When asking a fellow student what their plans were for the weekend, he told of an art show he was volunteering at. As for any art student nowadays, involvement in the art scene of the city you are studying in is vital, so I asked him the usual questions. How did you come to be involved? Where is the event? And of course, is there any chance I can be involved? I emailed the artistic director Adam Young and through a simple conversation, it was almost by chance I become involved in the 24 Hour Art Event, (In)xclusion.
The event took place at ESA (East Street Arts) Patrick Studios, on St Marys Street Leeds, having visited ESA before I knew the venue primarily as artist studios. Meaning I was left with a feeling of wonder as to how an art event was going to take place in such a space. Having not really had to the time to do a great deal of research about show, I headed down to ESA at 5pm. They wanted the volunteers early in order to get the briefing for the work we were going to be doing; however I was almost blind to what exactly I would be walking into.
There was a sheer buzz about the place, artists darting about the building, I almost couldn’t believe the transformation from the quiet studios I had known ESA as before. Being briefed I began to realise the size of occasion and that actually this was an extremely important art show, not just for the artists involved but for Leeds as an artistic city. Becoming aware that (In)xculsion was 24 hour live art event.
The running theme throughout the show was social exclusion, and was not just Leeds based artists who were involved; a call out for artists from all over the country had been put out. The range of places these artists have come from to be involved with this event interested me before the experience had even started. Artists were travelling to Leeds to showcase their work in the Leeds art scene. After my recent visit to the Glamourie event at PSL discussing the Leeds/London divide, (In)xculsion seemed smash through any possibilities of there being a divide between Leeds and other cities. (In)xculsion successfully brought other artists from other cities into Leeds for artistic purposes.
The art performances themselves were a wide and variety mix, carefully co ordinate to synchronise with the appropriate time throughout the night. Walking around the building all the pieces seemed to have a somewhat solitary nature to them, fitting in with the running theme of social exclusion. It would be a difficult to task to try and describe each artist’s piece, as there was a constant flux and change of the work. Yet, it is fair to say that the switch in performance flowed and in my opinion was a huge success for the artists and the curators. A few acts which left a strong presence with me were 24 East Streets, a challenge to find 24 East Streets throughout the duration of the 24 hours. What made this piece was the sheer fun behind it; being linked up to a live web feed the audience was able to watch the two travellers on their quest to find the 24 East Streets.
Barbie: For your eyes only, was interesting as the viewers were asked to separate into male and females. The males being allowed to interact directly with ‘Barbie’ (the artist sat in Barbies ‘dream house’, a room which had been converted in to a play house) and the females then fed instructions to the men as to what to do with ‘Barbie’. Again this performance was a playful and fun experience. For me, the most enjoyable performances were the ones which were entertaining, the length of the show meant that when the audience had the chance to be amused, which was a welcome relaxation point throughout the night. Alongside the pleasure of the affair there were also pieces which touched on serious matters, such as The Darker the Berry, which questioned the topic of pigmentation and segregation in the media.
A challenging evening and I have to say well done if anyone did make it through the full 24 hours, because I had to nip home to get some sleep! Therefore I cannot fully understand the changing states which a human experiences when being aware for such a long period of time. Although as time passed through the evening, there was a definite change, you almost became warped into this strange sense of security and vulnerability. It felt such a brilliant event to be a part of, especially as it was in Leeds. If you haven’t heard of the event I would recommend reading the extensive written articles on the evening, including the production of a wonderful newspaper for the event. I hope that this will be start of series of brilliant events for Leeds in the art world.
Due to the nature of happening, there have already been plenty of reviews and exciting press about this event. However, having volunteered at the happening, I wanted to perhaps offer a more personal review.
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