25 July – 29 August 2009
Featuring, amongst others:
The UK premiere of Kalup Linzy's dramatic new film "Keys to Our Heart" - Tai Shani's fantastical cast of Greek Gods, coffee cups and super-secretaries - Audrey Reynolds' One Picture Gallery, with a painting by Luca Bertolo - an evening in conversation with Corrado Coltelli with films by Saint Etienne - Katie Guggenheim's MENU, a group show in the form of a menu of art - and - International Everything: a series of short talks by non specialist enthusiasts.
The Savoy Cafe is a former East London cafe that has been vacant since the mid 1990s. The building, which is still owned by the Coltelli family who grew up there in the 1950s, retains its original 1930s décor and fascia.
It is the aim that this project will provide an inspiration to developers who choose to sensitively add to the regeneration activities of Hackney Central, and to other artists and curators who choose Hackney Central for their activities.
In addition, work already undertaken with the 20th Century Society and Hackney Museum confirms the need for the Savoy Café’s interior to be preserved, listed and sensitively restored in the future. The Savoy Café is has of the only remaining in-tact early 20th Century interiors known in Hackney.
It is the building’s décor, history and location that have informed the selection of work for this project.
4pm – 9pm
talk / films at 6.30pm
Corrado Coltelli grew up in the Savoy Café during its heyday. Accompanied by “Today's Special”, films from Saint Etienne and Paul Kelly, exploring the legacy of the traditional London café. You can see the films here, here and here
Part of London 2012 Open Weekend.
1pm – 9pm
A group show with work by twenty artists, delivered to seated exhibition visitors upon their request. Artworks will be handled, assembled, observed and even eaten: temporarily combining to form miniature table-top exhibitions. The chosen artists will also exploit the unusual one-on-one relationship between artwork and viewer that this exhibition creates. Curated by Katie Guggenheim, with works by: Zayne Armstrong, Côme, Jennifer Bailey, Mark Barker, Debuffu, Oscar Carlson, Danielle Dean, Constintin, Sophie Aschauer, Amanda Dennis, Sarah Elliott, Jenifer Evans, Censor, Alexander Hassenpflug, Kazimierz Jankowski, Giorgio Silverio, Richard John Jones, Atalya Laufer, Ciment, Rachel Pimm, Aki Nagasaka, Patrick Shier, Django Pemberton
Specially commissioned for the Savoy Café, and constructed around Frederik Pohl’s story ‘The Tunnel Under the World’, this fantastical, super-styled performance is an unfolding exploration of loss, love, trauma, time travel and post nuclear apocalypse market research. The performance, which will be viewed from a specifically constructed auditorium, includes a cast of Greek Gods, animated coffee cups and 1950’s secretaries. Tai’s work has most recently been presented at the Arnolfini and the Royal Academy.
4pm – 9pm
talks at 7pm
An evening of short talks by non specialist enthusiasts (originally devised with Redux projects).
Nicola Stylianou - Hey! Two Way Pockaway: an Introduction to the Mardi Gras Indians of New Orleans.
Sarah Bowerman - The Duchess of Devonshire’s Jubilee Ball: 700 people, 5 Courts, 2 Cleopatras, a “Double Duchess” and Ortolan in Aspic (for one night only).
Mark Webber - Burning a Hole Where I Lay: the possibility of a 33 hour film-poem exploring the popular metaphor of love as fire. En route we visit Elvis, Orford Ness and the bombing of Hiroshima.
4pm – 9.30pm
film at 7pm & 9pm
The UK premiere of Guggenheim Fellow Kalup Linzy’s new film. Keys to Our Heart is a John-Waters-esque melodrama featuring Linzy as a misanthropic grande dame who dispenses advice to a trio of troubled young lovers. With a strong following in his native USA (“A star is born. His name is Kalup Linzy.” - New York Times), this will be the first showing of Linzy’s work in London since its appearance at the Hayward gallery in 2008. Keys to Our Heart was originally commissioned by Prospect 1 for the New Orleans Biennial in 2008.
4pm – 9pm
featuring a painting by Italian Artist Luca Bertolo.
Adapting Russian Gallerist Valery Petrovich Sazonov’s original ‘One-Picture Gallery’ which he opened in Penza in 1983, we will be setting a carefully chosen painting adrift from the common comforts of its native contexts, which we will replace with music, seating and timing. Luca Bertolo (b. 1968) lives and works on the Apuan Alps in Tuscany. Recent solo exhibitions include at Galleria SpazioA, Italy, and ‘The Domain of Painting’, Arcade, London. Presented by Audrey Reynolds.
Curated by Rosie Cooper
All events are free of charge.
We recommend that you arrive early if you are attending a timed event, as capacity will be limited due to the size of the space.
Apart from Tai Shani's performance, none of the events in the programme require booking.