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/