Saturday 17 July 2021

6 to 9pm

For the third consecutive year, Sculpture in the City was an associate programme partner for the Whitechapel Gallery's free festival, celebrating the East End's vibrant arts scene with installations, moving image works and performances.

For one night only, select artists from Sculpture in the City 10th Edition, comprising 19 sculptures in locations across the City of London, brought alive the surrounding area and welcomed families and night-owls to an evening of fun and culture. Activities included dance and live art performances, workshops, participatory activities and sound installations. Guided tours accompanied the the evening event.

Programme

Oliver Bragg

Artwork: in Loving Memory, 2021
Event title: From Seed to Sculpture, 2021 – Drop in gardening sessions
Event Location: Jubilee Gardens,Houndsditch, London EC2M 4WD
6 to 8pm

The artist set up a small gardening station in Jubilee Gardens where he potted hemp seeds with compost with instructions on how to grow, nurture and harvest the hemp to people who wished to take one home. This was accompanied by Mother Earth's Plantasia - an electronic album by Mort Garson released in 1976 – music composed specifically for plants to listen to. Plants thrive when they listen to music that sits between 115Hz and 250Hz, as the vibrations emitted by such music emulate similar sounds in nature.

Isabella Martin

Artwork: Keeping Time, 2021
Event title and Type: Shells & Time, 2021 – Performative Recital
Event Location: 100 Bishopsgate, London EC2M 3XD
6.30 to 6.45pm

The artist performed a live reading of ‘Shells & Time’, a short story by Italo Calvino which inspired her work, Keeping Time, exhibited at 99 Bishopsgate. The text recounts the attempts of a shell trying to create a clock from its body and explores our small attempts to keep track of time passing in a world in flux.

Laura Arminda Kingsley

Artwork: Murmurs of the Deep, 2021
Event Title and Type: Sound installation
Event Location: Leadenhall Building, London EC3V 4AB
6 to 11pm

The artist activated the site of her installation, Murmurs of the Deep, which is situated at the escalators of the Leadenhall building with a sound installation, comprising a recording of a poem written in response to the piece playing in a continuous loop for the duration of the event. In sharing this poem, inspired by the deep time history of our oceans and waterways; the artist hoped to offer the audience an alternative perspective with which to reconsider their place in the world.

Rosanne Robertson

Artwork: Stone (Butch) Undercurrents
Event Title and Type: Performance
Event Location: Bury Court, London EC3A 8EX
7 to 7.30pm & to 8.15 to 8.45pm

The artist presented an electro-acoustic performance by made by ‘sounding out’ the materials of their public sculpture ‘Stone (Butch)’ combined with a ‘cut up’ performative reading of Les Feinberg’s revolutionary novel Stone Butch Blues from which this body of works exploring the terrain of the Queer body ranging performance, drawing and sculpture has taken inspiration.

Almuth Tebbenhoff

Artwork: RedHead Sunset Stack, 2014–2019
Event Title and Type: Mindful Meditation - with audience participation
Event Location: Mitre Square, London EC3A 5DH
6:30pm and 8:15pm (drop in)

The artist brought the public's attention to the fact that the four cubed open steel structure of her exhibited artwork were painted in response to the colours that the artist observed during sunset. This is something which she actively engages with whenever possible. For this activation, she led participants on two meditation sessions: once at the start of the evening and again at sunset. In between, the audience was able to drop in and sit around the artwork and create a mindful, calm oasis within the buzzing energy of the surrounding urban environment.

Jake Elwes

Artwork: Latent Space, 2017
Event Title and Type: Artist Q&A - with audience participation
Event Location: 120 Fenchurch Street, London EC3M 5BA
7 to 8pm

The artist explained the underlying concept of his artwork, including the processes and evolution of the latent state of Artificial Intelligence. Further activation was provided by the brand new MSCTY x Sculpture in the City track by Singaporean artist, The Analog Girl.

Jun T. Tai

Artwork: Alice in Wonderland, 2021
Event Title and Type: Bloom Paradise, 2021 – Performance
Event Location: Fenchurch Street Station, London EC3M 4AJ
6:15pm, 7:15pm and 8:15pm

The artist invited professional roller skaters, dressed in costumes created by her, to depict a modern day Alice in Wonderland, representing love and hope, and exploring journey and adventure like a blossoming flower. The audience was provided with floral paper masks designed by the artist and were encouraged to scan the QR codes to listen to an electronic version of Für Elise by Beethoven.

Guided Tours

Expert-led tours of Sculpture in the City 10th Edition visited all 19 artworks.

When Art Meets Architecture

Guided Tour with David Rosenberg
Duration: 6:00-8:00pm

David Rosenberg of Velorose led an exciting tour of Sculpture in the City 10th Edition with a focus on its architectural context.

Art and the City

Guided Tour with Anne-Marie Craven, City of London Blue Badge Guide
Duration: 6:00-8:00pm

Anne-Marie Craven, an official City of London Blue Badge Tour Guide, led audiences through the exhibition with a focus on the historical context of the Square Mile.