In the last few weeks we have all had to adapt to the acute uncertainties and challenges produced by the COVID-19 global pandemic. At Collective we feel it is important to acknowledge this unique moment of upheaval and change. We believe that by creating opportunities to share ideas we can all engage with the complexities of our contemporary world.

Now more than ever, it is important that we continue to fulfil our mission to bring people together to look at, think about and create contemporary art. To do this we will continue to work directly with both artists and the communities around us to reflect on where we are now and plan where we might go from here. We want to consider if we can respond to this situation by working together to model and enact the changes that are needed in our society.

Throughout Collective’s history we have sought to embrace change and to learn through open public discourse and action, or in short, by listening and making with people. This impetus is built into the fabric of the organisation from its foundation in 1984 by a group of artists who took their work beyond the walls of their studios.

We are inviting you to join us as we develop a new approach to sharing our programme. Over the next month we will host four weekly online discussions in response to four artists’ films commissioned by Collective. These films are grounded in artists building works of mutual interest between themselves and participants and in unpicking the tangled forces (personal, social, political, economic) that shape our lives today. Some of these films have been produced by artists working directly with groups to explore what can be achieved collectively, while others explore how people have organised in the near past.

Each of the film and video works will be available to screen for free here on our website for 7 days, at the end of which we will host an online Zoom discussion.

We believe that it is through creating opportunities for people to come together and talk that ideas, understanding and communities grow. Over the next few weeks we will be talking with you, and we will be listening and thinking about how we as an organisation can continue to support artists and create a programme of new work in the weeks and months ahead to engage with and respond to the current situation.

Screenings Programme:
Johanna Billing
This is How We Walk On The Moon (2007)
Available from: Thursday 2 April
Zoom Discussion: Wednesday 8 April

Monster Chetwynd
The Call of the Wild (2007)
Available from: Thursday 9 April
Zoom Discussion: Wednesday 15 April

Ross Little
The Heavy of Your Body Parts and the Cool Air of the Air Condition (2017)
Available from: Thursday 16 April
Zoom Discussion: Wednesday 22 April

Kimberley O’Neill
Re-routing (2019)
Available from: Thursday 23 April
Zoom Discussion: Wednesday 29 April