Season One: Revive the Archive
19 April - 11 July 2021
15 Institutions | 15 Virtual Exhibitions | 27 Artists
For Season One, theVOV brought together 15 of the UK’s leading arts organisations to virtually revive landmark exhibitions that were gathering ‘digital dust’ in their archives - until now.
Season One included the return of Chris Burden’s iconic 14 Magnolia Doubles to South London Gallery after 15 years; a virtual rehanging of Andreas Gursky’s first major UK retrospective at the Hayward Gallery in 2018; Yinka Shonibare CBE RA’s open air installation at Yorkshire Sculpture Park 2013; Lisa Brice’s 2018 Art Now exhibition at Tate Britain; a group show of female artists curated by Hikari Yokoyama with Sarabande; and the haunting assemblage of Ibrahim Mahama’s Parliament of Ghost at The Whitworth in 2019.
Season One of theVOV was completely free to the public, with a donation option available. All funds raised are distributed equally between the participating institutions, reflecting our ethos of art access for all to support the creative sector.
The exhibitions came to life with a programme of live events and experiences throughout the season, all of which remain available On Demand.
Season One of theVOV was generously sponsored by UBS.
VIRTUAL EXHIBITIONS AND EVENTS
Watch full online tours of each institution’s virtual exhibition led by artists, curators and directors, as well as take part intimate creative workshops.
The Whitworth, The University of Manchester presents
Ibrahim Mahama: Parliament of Ghosts (2019)
Turner Contemporary presents
Katie Paterson & JMW Turner: A place that exists only in moonlight (2019)
theVOV UNITES
theVOV Unites programme brings together experts in their fields to explore meta conversations regarding some of the most pressing subjects of our time.
Highlights with TF Chan, Editor of Wallpaper*
TF will explore the realisation of theVOV, drilling down into why and how the initiative came about and also discuss the inherent collectivism that the project creates. theVOV’s creators will also discuss the capacity of theVOV as a tool to be used by all and look to how theVOV might look for Season Two and beyond.
Art, Architecture and Community: Ibrahim Mahama, Sumayya Vally and the Whitworth Art Gallery
theVOV is joined by Artist Ibrahim Mahama, Architect Sumayya Vally, Alistair Hudson Director of The Whitworth and Senior Curator at the Whitworth Dominique Heyse-Moore, as they explore the ways in which we interact with art and architecture and the potential of designed spaces as catalysts for social engagement. Moderated by Director of The Whitworth and Manchester Art Gallery, Alistair Hudson.
Exploring Safe Space
theVOV is delighted to welcome Queercircle for an exploratory conversation about the future of safe digital spaces for LGBTQ+ people. Led by Queercircle Founder & Director Ashley Joiner, Gemma Rolls Bentley and artist Nuka Nayu, the panel will explore the potential for technology to provide safety beyond a physical world and the role that it can play in building a global inclusive community.
Creativity and the Mind: Bridging Art and Science
Art and science are often considered to be in opposition to each other; the subjective vs the objective, fact vs fiction. However, as we learn more about how the brain functions and begin to harness creative output to maximise its effect on the mind, new advances in both disciplines are bringing the two closer than ever before.
In this panel discussion, theVOV brings together psychologist and neuroscientist Daphna Shohamy and Vesna Petresin, transdisciplinary artist and thinker, to discuss the connection between art and the brain, touching on the role of narrative, construction, and memory in the creative process.
Makers of the Metaverse
The Metaverse is a collective virtual shared space, created by the convergence of virtually enhanced physical reality and physically persistent virtual space, including the sum of all virtual worlds, augmented reality, and the Internet.
This event will explore how the metaverse’s dimensions range across artificial cyber creators that invent human culture, to humans that create exclusively cyber culture…
FS x theVOV: Art is a Technology for Understanding
In a time of deep uncertainty, we turn to art to provide a new lens for understanding our present moment. After a turbulent and confusing year, artists are helping us make sense of the challenges our communities faced and how to move forward on a clear path. During this multimedia webinar, FS partners with theVOV’s new virtual arts ecosystem to connect the dots between art and the key cultural conversations of the moment…
Image as Data / Data as Image – John Gerrard on NFTs
For theVOV Unites series, world-renowned Irish Artist John Gerrard will explore the future of NFTs and their position within the changing landscape of the art world.
Cultivating Common Ground - Art and Botany from Tucson, Arizona to Jerusalem
In celebration of Earth Day 2021, join representatives of Botanical Gardens from around the world; Lucia Pietroiusti, Curator of General Ecologies at the Serpentine Galleries; and artist Alexandra Daisy Ginsberg as they look at the emerging relationship between Art and Botany.
Explore the full public programme of Season One on demand:
SEASON ONE RECAP
Join us on a journey back through Season One of theVOV
