An afternoon of conversations on the occasion of the Belmacz Gallery group exhibition Women of the ‘20s

Organised by Ines Weizman and Belmacz Gallery, London, this event is also part of a collaboration between the Goethe Institute and the Royal College of Art.

This event will bring together a group of artists, curators and historians as well as theorists of art and architecture to discuss artistic practices not only by women of the 1920s who engaged in the struggle for freedom, but also by artists who are engaged in similar struggles today. Through a series of dynamic relays, this expanded conversation will reflect on artists’ experiments that ‘jazz the known’ – that is, that deliberately refrain from using conventional methods and media or that quite specifically aim to reconnect and critique social, cultural and political histories, biographies and events.

The exhibition Women of the ’20s at Belmacz gallery showcases a number of artists who embrace something of the radical freedom often associated with the ‘twenties’. Here, each artist utilises processes of material subversion in order to shake up ways of seeing. Through covert operations, observations, re-restaging, interactions, and playing with media in a spirited way, each of these artists embraces epochal subversion. And in this way, their works metaphorically sidestep what has come before, demanding that we feel the beat in life’s shift changes.

On the occasion of Frieze London 2023, Jazz the Known: Artistic Experiments by Women of the ’20s will convene artists included in the exhibition as well as invited guests. During this evening of artist-led conversations, each of the speakers will share an overview of their practice and work in the exhibition, then enter into a short conversation with one of their fellow exhibitors. By exploring the exhibition in this manner, Jazz the Known will highlight the historical, methodical and personal connections between the artists as well as provide new insights conducive to understanding the potential in the reflection and dialogue that are critical to creative practices.

Speakers: Agata Madejska, Hanna Mattes, Sadie Murdoch, Ronit Porat, Anna Wachsmuth & Ines Weizman

Guest Speakers: Penelope Curtis & Rachel Garfield

Schedule
17:00 Doors open
17:10 Welcome remarks
17:15 Intro to Women of the ’20s exhibition
17:20 Artist Conversations
18:30 Invited Guest Reflections
19:00 Discussion / Questions from the floor
20:00 End