The Atlantic Project was a pilot for a new international festival of contemporary art, which took place in public contexts and outdoor locations across Plymouth, UK, from 28 September to 21 October 2018.
For more information on the impact of the 2018 Atlantic Project, including visitor engagement and press coverage, click here to view the final activity report.
OUTLINE
The Atlantic Project: After The Future
28 September - 21 October 2018
Participating artists included Nilbar Güreş (Turkey), Tommy Støckel (Denmark), Liu Chuang (China), Yan Wang Preston (China), Hito Steyerl (Germany), Vermeir & Heiremans (Belguim), Kiluanji Kia Henda (Angola), Donald Rodney (UK), Shezad Dawood (UK), Postcommodity (USA), Ryoji Ikeda (Japan), Carl Slater (UK), SUPERFLEX (Denmark), Uriel Orlow (Switzerland), Khadija von Zinnenburg Carroll (Australia), Chang Jia (South Korea), Jane Grant and John Matthias (UK), Ursula Biemann (Switzerland), Bryony Gillard (UK) and Kranemann + Emmett (Germany/UK).
Curated by Tom Trevor
In the build-up to Mayflower 400 in 2020, marking the 400th anniversary of the Pilgrims’ voyage from Plymouth to the so-called ‘New World’ in North America, the intention was to test out the elements that would make up a new roving international festival of contemporary art. Presenting work by more than 20 artists and artists' groups from 12 different nations, including internationally renowned figures alongside regionally-based practitioners, The Atlantic Project aimed to raise the critical profile of visual arts in Plymouth and the South West of England, as well as being a highly engaging experience for a wide range of audiences that was relevant and distinctive to the locality. Taking place in unconventional contexts, including a number of locations that had been inaccessible to the public for many years, The Atlantic Project commissioned a series of major new site-specific works, whilst also providing an open platform for artist-led activities across the city.
CONCEPT - After The Future
Plymouth is a city built upon past visions of the future. As a deep-water port facing the Atlantic Ocean, its history is bound up with maritime exploration, in pursuit of the unknown worlds that lie over the horizon. From Francis Drake to Charles Darwin, James Cook to the Pilgrim Fathers, the legacies of such utopian imaginaries have come to define our contemporary world. Just as the barbaric inhumanity of the trans-Atlantic slave trade and the inequities of British colonialism have shaped the precarious conditions that characterise globalisation today.
As the largest naval base in Western Europe, Plymouth was bombed extensively in WWII and the subsequent city architecture could be said to reflect a succession of post-war visions of the future, from Soviet-style social housing to European ‘Brutalism’ and American-style free enterprise. With the acceleration of globalisation and the prolonged impact of austerity, however, the century-long obsession with the concept of progress has ground to a halt. Without a clear vision of the future or a shared belief in the continual transformation of society for the better, the question arises, how will the role of the artist function and change - drifting in the wake of utopian imaginaries - after the future?
CONTACT
mail@theatlantic.org
The Atlantic Project
c/o The Arts Institute, University of Plymouth, Roland Levinsky Building, Drake Circus, Plymouth PL4 8AA, United Kingdom