We were approached by RESOLVE Collective to be a part of their 4-month-long program in the Curve Gallery, Them’s the Breaks, to take over the space throughout the month of June along the theme of “Joy in Precariousness”.
Home to the London Symphony Orchestra & The Royal Shakespeare Company, The Barbican Centre represents prestige, privilege and tradition. Placed at the top of the cultural pyramid, it’s an institution that operates autonomously from the communities that surround it, amply funded on the merit of its status alone.
It’s dead exciting to be offered the opportunity to collaborate on a project within this space. But what would we do? Instinctually, it’s hard not to resist the urge to mirror the aesthetics and sensibilities of the institution itself as a place of contemporary art. We could attempt to deliver something sleek and polished, pull together a panel discussion or program something conceptual and convoluted. But who would that serve? The truth is, we’ve never been polished, always messy. We’ve always cared much more about the experience people have within our space than the production of some kind of aesthetic ideal.
So we asked ourselves…
How can a grassroots DIY venue take up space within this institution without being complicit in pandering to its status?
How can we use this opportunity to fund something that will actually be useful for grassroots music communities in The North?
How can we hijack the space to bring our cretinous sensibilities to an exclusive, arguably impenetrable institution like The Barbican?
The Plan: Bring the spirit of the DIY party scene to The Barbican.
See 🖼️
Throughout the month of June we’ll be exhibiting images of DIY strength and queer hedonism within the space. Images will be sourced from DIY/Grassroots/Queer noise makers from Sheffield, Leeds, Manchester & Liverpool.
Mondo Radio
Wharf Chambers
MAP Charity (Cosmic Slop)
Partisan Collective
Quarry
Showcasing these images aims to put our communities on a pedestal, spotlighting the people and the parties themselves as our most precious assets.
Explore 🤔
We’ll host a day of discussions/workshops in the space. For this session, we’ll invite DIY noise makers from across The North to question, build & collaborate on strategies for joint resilience. This will be an opportunity to strengthen bonds between cities and collectives, share knowledge and if all else fails, chat some shit together. The activity will be community-led and discussion-based. This discussion itself is just for us, there won't be an audience.
Enjoy 😈
On the 3rd June we’ll throw a party to celebrate the takeover, with DJs from The North gracing the gallery space from 9pm - 1am and an afterparty to keep things going until the morning.
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The exhibition is free to view throughout the month of June.
A ticket for the party on the 3rd is £5 - which includes entry to a cretinous afterparty.