FAD caught up with Louise O’Kelly and Katharina Worf ahead of Block Universe 2019 (18 May – 2 June) to talk about the 5th edition of Block Universe and the expansion into Berlin (14 September) and their plans for Venice.
Block Universe, London’s leading performance art festival and international commissioning body, will return to London from 18 May to 2 June 2019, with an expanded 14-day programme of new work, premieres, talks, screenings, and workshops, from a wide range of artists, both local and international.
This week I fluctuated around London – from Bloomsbury’s British Museum, to a church in Bethnal Green and back to Mayfair – inhaling the fluid nature of the performances and works I saw. I was so engrossed in this state of flux that I pushed my usual Tuesday column to Wednesday, to make room for Cárdenas’s opening at Almine Rech which took place last night.
This week – besides almost losing my passport whilst Spring cleaning – I lay on a very comfortable pink carpet at 180 The Strand and then took a train to Wakefield to feel the density of Anthony McCall’s solid light sculptures and lie down on luscious green grass in the Yorkshire Sculpture Park.
Block Universe’s nine-day programme ranges from new commissions, UK premiers, dance workshops to talks and special projects in prominent cultural institutions including the Royal Academy, British Museum, Somerset House, The Store X, Studio Voltaire, Oval Space, Thames Tunnel at the Brunel Museum, and more.
London based artist Grace Schwindt is known for working with film, live performance and sculpture, often using theatrical sets and props for performances.
Sam Belinfante’s practice incorporates filmmaking, photography, sound, performance and curating.
Louise O’Kelly is the founding director of Block Universe and is the beating heart of the festival.
Block Universe brings together a new wave of cutting edge performance art at the cross-section of visual art, dance and music, activating major institutions and venues throughout London from today to Sunday.
This 8th–14th June will see the inaugural edition of Block Universe, an exciting and ambitious new annual festival for performance art in London.
