C ONTEMPORARY A RTS P ROGRAMMEAnother very intense year has gone by, my tenth asCur<strong>at</strong>or of the Contemporary Arts Programme: twoexhibitions and many events, talks, live performances andbook present<strong>at</strong>ions have taken place.From 14 November to 7 December the CAP presented<strong>The</strong> Secret Public: the Last Days of the <strong>British</strong> Underground1978–1988. A Video Library, cur<strong>at</strong>ed by Michael Bracewell,Stefan Kalmár and Ian White, showing moving image workfrom the exhibition of the same name th<strong>at</strong> was organisedearlier in <strong>2007</strong> by the Kunstverein Munich and also shown<strong>at</strong> the ICA in London. Disquieting, playful and intenselyurban, the exhibition was rooted in the political landscapeof the 80s and examined the dark flowering of cre<strong>at</strong>ivityth<strong>at</strong> took shape in the UK between 1978 and 1988. Itjuxtaposed some of the extraordinary art works from ahistory th<strong>at</strong> has remained undocumented as fashion, dance,burlesque, music, video and film emerged as dominantaesthetics and activities.To coincide with the opening of the exhibition, aprogramme of screenings and talks was presented in theSainsbury Lecture <strong>The</strong><strong>at</strong>re every Thursday night from 9 to11 p.m. It fe<strong>at</strong>ured: Cosey Fanni Tutti in convers<strong>at</strong>ion withcritic Daniela Cascella, introducing the screening of a videoprogramme about Throbbing Gristle; a video programmeabout Scr<strong>at</strong>ch Video; and a panel discussion of‘Underground culture in Italy in the 80s’.On 21 January the book about <strong>British</strong> artist Ian Kiaer,published in May <strong>2007</strong> following his November 2005exhibition <strong>at</strong> the BSR, was launched. <strong>The</strong> book collectsKiaer’s main art projects, with an introduction by CristianaPerrella, text by Mark Godfrey and an interview with theartist by Caoimhin Mac Giolla Leith.From 8 February to 8 March the CAP presented ChrisEvans’s exhibition As Simple As Your Life Used To Be, thel<strong>at</strong>est commission in the Viva Roma! project. Fromconvers<strong>at</strong>ions with four influential politicians (GiulioAndreotti, Giulio Caradonna, Emanuele Macaluso, OscarMammì) whose careers have spanned the history of theItalian republic, Evans produced a series of allegoricalimages and maquettes. All the works, along with the shortfilm th<strong>at</strong> completed the show, were produced under theumbrella of CAP.On 12 February, as part of the Tracks series, cur<strong>at</strong>ed byDaniela Cascella for the CAP, a concert by Little Annie(voice) and Paul Wallfisch (piano) was held in the Lecture<strong>The</strong><strong>at</strong>re.On 27 May Martin Creed was back <strong>at</strong> the BSR — after asolo show in 1997 and an install<strong>at</strong>ion for the façade in 2003— with a talk/performance. <strong>The</strong> event coincided withCreed’s first solo show <strong>at</strong> the Lorcan O’Neill Gallery in<strong>Rome</strong>.Finally, on 8 July, the CAP closed the <strong>2007</strong>–8 year with abook present<strong>at</strong>ion: Film d’artista, by Maria Rosa Sossai,considers the productive rel<strong>at</strong>ionship between art andcinema, a topic th<strong>at</strong> has often been explored by our exhibitionprogramme over the course of the years.All th<strong>at</strong> was delivered this year would not have beenpossible without the invaluable work of Assistant Cur<strong>at</strong>orMaria Cristina Giusti, who sadly left in March 2008 afterfour years of collabor<strong>at</strong>ion. A big thank you to her, and awelcome to Alessandra Troncone, who started work inApril as part-time voluntary assistant to the programme.An intense campaign of fundraising, addressed to bothinstitutional and priv<strong>at</strong>e sponsors, has been launched in thelight of the financial restraints for 2008–9. Applic<strong>at</strong>ions tothe Regione Lazio, the Provincia di Roma and the HenryMoore Found<strong>at</strong>ion were made to support specific projects(Richard Wentworth’s install<strong>at</strong>ion in the entrance hall,Tracks3 — the music programme of the CAP, and theproduction of Kutlug Ataman’s new work for Viva Roma! in2009), while contact with Mini Cooper was established.Professional fundraisers have been consulted with a view toincreasing corpor<strong>at</strong>e sponsorship.Cristiana PerrellaCur<strong>at</strong>or, Contemporary Arts Programme32
C O N T E M P O R A R Y A R T S P R O G R A M M ETop left: Little Annie signing her CD forCristiana Perrella after the gig, withDaniela Cascella in the backgroundTop right: Install<strong>at</strong>ion shot of <strong>The</strong> SecretPublic: the Last Days of the <strong>British</strong>Underground 1978–1988. A Video LibraryBelow left: Install<strong>at</strong>ion shot of ChrisEvans’s exhibition, As Simple As Your LifeUsed To Be33
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