Talk Show

A month-long season of artworks and live events addressing that central feature of human life - the act of speech

The programme, most of which is free, will activate the ICA during both daytime and evening, and is being presented in the institute's Galleries, Theatre and other spaces. It features over a hundred participants, including artists, performers and others whose activities centre on speech and vocal performance, such as linguists, speech therapists and voiceover artists. This chorus will address the primacy of the spoken word in our social and cultural landscape, and its use as a tool to produce and negotiate meaning in art, life and politics.

Many contemporary artists employ the voice as a medium, and Talk Show includes an exhibition of speech-based works in the Lower Gallery and other spaces. Meanwhile, the Upper Gallery is being used as a location for a series of artists' residencies, events that are open to the public and in which participants will research, rehearse and produce new work. The Lower Gallery and Theatre will also host performances and presentations by artists, musicians and others, a programme that promises an array of extraordinary experiences. Further events include workshops for training the voice, discussions on different aspects of language, and a conference that will call on the newest thinking in the science and sociology of speech.

Talk Show is an experiment in inter-disciplinary programming, and has been curated by the artist, writer and designer Will Holder, working together with Richard Birkett and Jennifer Thatcher of the ICA, and with the help and support of The London Consortium (a multi-disciplinary graduate programme in humanities and cultural studies). A wide range of resources are linked to the season, including a magazine containing a variety of new and reprinted texts. Many of the events will be streamed on the ICA website, as well as by other broadcasters. Finally, the ICA's new Reading Room is presenting a number of archives of spoken word recordings, allowing visitors to pursue their own research.

Exhibition: 6 May - 31 May 2009 Pierre Bismuth / Paul Elliman / Chris Evans / Robert Filliou / Ryan Gander / Beatrice Gibson with Jamie McCarthy / Adam Pendleton / Falke Pisano / Seth Price / Manuel Saiz / Frances Stark

Residencies: 6 - 17 May castillo/corrales 18 - 24 May Melanie Gilligan 25 - 31 May Fia Backström 26 - 31 May Plus Minus Ensemble

Performances and Presentations: 6 May Robert Ashley 7 May Jeremiah Day / Simone Forti 8 May In conversation: Audio Arts 9 May Speakeasy 11 May Jimmy Robert & Ian White 14 May Interview: Audio Arts 15 May Stephen Sutcliffe 16 May School of Sound 16 & 17 May Sharon Hayes 19 May Anne-James Chaton & Andy Moor / Chris Mann / Alex Waterman 23 May Ben Cain 30 May Dexter Sinister 31 May Joan La Barbara

Workshops and Discussions: 12 & 21 May They Give Themselves Away Every Time They Open Their Mouths 13 May The Vocal Knot 18 May Latin American Political Chants 22 May Doublespeak 28 May Effective Speaking in Groups

Conference: 17 May Our Speaking Selves

Films: 10 May The Shout 17 May My Dinner With Andre 24 May The Aristocrats

Talk Show
A season of speech-based artworks and events
Kuratoren: Will Holder, Richard Birkett, Jennifer Thatcher

Künstler: Robert Ashley, Pierre Bismuth, Paul Elliman, Chris Evans, Ryan Gander, Beatrice Gibson / Jamie McCarthy, Robert Filliou, Adam Pendleton, Falke Pisano, Seth Price, Manuel Saiz, Frances Stark, Mark Wilsher ...

Perfermances: Robert Ashley, Jeremiah Day / Simone Forti, Jimmy Robert / Ian White, Stephen Sutcliffe, Sharon Hayes, Anne-James Chaton / Andy Moor / Chris Mann / Alex Waterman, Ben Cain, Joan La Barbara, Dexter Sinister ...