Current Artist in Residence Pardip Kapil

Artist Pardip Kapil is undertaking a new three month residency at Studio Voltaire, in partnership with ActionSpace. The residency forms part of the acclaimed Explorers Project.  

Studio Voltaire will provide the site for Kapil to develop his practice providing the much needed space and time to focus on testing and experimentation whilst being supported by staff, receiving production support, external visits and travel expenses, artist fees and a production budget. 

The artist will collaborate with and be supported by lead artist-mentor Solomon Garçon, who will meet with Kapil regularly over the three months and collaborate and experiment with the artist, suggesting new processes, materials and tools as well as providing support and expertise. Kapil will also meet with Directors, curators and other artists to develop his practice over the period. The residency is open-ended with the possibility of the residency culminating in a final performance event as part of Open House 2022 at Studio Voltaire.

Kapil creates large-scale installations which contain bricolage, costumes, found objects and props which form spontaneous and site specific participatory performances. He often incorporates sound and projections into his work to create ritualistic and often surreal work.

EXPLORERS (2021-2023) is a dynamic collaborative programme of art and action that opens up routes into artistic practice for neurominorities, dismantling attitudinal and systemic barriers to representation and rights in art and society. It is led by Project Art Works and is in partnership with ActionSpace, Autograph, BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art, Intoart, MK Gallery, Outside in, Photoworks and Venture Arts

Pardip Kapil's Studio Voltaire residency is in partnership with ActionSpace and is part of the Explorers Project. Explorers is led by Project Art Works and is supported by Arts Council England and the Paul Hamlyn Foundation.

  1. Pardip Kapil’s practice is part installation, part happening. He creates spontaneous, site specific, temporary structures and scenes which frequently evolve with the artist as central to the work. He combines installation and impromptu performance with his eccentric hand made costumes and props, found objects, music and projections to create multilayered experiences and moments. Essential to his practice is the public who are invited to engage with and often become part of the work. He explores the recurrent themes of celebrations, Christmas, Discos and FunFairs; reworking his ideas into many varied layouts whilst responding to the environment he’s working in. He documents his work through film and photography, recording the people and himself in his spaces often reworking the footage and images back into the next happening. Pardip’s energetic, often surreal practice is infectious and pure creativity. Since 2010 Kapil has led multiple live art events through ActionSpace’s Live Art programme including ‘Pop Up Pardip’ 2018 and ‘Tubelines’ 2019, Tate Exchange, Tate Modern and Pop Up Pardip’s Zoom Disco, Wandsworth Arts Fringe 2021. 

    www.actionspace.org/artists/pardip-kapil/

  2. Curtly Thomas is a visual artist living in London. His creative practice focuses on photography, sound and performance. Creating narratives around myths and the transformational body, Curtly has performed solo and in different collaborative settings at Auto Italia (London), Kampnagel (Hamburg), Café OTO (London) and The South London Gallery (London). Thomas is a current recipient of the LOEWE FOUNDATION / Studio Voltaire Award. 

  3. ActionSpace is London’s leading development agency for learning disabled artists. They are an exceptional visual arts organisation with big ambitions for all the artists that they work with. They support, advocate and promote diversity within the contemporary visual arts sector. All of their work is focused towards enabling learning disabled artists to have a professional career in the arts.   

    www.actionspace.org

  4. EXPLORERS is a dynamic collaborative programme of art and action that opens up routes into artistic practice for neurominorities, dismantling attitudinal and systemic barriers to representation and rights in art and society. The Explorers Project is supported by Arts Council England and the Paul Hamlyn Foundation.

    www.explorersproject.org 
    www.projectartworks.org

    @Explorers__Project #ExplorersProjec

  5. Pardip Kapil, ‘Part of It’ Tooting Market, 2012. Courtesy the artist and ActionSpace

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