The Mosaic Rooms

Our last exhibition of 2014 drew to a close on Saturday with a powerful performance from our learning and engagement project with Phakama and a celebratory closing party and book launch with Nadia and Timo Kaabi-Linke!

Whilst our programme remains quiet over December we will happily reflect on the many exhibitions, events, new and old collaborators and participants we have hosted over this year. Over the last twelve months we have had the pleasure of presenting five exhibitions and over 50 multidisciplinary events to our wonderful audiences, alongside two community learning and engagement projects.  We hope you have enjoyed them, from Ilan Pappe discussing The Idea of Israel, Saadi Youssef reading from his latest poetry collection, Anissa Helou cooking you a feast at our special supper club series, live readings from emerging Arab playwrights, to Raja Shehadeh’s sold out 2014 Edward W Said London Lecture, amongst other highlights! For any of  who you missed or simply want to enjoy again please visit our Recorded Lectures or Blog online.

 

In 2014 it has been our pleasure to work with artists and external curators to develop new work and commissions especially for The Mosaic Rooms for the first time. This includes Mogadishu: Lost Moderns by Rashid Ali and Andrew Cross, the first exhibition to explore Mogadishu through its architecture; a collaboration with aria that saw the first London group show of six contemporary Algerian artists; launching our first open call exhibition, My Sister Who Travels curated by Martina Caruso; and of course Nadia Kaabi-Linke’s acclaimed first UK solo exhibition featuring new works that responded directly to the history of our building. If you didn’t get the chance to see any of this year’s exhibitions you can still access them online, and also through our limited edition exhibition publications, available in our bookshop.

We are delighted to end the year with the recent selection of our art book project Background by Hrair Sarkissian as one of a small number of ‘outstanding non-commercial art projects’ to be showcased as part of Art Basel’s new Kickstarter Crowdfunding Initiative. Don’t forget you can still support the project here until the 13th December 2014!

Special thanks also go to the following organisations that have helped support our programme this year: Arts Council England, Nour Festival, Goethe Insitut and Iraqi Cultural Centre. Also to our event partners The British Museum, Delfina Foundation, Free Word Centre, Goethe Insitut, Goldsmiths University of London, ICA, Ikon Gallery, Iniva, Leighton House, Literature Across Frontiers, Sandpit Productions, amongst others.  We hope to work with you all again in the near future!

And of course most importantly thank you to all of you, our audience! We look forward to warmly welcoming you back in 2015 to discover new and exciting as well as familiar names, to engage in new ideas, to be challenged and inspired! 2015 opens with the exhibition Mouths at the Invisible Event by David Birkin and an accompanying highly topical programme of events. This will be followed by our first institutional collaboration with the ICA, presenting a new exhibition by Dor Guez, The Sick Man of Europe in February.  Keep an eye on our website for updates on our 2015 programme…. Until then we wish you all a joyous festive season!

 

Rachael Jarvis

Head Curator, The Mosaic Rooms