activism, Mukwazhi draws vitality from women’s resilience and the possibility of empowerment and self-organisation.
Galleries Open 6.30-9pm
Blend at Contemporary Open until 11pm with delicious food and drinks.
Party the night away with music from DJs including Dave Haslam, Kübra Uzun and Canan Batur.
This exhibition launch, like all our programme, is free admission for all but donations are both encouraged and needed. As a registered charity, every donation – no matter the size – makes a big difference. Suggested donation £3. Thank you.
DJ and writer Dave Haslam DJ’d over 450 times at the Haçienda in Manchester during the late 1980s. He has since DJ'd worldwide from Detroit to Turin, and played afterparties for bands including Gorillaz and New Order. He’s also found time to write numerous books and contribute to countless radio and TV shows. His recent DJ highlights include a set back-to-back with Laurent Garnier; playing a party for the designer Paul Smith during Paris Fashion Week; and sell-out shows at cult venues like the Golden Lion (Todmorden) and Night & Day (Manchester).
Istanbul-based singer, songwriter, performance artist and DJ, Kübra Uzun is an LGBTQIA+ rights activist, working in Turkey and also on an international basis on various platforms. Kübra wrote, sang and produced the song titled ‘ALAN2020’ with Mx. Sür and it became an anthem during Istanbul Pride in June 2020. In December 2020, Kübra Uzun performed ‘A Trans History Sung’, a digital monument directed by Onur Karaoğlu, in collaboration with Volksbühne Berlin digital season: Next Waves Theatre. They worked with Simon(e) van Saarloos to create an audio work 'Cruising Gezi Park’ which is shown in the exhibition titled 'Refresh Amsterdam’ at Amsterdam Museum from December 2020 till June 2021. In January 2021, They recorded 'Koli Kanonu’, originally Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s KV 560, and shot the video directed by Efe Durmaz - performing all four of the different voices and characters by themselves. In March 2022, They recorded 'Jülyet’s Habanera’, originally Georges Bizet’s Habanera from Carmen, and again shot the video directed by Efe Durmaz. In November 2022, They performed 'Ah Bu Şarkıların Gözü Kör Olsun’ under the performance series titled 'Everything, Everything, Everything’ within the programme of '90’s On Stage’ exhibition at SALT Galata. Kübra Uzun is also the coordinator of Through The Window Project: An online project aims to gather queer artists,thinkers and night workers from Turkey, The Netherlands and beyond and co-founder and co-curator of XSM Recordings: The revolutionary mothering project that expands and queers the boundaries of definitions, welcoming the opening of spaces and commune liberation as a record label, event series, art platform and solidarity projects since June 2020 and still.
Canan Batur is a Turkish, Nottignham-based curator and DJ. Her selections are grounded in her roots while taking us on a journey across borders and beyond. Join on a journey across the broad spectrum of music, to bring you rare finds and new discoveries from all around the world.