Take a look at the exhibitions that have taken place in the Window Galleries during 2018, from an interactive exploration of space to a celebration of boldness and breadth of our technical teams.
Of Tools and Creatures
17 November 2018–4 January 2019
Of Tools and Creatures documented working methods involved in M ARCH Architecture’s summer building unit: Constructing In Detail. The unit explored the relationships between hands-on making processes and materials, with students working collaboratively on a 1:1 build. Rigorous tests, experiments and prototypes form a rich collection of objects that reflect the iterative design process involved in each project, celebrating the trials, failures, pain and delight experienced through the act of making.
Wild Drawing
17 November 2018–4 January 2019
Funded by the Central Saint Martins Staff Refresh scheme, the Wild Drawing Experiment is a collaborative landscape walking and drawing project led by Helen Savage (Graphic Communication Design ).
Helen invited CSM colleagues Ignacia Ruiz, Olly O’Keeffe and Kate Keara Pelen to join her for the pilot: a three day walk along the South Downs Way. The expedition took the form of curated walks led by each artist taking turns to share approaches to mark-making.
Afterall
7 November 2018–4 January 2019
Afterall is a Research Centre based at Granary Square focused on contemporary art and its relation to a wider artistic, theoretical and social context. This exhibition showcased some of Afterall’s recent publications including Glenn Ligon: Untitled (I Am a Man) from the One Work series, Artist-to-Artist: Independent Art Festivals in Chiang Mai 1992–98 from the Exhibition Histories series and issue 46 of the journal Afterall.
Corrrective
7 November 2018–4 January 2019
Corrrective is a design collective of seven recent graduates of Central Saint Martins whose practices subvert that which is oppressive and challenge and disrupt what is seen as the norm. Armed with a mindset that lies at the intersection of feminism and queerness, they individually explore topics such as gender binaries, queer politics, decolonisation and their representation within the mainstream. Through a multidisciplinary approach, they aim to come together as a force for change.
Corrrective= 1. Revise (past norms), 2. Respond (in a creative way), 3. Rectify (adjust by giving a challenging alternative).
Ibrahim Kamara | Double-Page Spread
12 October–12 November
Double-Page Spread brought together recent photographs from artist, art director, stylist and costume designer Ibrahim (IB) Kamara. Mixing together diverse influences, iconographies and cultural references, Kamara’s work challenges conventions of menswear, masculinity and sexuality. Born in Sierra Leone, Kamara grew up in the Gambia before moving to London aged 11. He graduated from BA Fashion Communication and Promotion at Central Saint Martins in 2016 and is currently Fashion Editor at Large at i-D.
Central Saint Martins Short Courses
10 July–4 September
This exhibition explores the work of Central Saint Martins' Short Courses tutors. With a focus on the various processes they employ in their respective crafts, the exhibition highlighted the methods, techniques and range of mediums on offer in the Short Courses programme.
The seven installations on view featured artworks and printed materials, taken from live recording sessions, documenting tutors as they work. Spanning a wide range of skills, such as life drawing, print making and pattern cutting, this exhibition showcased the potential of what can be learnt and created through the short courses we offer.
Co-create
10 August–9 September
Co-Create is an annual project delivered by the Central Saint Martins Foundation Plus team in collaboration with the Museum and the Library. Students work in mixed discipline pairs for seven days to develop responses to an object from the Museum and Study Collection which is housed here at CSM. This year all the objects selected, and the students work in response, were confined to black and white.
Wayward Denise Scott Brown
10 August–30 September 2019
Wayward Denise Scott Brown was an exhibition of photographs by architect, urbanist, theorist, writer and educator Denise Scott Brown. Taken during the 1950s and 1960s, these images reveal Scott Brown’s burgeoning interest in the iconography of urban systems and mid-century American vernacular. From Venice, Italy to Venice Beach, California, the photographs capture the social transformations of the period as seen through the eye of one of architecture’s most influential practitioners.
Counter Narratives
Counter Narratives brought together recent graduates of the M ARCH: Architecture course at Central Saint Martins – Shamiso Oneka, Krishan Pilch and David Kay – and Rafael Guendelman Hales, a current student on the Situated Practice MA at The Bartlett School of Architecture.
The exhibited works explored notions of identity through the re-making of artefacts and the re-telling of stories. Collectively, they challenge the hierarchies enshrined in dominant forms of city-making, connecting experiences of place and memory to the political conditions in which they are produced.
Normal to Dissent.
5 - 26 April 2018
One hundred years after the Representation of the People Act extended voting rights to some women, issues of gender, race, access and inclusivity are back at the centre of public debate and turbulent global politics have reinvigorated engagement, fuelled participation and normalised dissent. Taking the ideas of representation – and misrepresentation – as a starting point, Normal to Dissent. brought together artists, designers and creative practitioners who challenge established norms, offer alternative perspectives and seek to bring about change.
As part of the exhibition, the Window Galleries displayed archival material from the CSM Museum related to the suffrage movement, alongside a series of projects by students, alumni and staff from across the Graphic Communication Design, Art, Drama and Performance and Culture and Enterprise programmes.
Freedom From Within The Frame
11 - 26 April 2018
Freedom From Within The Frame demonstrated the aesthetic transitions that took place during the 1950s and 1960s and their lasting impact on the Central School of Arts and Crafts (which merged with St. Martin’s to form Central Saint Martins in 1989). This exhibition was curated by MA Culture, Criticism and Curation students.
CVIVS
11 - 26 April 2018
Curated by MA Culture, Criticism and Curation students, CVIVS uncovered the mystery of the Roman alphabet by examining the practice of lettering as an interpretation of ancient letterforms and as an aesthetic representation of language.
Lindsay Cooper: The Art of Rebellion
11 - 26 April 2018
In 1977, Cooper co-founded The Feminist Improvising Group (FIG) with Scottish singer Maggie Nicols. FIG’s debut performance was at the “Music for Socialism” festival at the Almost Free Theatre in Soho, London in October 1977. Their pioneering and experimental act focused on female experience and the mundane through music and comedy. Celebrating the life and work of Lindsay Cooper, this exhibition, curated by MA Culture, Criticism and Curation students, included never seen before archive material donated to University of the Arts London.
London/Paris: Cultures of Youth
27 February - 5 April 2018
London/Paris: is a collaborative project between the Central Saint Martins and the Paris College of Art Foundation programmes resulting in dual international exhibitions. This year students created work around the theme of CULTURES OF YOUTH. Through a series of structured and self-negotiated tasks, selected groups of students from both colleges exchanged ideas, shared lessons, thoughts, and processes to create work that transcends their geographic and physical divides. The London / Paris: CULTURES OF YOUTH exhibition showcased some of the work created including film, photography, jewellery, fashion, textiles, graphics, sculpture and mixed media.
Workshop Wunderkammer
21 February - 21 March 2018
Workshop Wunderkammer showcased the excellence of the technical teams and the possibilities that are made available within the technical spaces at Central Saint Martins, as well as highlighting the processes, fabrication methods, specialist expertise and innovation made possible within the workshops at CSM. The exhibition included work from 28 technicians across the college including Printmaking, Digital Print, Surface Design Lab, 4D, Print and Dye, 3D Large, 3D Metalwork, Digital Fabrication, 2D Photography: Capture Lab, 3D, 3D Large Specialist Paint/Surface. Visit CSM News to read more about the exhibition.
Spillage
19 - 23 February 2018
Spillage was an interactive exhibition of actions, performances and object which saw students from the BA Fine Art XD pathway explore the outward facing nature of the Windows Galleries. The works proposed new methods of dialogue with the ‘public’ in these spaces and explored the physical and immaterial boundaries that define the building and its exterior.
Plural Stages
24 January - 16 February 2018
In the lead up to Green Week 2018, PLURAL FUTURES exhibited a series of projects the Window Galleries. From a speculative nanotech wormery to a student-led rooftop gardening community, this exhibition showcased a snapshot of the broad range of approaches Central Saint Martins' students and staff take to issues of sustainability.