S4:E1 A Feral Commons... Tairone Bastien in conversation with Stephanie Fortunato

The Three Bells

Summary
In the first episode of our 2024 season, our host Stephanie Fortunato speaks with Tairone Bastien, curator of 'A Feral Commons', a global public art co-commission project that examines the often unrecognized co-dependence and open-ended collaborations between human and non-human beings. The project is led by Alserkal Advisory in collaboration with GCDN and with support from UAP – and features site-specific installations located in three cultural districts worldwide: Alserkal Avenue, Kingston Creative, and Victoria Yards.

Guest bio

Tairone Bastien (he/him) is an independent curator based in Toronto and an Assistant Professor in the Criticism and Curatorial Practice program at Ontario College of Art and Design University. Tairone co-curated the inaugural Toronto Biennial of Art in 2019 and in 2022. From 2011-2016, Tairone established the arts program at Alserkal Avenue and the Alserkal Residency in Dubai, for artists, curators, and researchers in the Middle East, North Africa, and South Asia. From 2005-2010, he was a curator for Performa in New York City, co-organizing the first three editions of the ground-breaking biennial of live performance art. Tairone holds a Master of Art from the Center for Curatorial Studies, Bard College, New York; and a Bachelor’s Degree in Art History with a Minor in Critical Studies in Sexuality from the University of British Columbia.

External references

• A Feral Commons Website: https://aferalcommons.com/
• A Feral Commons Artists
  • Io Makandal: https://iomakandal.com/
  • Muhannad Shono: https://muhannadshono.com/
  • Camille Chedda: https://www.camillechedda.com/
• Alserkal article detailing A Feral Commons: https://alserkal.online/words/the-global-co-commission
• Urban Art Project (UAP): https://www.uapcompany.com/
• Alserkal: https://alserkal.online/
• Kingston Creative:https://kingstoncreative.org/
• Victoria Yards: https://www.victoriayards.co.za/
• Toronto Biennial: https://torontobiennial.org/
• Hassan Sharif: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hassan_Sharif
• Ana Tsing: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anna_Tsing
• Feral Atlas, 79 field reports from scientists, humanists, and artists that show you how to recognize “feral” ecologies: https://feralatlas.org/
• Mushroom at the end of the world: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Mushroom_at_the_End_of_the_World
• Article detailing Chedda’s Art Exhibition: https://our.today/jamaican-camille-chedda-selected-for-climate-themed-art-exhibition/
• Juksgei River, Johannesburg South Africa: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jukskei_River
• Water for the Future, an organization dedicated to reviving the Jukskei river's ecosystem through collaborative, community-based spatial interventions. Collaborating with Makandal on her exhibition: https://www.waterforthefuture.co.za/

LinkedIns

Tairone Bastien : https://www.linkedin.com/in/tairone-bastien-6310608/?originalSubdomain=ca

Alserkal LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/company/alserkal/

Camille Chedda:https://www.linkedin.com/in/camille-chedda-8233bb33/

Io Makandal:https://www.linkedin.com/in/io-makandal-schiess-6b693629/

Instagrams

Muhannad Shono: https://www.instagram.com/muhannad.shono/

Io Makandal: https://www.instagram.com/iomakandal/

Camille Chedda: https://www.instagram.com/camillechedda/

Alserkal: https://www.instagram.com/alserkalavenue/