Canal as part of The Street, a project conceived by the Whitechapel Gallery

30 March 2008 - April 2009

Canal has been invited to take part in the year-long project which uses Wentworth Street (home to Petticoat Lane market) as a site around which international artists Minerva Cuevas, Jens Haaning, Henry VIII’s Wives, Bernd Krauss, Shimabuku and Nedko Solakov have been commissioned.

Canal's contribution will consist of responding - whether fairly directly or metaphorically - to the projects proposed by the other artists, to the local context as well as to the premise set by the curators Anthony Spira and Marijke Steedman. Canal's interventions will take place throughout the year.

Canal at Peer

During Winter 2007, Canal was hosted by Peer and presented: 'Make Everything New: a discussion', 'Evil Sisters' and 'Phyllida Barlow presents'.

Monday 19 March 2007, 7pm

Make Everything New: a discussion

Canal presented a discussion between Maria Fusco, Susan Kelly and Grant Watson based around the recent publication Make Everything New: a Project on Communism. The evening featured a presentation by Susan Kelly of her work What is to be done?, with an open invitation for the audience to respond to the question. The written replies formed the starting point for the discussion.

"Communism is routinely defined as defeated and its conquest the subject of regular celebration. Caught in the disappointment and negative connotations of the past, it has become all but unthinkable. Make Everything New seeks to rescue the idea of Communism from this trap. Collaborating with artists, writers and collectives, this project has commissioned and collected counter-narratives, abstract and unrealistic ideas, engaged political commentary and satirical work, that presents neither an historical or comprehensive overview nor a requiem for the past. It is a collection of partial and subjective accounts of various creative practices, an experimental platform for ideas and an attempt to see in what ways the communist imagination can be materialised as art."

(From Make Everything New: a Project on Communism, edited by Grant Watson, Gerrie van Noord and Gavin Everall; published by Book Works, London and Project Arts Centre, Dublin. For more information: www.bookworks.org.uk)

Reading suggestion: "Interview with a Ghost", by Grant Watson.

Hosted by

Peer
99 Hoxton Street
London N1 6QL
www.peeruk.org

Canal would like to thank Ingrid Swenson, Tom Morton and Book Works for their support.

Canal at Supermarket 2007

At Konstnärshuset, Stockholm

Friday 23rd February 2007, 3-6pm

Money changes everything: the impact of commerce on the artist-run space

This discussion is set up to question and respond to the backdrop of Supermarket, a fair for artist-run spaces. Is the artist-run space a route into the commercial arena? What alternative can the artist-run space propose to the power structures of the art world? Does commercial activity compromise criticality? Such issues will be debated with people involved in artist-led initiatives mainly established in Scandinavian countries. Confronting contexts and exchanging viewpoints rather than falling into a debate about the funding situation is the aim of this event.

Contributors

3pm: presentation by artist Ralf Homann of schleuser.net, a lobby organisation co-founded with Manuela Unverdorben and Farida Heuck.

3.45pm: Natalya Pershina aka Gluklya of Chto Delat and Factory of Found Clothes, St Petersburg presents two films.

4.30pm: presentation by Canal

5.00pm: Opening up the discussion with the respondents and the public.

Respondent

Felice Hapetzeder of AK28


Ralf Homann's intervention.


Glucklya and public.

Context

SUPERMARKET art fair is a collaborative effort between artist-run spaces and organisations in Stockholm. In 2007 SUPERMARKET has evolved into an international art fair for artist-run spaces and organisations. SUPERMARKET art fair 2007 takes place in February 22-25 at Konstnärshuset (The Artists’ House).

Canal would like to thank Diana Kaur for her support.

Canal at AK28, Stockholm

Thursday 22nd February 2007, 8.30pm

Canal presents:
Wall Street (dir. Oliver Stone, 1987)

The film is a morality tale about a young stockbroker Bud Fox (Charlie Sheen) and his attempt to scramble to the top in 1980s New York. The plot is centred on Bud's relationship to high-powered (but ruthless and greedy) broker Gordon Gekko (Michael Douglas) whose expounds a "Greed is Good" philosophy. When he's not asset stripping companies Gekko collects art, and so for Bud art and interior decoration become vehicles with which to gain acceptance within the (ultimately immoral) Capitalist elite that he wishes to enter.

Context

This film screening is being shown as part of the discussion Money Changes Everything: the impact of commerce on the artist-run space at Supermarket 2007, on Friday 23rd February, 3-6pm.

Hosted by

AK28
Krukmakargatan 28
1tr ned, porttelefon
118 51 Stockholm
www.ak28.org

Canal would like to thank Felice Hapetzeder and all at AK28 for hosting the event.

Canal at Peer

Tuesday 13 February 2007, 8pm

Canal presents:
‘Evil Sisters’, an event curated by Gyonata Bonvicini

Borrowing its title from American scholar Bram Dijkstra’s essay about the iconic figure of the femme fatale, ‘Evil Sisters’ combines a video by Gian Domenico Sozzi and a cult ‘giallo’ movie by Italian director Pupi Avati that address the complex and ever-present conflicts between desire and domination, madness and control.

Programme

Introduction by artist Gian Domenico Sozzi, actress Francesca Marciano (who played in 'The House with Laughing Windows') and Gyonata Bonvicini.

'Brava', Gian Domenico Sozzi, 2006.

'The House with Laughing Windows' (La casa dalle finestre che ridono), dir. Pupi Avati, 1976.

Canal at Peer

Tuesday 23 January 2007, 8pm

Phyllida Barlow presents: A Man Escaped (1956) by Robert Bresson

Followed by a short reading, 'How to make (or artist as hostage)'.



Hosted by

Peer
99 Hoxton Street
London N1 6QL
www.peeruk.org

Canal would like to thank Ingrid Swenson, Tom Morton, Niru Ratnam and Louise Hayward for their support.

Canal Plus at Vilma Gold: Films, performance, music

Sunday 17 December 2006, 5-8pm

Hilary Lloyd "Say directly what you want", 1993 (excerpts)

Brian Dawn Chalkley "Manifesto"

Felice Hapetzeder "Man’s World", 2006
Eileen Simpson and Ben White . ( Open Music Archive ) play
a selection of out-of-copyright early blues, jazz and folk
recordings from the archive alongside copyleft licensed
electronic remixes.

Solo performance by All Tomorrow’s Parties recording artist
Alexander Tucker



Cover art for Eileen Simpson's and Ben White's compilation
of 8 tracks from the open music archive, including three
remixes, given away during the evening. The tracks can be
downloaded here.



Brian Dawn Chalkley



Alexander Tucker

Hosted by

Vilma Gold
25b Vyner Street
London
E2 9DG
www.vilmagold.com

Canal would like to thank Rachel Williams for hosting the event and all the artists for their participation.