No Working Title

Addison, Joanne and Kidd, Natasha (2017) No Working Title. Tate Exchange.

Abstract

Drawing on a history of instructional practice in art, No Working Title is an example of large‑scale co‑operation at Higher Education level. Now in its 8th year the project continues to provoke dialogue between approximately forty artists and academics from four BA Fine Art courses. With their own practice at the centre of the process, the artists exchange instructions for making artworks with a partner who they have never met before. Whilst the instructions are bespoke, the terms of exchange are highly choreographed and the result of this dialogue is what was witnessed publicly as part of Tate Exchange, where the partners met for the first time and presented their work to one another. This year, as part of Tate Exchange* the participants devised instructions especially for visitors. These could be seen scrolling on one of the screens and were heard broadcast throughout the space. Visitors were invited to make a contribution of their own by writing an instruction which in turn became part of the the display. *Tate Exchange is an open experiment that seeks to explore the role of art in society. It includes international artists , contributors from different fields, the public, and over 50 associates, who work within and beyond the arts, on creating participatory programmes, workshops, activities and debates.