Text by CLOT Magazine
Celebrating five years of supporting boundary-pushing creative talent, Somerset House Studios will open its doors for the first large-scale event post-pandemic with their annual AGM event on 14 October. Since its inception in 2016, Somerset House Studios has welcomed 116 artists as residents, with an additional 12 undertaking short term residencies from Finland, Germany, Canada, Peru, Mexico and beyond. The theme this year will celebrate the return of community, after over a year of displacement and isolation due to the pandemic.
For the first time, AGM will partner with neighbours St Mary Le Strand, located across the newly-pedestrianised Strand Aldwych. The Baroque church will host performances of ‘Latent Joy’, a new music collaboration within the Studios community, led by artists Paul Purgas and Vivienne Griffin, featuring Flora Yin-Wong, rkss, Joe Namy, Nik Nak and Annie Goh.
Back in the Lancaster Rooms within Somerset House, fashion designer, choreographer and Studios’ resident Saul Nash presents a new improvised movement piece that explores themes of freedom and liberation, with music by a special guest yet to be announced, and a live set from the defiantly experimental Lisbon producer DJ Nigga Fox. Plus, Studios resident Marija Bozinovska Jones goes b2b with Sommé Farris for an experimental fusion of Arabic disco, South African Gqom, footwork and Detroit techno.
In the River Rooms, the QTIBPOC led sound system and Turner Prize 2021 nominees, Black Obsidian Sound System, present ‘Sound as Meditation’ with sets from Evan Abiola, DJ Dae, Tobi and DJ Gin.
There will also be a late opening of the current Gallery 31 exhibition Create, Capture, Organise, Pluralise, as well as a one-off installation of Assembly 2020, presenting the five spatial sound commissions from Loraine James, Kelman Duran, Zadie Xa, Ben Vince and Lafawndah, in collaboration with resident sound studio Call & Response.
