In partnership with The Physics Room, Te Tuhi is proud to present Art and Social Change Research Project: Delhi Residency, 2013 , an exhibition featuring the outcome of curator Mercedes Vicente’s first research trip to India, while being in residence at Khoj International Artists Association in Delhi. Vicente set out to examine whether a potential long-term collaboration between artists seeking social change and social entrepreneurs would be feasible, or even desirable, as a way to have lasting effects in communities. Delhi was one of the three geopolitical destinations (together with Cairo, Egypt and Cali, Colombia) chosen by Vicente for the respective set of challenges facing their societies: in Egypt, the political unrest of its transition towards democracy; in Colombia, the country’s long history of endemic violence and social inequalities. This research looked at how artists engaged with these charged environments, and what agency they might have in contributing to better societies.
Art and Social Change Research Project... features an array of diverse and idiosyncratic materials such as books and printed matter, social documentary films, and video recorded interviews by Vicente with artists, NGO founders, activists, art historians and art professionals. Through this diverse material, Vicente openly shares the various degrees of digression, procrastination, sense of enlightenment and overwhelming bewilderment inherent in conducting curatorial research in such challenging contexts.
Press
→ CIRCUIT Cast Episode 10
→ Interviews from Delhi in Auckland – EyeContact
→ Interviews from Delhi in Christchurch – EyeContact