4 - 6 December
Eastside Projects, Birmingham

The fourth retreat in The Syllabus programme is developed by Eastside Projects and led by Celine Condorelli and James Langdon. 

The retreat uses the exhibition ‘Display Show’ as a context and testing ground. The weekend will focus on the problematics of forms of display and the manifestations of blindness towards them, re-imagining these through a variety of possible relations between context, exhibition, work, and the public; which will in turn allow the questioning of these categories and the notions they form. This investigation will be undertaken as an entanglement between two modes of articulation: historical and theoretical on the one hand, and grounded in practice on the other. In both, the notion of ‘support’ will be used as a critical lens through which to interrogate the development of forms of display, by examining that which sustains them.

Friday 4 December

The retreat will start with Crits in the early afternoon with Andy Holden and Gavin Wade, Director of Eastside Projects. That evening the artists are invited to attend the Digbeth First Friday, late-night openings and special events at venues around Digbeth. 

This first evening will see a dinner hosted by Condorelli and Langdon with food by Jo Capper in which the artists are asked to bring and share an object of their choice which relates to their practice in some way. The evening is rounded off with the Grand Union Christmas party at Minerva Works.

Saturday 5 December

Condorelli and Langdon will begin day two with a short introduction to concepts in display and a seminar called ‘I-show-this-to-you’ focusing on gesture as an aspect of display. After lunch, the Syllabus artists will participate in a workshop called ‘System, narrative’, developing strategies for decoding and recoding objects through display. Throughout day 2, there will be short introductions to characters and histories including Lina Bo Bardi, Carlo Scarpa & Franco Albini. The night will see dinner with members of Extra Special People, Eastside Projects’ members group.

Sunday 6 December

The final day of the retreat starts with a seminar, ‘Bodies in exhibitions’ which follows Herbert Bayer’s graphic paths in exhibition design. The artists will then participate in a workshop; ‘Storytelling in exhibitions’ which is about the exhibition tour as format. Similar to day two, there will be short introductions to characters and histories throughout, including Frederick Kiesler.

Please note that we have selected the participants for this year's The Syllabus programme.
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