Channel is Somerset House’s new curated online space for art, ideas and the artistic process.
1 February – 25 February 2021
Somerset House joins a host of leading British and French creative organisations to present I Love You, Moi Non Plus, a new online participatory art project exploring the relationship between the UK and France in a post-Brexit world
Launching on Monday 1 February and presented in partnership by Somerset House, Dover Street Market London, The Adonyeva Foundation, Collectif Coulanges, Eurostar and coordinated by Sabir, I Love You, Moi Non Plus invites budding artists of all ages to share their interpretation of what the British-French relationship means to them. Works will be displayed in a new online gallery alongside bespoke pieces from a host of project ambassadors including Chinese contemporary artist Ai Weiwei, leading British fashion designer Stella McCartney, renowned English electronic musician and Somerset House Trustee, Brian Eno, internationally-praised lead principal dancer and English National Ballet artistic director Tamara Rojo, and British contemporary artist Bob and Roberta Smith. Further contributions will come from Somerset House’s pioneering resident artists and creatives, who together form the largest creative community in the UK.
In response to Brexit and the new borders now in place, the project seeks to highlight how art and creativity can maintain connections between communities across the channel, unifying voices from across Britain and the EU. Professional, amateur and novice artists alike are all invited to capture what the relationship between the UK and France means to them using their preferred practice, from painting, illustration, or photography, to film, music or writing.
Participants can contribute either by sharing their creations on social media using the hashtags #ILoveYouMoiNonPlus, #ILYMNP and #LifeAfterBrexit (which will be used to curate the online gallery, updated daily) or submit directly to the website here.
Further ambassadors include French dancer and choreographer Benjamin Millepied, artistic director of Toneelgroep Amsterdam in the Netherlands Ivo Van Hove, Swiss visual artist and Somerset House Studios resident Christian Marclay, and American jazz singer and presenter, China Moses.
For Press Enquiries, Please Contact:
press@somersethouse.org.uk / 0207 845 4624
Address: Somerset House, Strand, London, WC2R 1LA
Transport: Underground: Temple, Embankment / Rail: Charing Cross, Waterloo, Blackfriars
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Hashtag: #ILoveYouMoiNonPlus
ABOUT SOMERSET HOUSE
London’s working arts centre
Somerset House is London’s working arts centre and home to the UK’s largest creative community. Built on historic foundations, we are situated in the very heart of the capital.
Dedicated to backing progress, championing openness, nurturing creativity and empowering ideas, our cultural programme is ambitious in scope. We insist on relevance, but aren’t afraid of irreverence, and are as keen on entertainment as enrichment. We embrace the biggest issues of our times and are committed to oxygenating new work by emerging artists. Where else can you spend an hour ice-skating while listening to a specially commissioned sound piece by a cutting edge artist?
It is this creative tension – the way we harness our heritage, put the too-often overlooked on our central stage and use our neo-classical backdrop to showcase ground-breaking contemporary culture – that inspires our programme. Old and new, history and disruption, art and entertainment, high-tech and homemade, combined with the fact that we are home to a constantly shape-shifting working creative community: this is our point of difference. It is what we are proud of. And it is what makes the experience of visiting or working in Somerset House inspiring and energizing, urgent and exciting. www.somersethouse.org.uk