Zineb Sedira Brings a 1960s Parisian Cinema Café to Tate Britain 🍿📽️
The Tate Britain exhibition, curated by Algerian‑French artist Zineb Sedira, reconstructs a 1960s Parisian cinema café to showcase militant African and anti‑colonial films. Titled “When the world was silent, cinema speaks,” the installation invites visitors to sit among books and vintage posters, recreating a historic hub of political debate. Sedira argues that the same questions of racism, Islamophobia and anti‑semitism debated in the 1960s‑70s are resurfacing today. By foregrounding African cinema—long ignored by Hollywood—she highlights how film once served as a voice for colonized peoples, offering a counter‑narrative to mainstream Western media. The exhibition features commentary from Dina Seddik, who describes her tri‑cultural identity and the relevance of the café setting. Sedira’s remarks, such as “cinema was a militant cinema speaking for the people,” underscore the urgency of revisiting these historic works and their political potency. By immersing contemporary audiences in this recreated space, the show prompts reflection on past activist movements and their modern echoes, potentially reshaping how institutions program and fund non‑Western cinema and encouraging broader cultural dialogue.
John Stezaker's Philosophy of Images ✂️
John Stezaker, a British conceptual artist, explains his practice as a sacrificial act that physically "cuts" existing photographs to forge new visual narratives. He frames the act of cutting as an inherent violence that creates a wound within the image. Stezaker...
Claudette Johnson on Picasso
Claudette Johnson uses a recent video to unpack her dialogue with Pablo Picasso’s seminal 1907 painting, "Demoiselles d'Avignon." She foregrounds the African mask motifs that inspired Picasso’s fragmented women, positioning them as symbols of unapologetic female power rather than exotic...
Máret Ánne Sara on the Contract Between Humans and Reindeer | Tate
Máret Ánne Sara explains that the reindeer is not merely livestock for the Sámi people but a cornerstone of their philosophy, daily life, and survival. She frames the relationship as a sacred contract rooted in ancient tales, where the animal...
John Stezaker – “I'm a Collector of Shadows” | Studio Visit
John Stezaker’s studio visit reveals an artist obsessed with the violence and redemption inherent in image making. He describes his practice as cutting, destroying, and re‑stitching photographs—an act he calls sacrificial—so that the spectator must forge a new connection between...
Jessie Ware Visits Tate Modern 👀
Jessie Ware’s visit to London’s Tate Modern becomes a platform for her to discuss how visual art informs her music. The singer reflects on a high‑school pop‑art phase, her attraction to figurative paintings, and a particular fascination with the female...
Hurvin Anderson's 'Love-Hate' Relationship with Photography | Tate
The Tate video centers on British painter Hurvin Anderson’s ambivalent relationship with photography, a medium he both relies on and resists. He describes the camera as a "cheat"—a shortcut that can bypass the immersive experience of being in the landscape,...
Marina Abramović on Her Legendary Rhythm Series – 'I Was Ready to Go to the End' | Tate
The interview with Marina Abramović delves into her seminal Rhythm series, a body‑centric body of work from the mid‑1970s that pushed the limits of endurance, danger, and ritual. Abramović recounts how the performances were scarcely recorded at the time, and...
A Videocall with Tracey Emin | Tate
The Tate video call brings Tracey Emin back to her seminal 1998 installation, “My Bed,” allowing the artist to narrate the work’s origins and its continued relevance. In a candid conversation, Emin describes the disheveled bed as a literal vessel that...
'Indigo Is the Colour of Love' 💙 Nike Davies-Okundaye | Tate
Nike Davies‑Okundaye, a celebrated Nigerian textile artist, explains how indigo dye and the adire alabela technique embody the cultural heartbeat of Osogbo, a town she calls “Ilu Aro.” She frames fabric as an extension of skin, arguing that the cloth...