24 March – 2 April 2017
In partnership with BMW
Open daily 10.00 – 18.00 and until 22.00 on Friday and Saturday
Admission free during normal day opening hours, tickets required for evening performances
For public information call +44(0)20 7887 8888, visit tate.org.uk or follow @Tate
This March, Tate Modern stages its first annual live exhibition in the unique space of the Tanks. Taking on a new format for an exhibition, it unfolds over the next ten days with a combination of installations, performances, film, music and choreography. BMW Tate Live Exhibition: Ten Days Six Nights runs from 24 March to 2 April 2017, as part of Tate Modern’s ongoing performance programme in partnership with BMW. Over this period visitors are invited to walk through a fog sculpture, experience immersive cinema and feast their senses on music and dance in a plant-filled environment.
An intergenerational selection of artists have transformed the subterranean concrete Tanks beneath Tate Modern, originally built to hold the fuel for Bankside Power Station. In contrast to the white cube gallery spaces used for traditional museum exhibitions, the raw, industrial character of the Tanks offers an alternative atmosphere in which to engage with new art in a new way. These spaces now contain a set of live installations which act as a host or stage for other artists and visitors. The exhibition also extends outside to the new Terrace on top of the Tanks, animating the landscape around the Switch House for the first time. The installations are free to visit during the ten days of the exhibition and become the springboard for six nights of ticketed performances.
The artists span generations, continents and practices, from 32 to 83 years old, from Japan to the Dominican Republic, and from poets and musicians to choreographers and filmmakers. In different ways all of the artists in the exhibition are involved in creating communities or staging shared experiences, often linking natural, organic environments with new technologies and networks.
- Fujiko Nakaya (b.1933, Japan) transforms the Terrace outside Tate Modern with an immersive fog sculpture made entirely of water vapour. This is animated by a light and soundscape made in collaboration with Ryuichi Sakamoto and Shiro Takatani, and hosts dance performances by Min Tanaka.
- Isabel Lewis (b.1981, Dominican Republic) is in residence in the Tanks Lobby throughout the duration of the exhibition. Lewis has investigated the role of artist as host, creating celebratory and sensorial gatherings that respond to the energies of her guests. She hosts a number of her signature Occasions combining music, food, drink and scent to create an alternative environment for dance, discussions and invited musicians.
- CAMP, a collaborative studio founded in Mumbai in 2007, use the Transformer Galleries and East Tank to show Could Have Beens, a selection of rarely-seen works exploring systems of electricity and imaging, posing questions about how technology both connects and controls people.
- Wu Tsang (b.1982, USA) and Fred Moten (b.1962, USA), present Gravitational Feel, a sculptural performance using fabric and sound to explore the social and physical significance of touch and voice.
- Other participating artists include: Melanie Bonajo (b.1978), Josefina Camus (b.1982), Carlos Casas (b.1974), Ian Cheng (b.1984), Ligia Lewis (b.1983), Paul Maheke (b.1985), Phill Niblock (b.1933), Emily Roysdon (b.1977), Daïchi Saïto (b.1970), Lorenzo Senni (b.1983), Pepa Ubera (b.1981) and Ian Wilson (b.1940) whose live performances in the Tanks span film, music and dance.
Achim Borchardt-Hume, Director of Exhibitions, Tate Modern said ‘Our culture is always changing, and so exhibitions must change too. In our connected digital age, artists and audiences are ever more fascinated by live experiences, shared in the moment with those around them. Our new annual BMW Tate Live Exhibition reflects this shift. It puts collaborative engagement centre stage, responding to the way many artists work today. It is amazing to see and experience artists pushing the boundaries of the exhibition format.’
Dr Ian Robertson, Member of the Board of Management of BMW AG, said: ‘Whenever the BMW Group engages in cultural events, we are eager to enable a discourse and encourage discussion, while entirely respecting artistic freedom. I’d like to thank Tate for the partnership we’ve built up over the years, based on trust and our shared sense of curiosity. Both Tate and the BMW Group are driven by innovation and we are both actively shaping the future in our fields. We view BMW Tate Live with pride and together with Tate, we will continue to make art accessible for everybody, be it in person or online.’
BMW Tate Live Exhibition: Ten Days Six Nights is curated by Catherine Wood, Senior Curator of International Art (Performance) and Andrea Lissoni, Senior Curator of International Art (Film) with Isabella Maidment, Assistant Curator of Performance and Carly Whitefield, Assistant Curator of Film.
For Tate press information contact Emma.Double@tate.org.uk or Sara.Warsama@tate.org.uk
or call +44(0)20 7887 8732/4942. For high-resolution images visit tate.org.uk/press
For BMW contact Angela Stangroom, Group Communications Manager, BMW
Call +44(0)1344 480 283 or email angela.stangroom@bmw.co.uk
NOTES TO EDITORS
ABOUT BMW TATE LIVE
BMW Tate Live is a major international partnership between BMW and Tate, which aims to foreground the pivotal role of live experimentation in art history and among artists working today. The partnership began in 2012 with the world’s first performance programme created for live online broadcast, and evolved into an ongoing series of performances presented at Tate Modern. The programme has showcased over 35 artists including both emerging and more familiar figures from across the world. Performance has since taken on an increasingly key role in Tate Modern’s vision for the future of the museum, leading to the creation of an annual BMW Tate Live Exhibition in the Tanks in 2017. For further information, please visit tate.org.uk/bmwtatelive
ABOUT BMW’S CULTURAL COMMITMENT
For almost 50 years now, the BMW Group has initiated and engaged in over 100 cultural cooperations worldwide. The company places the main focus of its long-term commitment on contemporary and modern art, classical music and jazz as well as architecture and design. In 1972, three large-scale paintings were created by the artist Gerhard Richter specifically for the foyer of the BMW Group’s Munich headquarters. Since then, artists such as Andy Warhol, Jeff Koons, Daniel Barenboim, Jonas Kaufmann and architect Zaha Hadid have co-operated with BMW. Currently, female artist Cao Fei from China and American John Baldessari are creating the next two vehicles for the BMW Art Car Collection. Besides co-initiatives, such as BMW Tate Live, the BMW Art Journey and the “Opera for All” concerts in Berlin, Munich and London, the company also partners with leading museums and art fairs as well as orchestras and opera houses around the world. The BMW Group takes absolute creative freedom in all its cultural activities – as this initiative is as essential for producing groundbreaking artistic work as it is for major innovations in a successful business. For further information, please visit www.bmwgroup.com/culture and www.bmwgroup.com/culture/overview