Dear GDR family, relatives, friends and neighbours

Since the last update, we are happy to inform you once again that “The Grand Domestic Revolution Goes On”

As you know, The Grand Domestic Revolution “went on” successfully at The Showroom, London from 11 September ‘til 28 October 2012. It was exceptionally well attended, also by groups of students. This iteration sought to revive the sprit of GDR – exercising artistic/social modes of cooperation and collaboration that depart from the home, and move on to to the neighbourhood and town. The London leg also extended the meaningful collaboration between Casco and The Showroom, while also allowing experimentation with forms of exhibiting, investigating how an art space might be retooled.

In case you did not have an opportunity to see the exhibition at The Showroom, please read Laura Allsop’s review available in Art Review.

In the new year, GDR continues to evolve at Derry~Londonderry in Northern Ireland, accommodated and extended by their newly set up art centre, the CCA with new directors Aileen Burns and Johan Lundh. ‘GDR GOES ON-Derry’ will open on 26 January and close on 23 March 2013. The exhibition will take a different form once again, to emphasise the haptic experience of the different works and the communicability of a series of activities that embed GDR in locally specific contexts and communities.

Meanwhile at Casco, we continue to draw from GDR, i.e. GDR effectuates our upcoming agenda and mode of operation. Casco will dedicate its 2013-2014 programme to exploring the potentials of the commons and relevant practices in the field of art and social work. On 31 January 2013, this investigation will kick-start at Casco with ‘Revolution at Point Zero’: a debate about the definition of the commons between scholar, teacher and activist Silvia Federici, and professor of Institutions for Collective Action in Historical Perspective at Utrecht University, Tine De Moor. A forum will follow on 1 February with Silvia as well as collective initiatives operating in and out of the field of art, some of which developed over the course of GDR. We look forward to providing you with further information about the event in an upcoming invitation that will be sent to you soon.

Finally, the ‘GDR Catalog’ team has been working tirelessly to put the publication together, now scheduled to launch in March 2013! The publication indexes the materials, proposals, actions, historical precedents and questions emerging from our ongoing exploration of the domestic sphere as a locus for building a commons. It features, over 100 “living research” projects and includes contributions from authors such as Shannon Jackson, Silvia Federici, Doina Petrescu, Stephen Wright, J.K. Gibson Graham, Stavros Stavrides, Lucia Babina, Precarias ala Derive, Sarah van Walsum and Margaret Kohn, amongst others. The publication is edited by Binna Choi and Maiko Tanaka, and designed by Åbäke.

The ‘GDR Catalog’ will embark on a “co-revolution” series of book launches at CCA London-Derry, London; CCA London-Derry; Casco, Utrecht; and Art Metropole, Toronto, with a vibrant set of events aimed at activating and situating some of the GDR “tools” investigated in the publication. Please keep a keen eye on the GDR and Casco websites for details about the book launch events in 2013. You will be able to receive a copy of the catalog at a discounted price at the launch events; and if you are a “family member”, you will be given a complimentary one.

I hope that this small update gives you an idea of how GDR is developing. If you find yourself in the neighbourhood, we look forward to welcoming you at any of the aforementioned occasions. And should the need arise, please feel free to write us at gdr@cascoprojects.org with any queries.

Best wishes on behalf of Binna Choi and Maiko Tanaka,
co-initiators of GDR,
Yolande van der Heide,
Publishing Coordinator

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