Coventry Biennial Symposiums
Mothers Who Make Workshop at Coventry Biennial 2019. Photo: Adele Mary Reed
During the HYPER-POSSIBLE programme we worked with a wide range of researchers, historians, artists and academics on a series of symposiums, discussions and related screenings and performances that explored themes related to our programme and contemporary artistic practice more generally. Among these were events of various scales, dedicated to the three HYPER-POSSIBLE starting points – Art & Language, the BLK Art Group and the Cybernetic Culture Research Unit – as well as events exploring various other subjects.
We are delighted to share full recordings of a pair of these events, Interference:s which was convened by Birmingham-based curator and researcher Ian Sergeant and the Mothers Who Make Symposium which was organised by Coventry-based artist and mother Adele Mary Reed.
Interference:s included contributions from artist’s Keith Piper and Marlene Smith as well as Carolina Rito and Craig Ashley from Coventry University and Chenine Bhathena, Creative Director of Coventry City of Culture Trust. This event concluded with a session on a new public artwork being commissioned by Birmingham 2022 in response to the legacy of the BLK Art Group.
The Mothers Who Make x Coventry Biennial 2021 Symposium was a sharing circle and forum of ideas around inclusivity for mothers and parents in Coventry and in the wider arts community that included contributions from the founder of Mothers Who Make Matilda Leyser as well as local creative practitioners and professionals including Anneka French, Francis Nielsen and Dr. Nirmal Puwar.
These kinds of intensive and interdisciplinary activities will remain a key feature of the Coventry Biennial programme, supporting the creation and dissemination of new knowledge and understanding.
by Ryan Hughes