Outset Scotland funded four public talks at Tramway, Glasgow, which were programmed by the Turner Prize curators and presented by the shortlisted artists over the course of the 2015 Turner Prize. These events were part of the series ‘Turner Prize Thursdays’.
On 22nd October, Bonnie Camplin introduced three films relevant to her practice: Robert Fox, The Guest – maaven (2015); Ivan Robirosa, Third Person (2014); and The Otolith Group, Anathema (2011). On 5th November, Assemble invited an open discussion – entitled ‘Collective Action: What are we playing at?’ – about their work in Granby Four Streets in Liverpool and Dalmarnock, East Glasgow. They discussed the problem of participation, the balance between intervention and collective action, and the unstable role of the artist/architect in community-based projects. On 26th November 2015 and 14th January 2016, Janice Kerbel and Nicole Wermers, respectively, spoke about their recent work and their nominations for the Turner Prize 2015.
Assemble are a collective based in London who work across the fields of art, architecture and design. They began working together in 2010 and are comprised of 18 members. Assemble’s working practice seeks to address the typical disconnection between the public and the process by which places are made. Assemble champion a working practice that is interdependent and collaborative, seeking to actively involve the public as both participant and collaborator in the ongoing realisation of the work.
Bonnie Camplin (b. 1970, London, UK) lives and works in London. She holds a BFA in Fine Art: Film and Video and a Postgraduate Diploma in Advanced Photography, both from Saint Martin’s School of Art, London. Recent solo exhibitions have been held at Cabinet London (2013), Michael Benevento in Los Angeles (2012), and Galerie Cinzia Friedlaender, Berlin (2011). She was included in Assembly, A survey of Recent Artists Film and Video in Britain 2008–2013, Tate Britain, London (2013); Sound works, Institute of Contemporary Arts, London (2012); Madame Realism, Marres Centre for Contemporary Art, Maastricht (2011); and When the Wind Blows Up You, Chisenhale Gallery, London (2009). She is currently a lecturer in Fine Art at Goldsmiths, University of London.
Janice Kerbel (b. 1969, Toronto, Canada) lives and works in London. She completed a BFA at Emily Carr College of Art and Design, Vancouver in 1994, before undertaking an MA in Fine Art at Goldsmiths, University of London. Recent projects include DOUG, commissioned by The Common Guild (2014); Kill the Workers, Chisenhale Gallery, London; Badischer Kunstverein, Karlsruhe and Walter Phillips Gallery, Banff Centre for the Arts (2011); See it Now, for Art Now, Tate Britain (2010); Ballgame, Sheffield Festival (2008); Remarkable, commissioned for Frieze Projects (2007); and Nick Silver Can’t Sleep, commissioned by Artangel/BBC Radio 3 (2006) and presented live at Art Now Live, Tate Britain (2007).
Nicole Wermers (b. 1971, Emsdetten, Germany) lives and works in London. She graduated from Hochschule für bildende Künste, Hamburg, Germany in 1997, before completing an MA in Fine Art at Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design, London in 1999. Recent solo exhibitions include Infrastruktur, Herald St, London (2015); The London Shape, Stanley Picker Gallery, Kingston upon Thames (2014); Manners, site-specific sculpture, Tate Britain, London (2013); Spray, Tanya Bonakdar Gallery, New York (2012); Hôtel Biron, Kunstverein für die Rheinlande und Westfalen, Düsseldorf (2011); Masse und Auflösung, Aspen Art Museum, Colorado; Earring, site-specific sculpture, Camden Arts Centre, London (2006); and Chemie, Secession, Vienna (2005).
The Turner Prize is an award set up in 1984 to celebrate new developments in contemporary art. It is presented each year to ‘a British artist under fifty for an outstanding exhibition or other presentation of their work in the twelve months preceding.’ The four shortlisted artists present works in a show normally held at Tate Britain. Every other year, the exhibition leaves Tate Britain and is shown at a venue outside London.
Tramway is an international art space which commissions, produces and presents contemporary arts projects. Its vision is to inspire and add to our understanding of today’s world by connecting audiences and artists.
