From its position as a deeply rooted but globally reaching cultural actor, Alserkal Advisory conceptualised the Global Co-commission as an initiative that foregrounds subaltern community knowledge in public art that addresses shared global challenges.
In partnership with the Global Cultural Districts Network (GCDN), the Global Co-commission spans three cultural districts across three continents. They are: Alserkal Avenue, Dubai (UAE), Victoria Yards, Johannesburg (South Africa), and Kingston Creative, Kingston (Jamaica).
In developing an initiative focused on contextualising the global climate crisis and driving collective action, the Global Co-commission is supported by UAP — Urban Art Project, whose proprietary tools will help measure the impact of public art not only by providing a framework to audit the project’s CO2 emissions, but also by tracking and reporting on the societal impact and afterlife of the three commissions in each of the participating districts.
A Feral Commons is the central theme of the Global Co-commission, uniting the three public art commissions.
Developed by curator Tairone Bastien, A Feral Commons, draws from Anna Lowenhaupt Tsing’s notion of the ‘feral’ —natural phenomena resisting human control— inviting artists of the Global Co-commission to produce site-specific artworks that arise from local ecologies.
Examining the oft-unrecognised non-human entanglements with humans and their built infrastructures, the artworks can materially contribute to a higher awareness of our environments, unexpected inter-species collaborations, and sustainable public spaces for the future.
“Despite efforts to command nature, cities are teaming with rebellious creatures that refuse to be contained or controlled. Each co-commission is based on research and consideration of natural phenomena that resist human control: the undomesticated, the defiant and disobedient, inviting the public to learn with these feral ecologies about resilience, adaptability and strategies for survival in the face of the climate emergency.”
Artists
Camille Chedda
Io Makandal
Muhannad Shono
The Commissions
A Forgotten Place
Muhannad Shono designed and built the structural installation to mimic AC water drip to support the growth of a garden of indigenous plants.
Al Quoz specificity
The industrial backdrop of the industrial area in Al Quoz and the warehouses are significant
Talk at the Opening
Mari Spirito moderates a discussion about the commission at its opening between the artist and curator.