Availabism (29 April-5 May, 2024)
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Over a period of 12 weeks, Pfahler delves into her subversive approach to creativity with the unique presentation of her autodidactic 12-step programme. Appearing every evening at 20:24 (local time) on Piccadilly Lights and other notable public screens in Milan, Berlin and Seoul, the weekly video classes explore Pfahler’s fearless practice through topics such as Availabism – making use of what’s available – Classism, Perfectionism and Gothletics. Culminating with a Performance Gala (23 June), The Manual of Action signifies a radical attempt to restore people’s potential to become “their own kind of artist”.
“Everything we do is part of our artistic practice. There’s no such thing as I’ve got to get to work later. We’re always in process. I want to remind people that everything they do (from their family to scrubbing the dishes) is a meditation in time that is leading us all forward. It’s not about becoming something. We’re already ‘that’ if we want to be. I want The Manual of Action to remind people to celebrate their liminal phases. Celebrate their process and not worry about having an artistic block because I don’t feel like that exists.”
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| CIRCA 20:24 – SEASON II PROGRAMME | |||
| CLASS | DESCRIPTION | DATE & LOCATION | |
| WEDDING | Commit to your ideas: The Manual of Action | 8 April Piccadilly Lights, London |
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| CLASSISM | Is there room for a new class? All of us have the right to exist; | 9-14 April All Screens |
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| SELF EXCAVATION | Pick a title, pick a date. Then, figure it out | 15-21 April All Screens |
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| LIMINALITY | Art and performance is a process. | 22-28 April All Screens |
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| AVAILABISM | Make the best use of what’s available. | 29 April-5 May All Screens |
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| VOLCANO | Sharing is not a PowerPoint; it’s an exchange that helps new ideas blossom. | 6-12 May All Screens |
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| *WORKSHOP | An in-presence workshop led by Kembra Pfahler. | 18 May Nicoletta Fiorucci Foundation, London |
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| PERFECTIONISM | Draw a circle with a line through it. | 13-19 May All Screens |
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| GOTHLETICS | Movement without having the right outfit. | 20-26 May All Screens |
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| FINDING SOUND | Ears have eyes. | 27 May-2 June All Screens |
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| SYNCHRONICITY | How to write a song. | 3-9 June All Screens |
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| *LIVE PERFORMANCE | A multimedia live performance by Kembra Pfahler. | 15 June Terraforma Exo at Triennale, Milan |
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| COLOUR PALETTE | Colour, make-up & application. | 10-16 June All Screens |
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| THE SHOW MUST NOT GO ON | Art and performance are not the same as show business, baby! | 17-23 June All Screens |
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| *PERFORMANCE GALA | A final celebration by Kembra Pfahler and participants of the 12-week programme. | 23 June Location TBA, London |
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| DEADLINE | Slow down. A deadline is never the end. | 24-30 June All Screens |
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| Register on CIRCA.ART to access the programme and receive further information, including guest lecturers, in-person happenings, and live! participatory formats. *Programme and events | |||
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In support of the 12-week programme, CIRCA releases a limited series of Pfahler’s notorious ‘Sit-Ins’ – 3 layered butt prints envisioned as a wink to say ‘1, 2, 3… I love you’ by offering a cheeky departure from traditional representations of the female form. Each hand-signed and uniquely titled screen print is available to purchase on CIRCA.ART (£150 +VAT) in support of the artist and #CIRCAECONOMY – a circular model that supports the CIRCA free public art programme whilst creating life-changing opportunities for a global creative community.
Kembra Pfahler (b. 1961, Hermosa Beach, CA, US) lives and works in New York, US. Pfahler is a legendary figure of New York’s underground scene. With a practice spanning music, performance, acting, film and visual arts since the 1980s, the image vocabulary she has built informs the countercultural aesthetics of Lower East Side. Drawing references from monstrous fetishistic femininity and Japanese Noh theatre, she founded a death-rock band The Voluptuous Horror of Karen Black. The band’s cult performances incorporate handmade costumes and props created along the lines of her philosophy of availabism – making use of what’s available – with the aim of fostering a radical view of femininity and beauty. The ceremonial treatment of her body in transgressive acts continues to mark the contemporary cultural landscape through her collaborations in film, photography and fashion. Deitch Projects published a book on Kembra Pfahler, Beautalism, in celebration of her projects for the Biennial. She has had shows at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Rome, The Garage Museum of Contemporary Art in Moscow, and has shown in solo and group shows at Contemporary Fine Arts, Deitch Projects, The Hole Gallery in New York, Bowman Gallery pop-up Los Angeles, and File under “V” at Kenny Schachter Rove Gallery, in London. Her drawings are in the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art in New York.