Episode 5: Céline Condorelli - a podcast by Can Altay

In this episode we are hosting Céline Condorelli, an incredible artist with a sharp and critical mind. She’s a long-time friend and collaborator. And you will hear how beautifully elaborate Céline is when tackling questions around how artists can position themselves with respect to society, institutions and audiences.

“There's certainly the hierarchy of whose work is actually recognized. Like, for example, the artist is named, the cleaning lady is not named, or you know, the people who have built the wall are not named. However, the artist is often the only person in the room who's not being paid, which is also a different kind of hierarchy.”

From ecology to work, public spaces to friendship and support, Céline’s inquiries hit the core of cultural production today. Céline Condorelli is an artist, writer, and teacher. She is the founding director of the artist-run space Eastside Projects based in Birmingham. Apart from her highly acclaimed practice, she is best known for the publications she authored such as Support Structures co-edited with Gavin Wade.
Condorelli’s work brings ideas, people, and objects together through staging, display, and "support". https://celinecondorelli.eu

The Museum of Modern Art in New York has an enormous online archive which contains documentation on the institution's activities as well as the history of art, design, and more. https://www.moma.org/research-and-learning/archives/

As Céline pointed out, displaying plants as companions to artworks started in the 1930s and lasted until the 1980s. In 1936, MoMA presented its first and only dedicated flower show, Edward Steichen’s Delphiniums. https://www.moma.org/explore/inside_out/2011/03/08/edward-steichen-archive-delphiniums-blue-and-white-and-pink-too/

Opening in 2020, Céline Condorelli has designed a new playground for Elmington Estate, featuring carousels, climbing structures, and colored surfaces. https://www.southlondongallery.org/projects/celine-condorelli/

Commissioned by The King’s Cross Project, a program of public temporary and permanent art, Celine has constructed sculptures with built-in seating titled Zanzibar. https://www.kingscross.co.uk/zanzibar

Co-programmed with Filipa Ramos and contemporaneously shown at v-drome.org, Céline Condorelli’s Cinema Zagara / Ecodrome, was presented at the “Geometries” held at the Agricultural University of Athens in 2018.

Episode recorded on Zoom on July 8th 2020. Interview by Can Altay. Produced by Aslı Altay & Sarp Renk Özer. Music by Grup Ses.

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