Dr David Bates, Director of Politics and International Relations, has been working with the Artist Kelly Green, Dr Licia Cianetti of Royal Holloway, University of London, and young people from Astor College for the Arts, Dover on a project exploring social class, marginalisation and exploitation.

The project is part of a wider exchange entitled ‘Other’, which sets out to play creatively with the production of otherness and explore how art can be used to connect people.

The project initially debuted at Sidney Cooper Gallery, and moved on to Tate Modern from 30^th  May-3^rd June.

What Are You Looking At? Builds on the work developed in the University’s Activism Research Network, and gives young people and participants the opportunity to explore the production and reproduction of abjection, which crosses between class, sexuality, ethnicity, body image and ideology. It also explores how contemporary capitalism could be argued to have cast aside those (sometimes whole communities) that it does not regard as productively useful.

The work in this project sets out to destabilise and unsettle oppressive ideologies through the creation of autonomous spaces for political expression and debate.

It builds on the show Fairground which was at the Sidney Cooper Gallery and the Tate Modern last year. The Tate Modern component (working in partnership with the University of Kent, People United (Kent), Valleys Kids (Rhondda Valley), Astor College for the Arts) attracted over 4,500 members of the public.

Dr Bates said:

“We are delighted to make a contribution to the Tate Exchange programme again this year. We will be addressing the thorny issue of social class. We will explore how class intersects with gender. How commodified ideas of body image serve to subordinate.  The work explores how exploited groups come also to be ‘abjectified’ – transformed into a curious ’other’. Class really does still count; but class relations can be subverted. The subversion starts here!’ 

The Artist Kelly Green stated:

‘The artists from Astor College have worked incredibly hard to create their thought-provoking and challenging pieces commenting on gender and class. I couldn’t be prouder of them and our team.’

For pictures,  see: https://canterburypolitics.wordpress.com/2018/02/19/what-we-looked-at-pictures-from-the-exhibition-at-sydney-cooper-gallery/

More information: http://www.tate.org.uk/whats-on/tate-modern/tate-exchange/workshop/other