As part of 198's Associate Programme, we are delighted to present The Shape Open 2023: OPEN ALL HOURS, an exhibition of disabled AND non-disabled artists from around the world.
“Beyoncé has the same 24 hours in a day that we do” - Molly Mae Hague, The Diary of a CEO Podcast
“There are now very few significant interludes of human existence … that have not been penetrated and taken over as work time, consumption time, or marketing time.” ― Jonathan Crary, 24/7: Late Capitalism and the Ends of Sleep
The idea of a 24/7 culture of waking, work, and productivity has been a reality for some time, but in our digital age, it has seeped even into the bedroom, with our devices constantly linked to the world outside. Estimations suggest adults sleep on average 1-2 hours less per night today than in the 1960s.
Alongside this, more and more of us are choosing to live in huge cities, close to round-the-clock entertainment, opportunity, accessibility and convenience. By 2050, it’s predicted that more than two thirds of the world’s population will live in urban areas, leaving behind quieter, more isolated, and often more poorly-resourced areas.
And yet without this quiet, and with decreasing access to nature, we grow ever more disconnected from the turning of the planet that sustains us, to the rhythm of night and day, waking and rest, that is so deeply wired into what we are.
What is the cost of this to us? To be thought of as ‘successful’ today often means ‘productive,’ or in other words, the more you make and the faster you do so, the better you are - and this often translates into being better off. For disabled people in particular, the idea of productivity has been closely linked to those of ‘value’ or ‘worth.’ In our accelerating culture, where does this leave anyone who needs or wants more time to think, act, function, or simply exist?
Our annual Shape Open exhibition this year explores the pressurised relationship we have with time, productivity, and the pace of our modern, increasingly digital, society.
With work from…
Mike Bamgbala
Eskild Beck
Uma Breakdown
Emmy Clarke
Fatma Durmush
Yasmeen Fathima Thantrey
Charlie Fitz
Paul Fletcher
Lan Florence Yee
Yarden Fudim
Carole Lee
Oliver McConnie
Tracey Payne
Jamila Prowse
Simon Raven
Samiir Saunders
Josie Rae Turnbull
Diana Zrnic
Creative team:
Jeff Rowlings - Head of Programme, Shape Arts
Elinor Hayes - Creative Producer, Shape Arts
Emily Roderick - Assistant Producer, Shape Arts
April Lin 林森 - Shape Open alumnus and selection panellist
Shape Arts is a disability-led organisation breaking barriers to creative excellence. We deliver a range of projects supporting marginalised artists, as well as training cultural venues to be more inclusive and accessible for disabled people as employees, artists and audiences. All of Shape's work is informed by the Social Model of Disability.
With thanks to Shape Open Patron Yinka Shonibare CBE (RA) for his continued support.
Shape is proud to be a National Portfolio Organisation, funded and supported by Arts Council England.
