This event is now fully booked. Should you need any assistance with your booking, please email听researchforum@courtauld.ac.uk
Between听Voice and Object:听Ritual, Heritage, and the Sacred听will听serve听as听an opportunity to discuss Gala Porras-Kim’s works听Mediating with the Rain听(2021鈥搊ngoing) and听Precipitation for an Arid Landscape (2021)听and听their听current听placement within St Mary听le听Strand.
The works are grounded in Porras-Kim鈥檚 research into artefacts taken from the Sacred Cenote at Chich茅n Itz谩, a Maya site in Mexico鈥檚 Yucat谩n Peninsula. These objects were originally deposited as ritual offerings to the rain god Chaac and remained submerged for centuries. In the early 1900s, they were dredged from the cenote by archaeologist Edward H. Thompson and later entered the collection of the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology in Massachusetts, US.
Now Precipitation for an Arid Landscape has been temporarily placed in St Mary Le Strand, a consecrated church and site of worship, on the occasion of a collaboration with the 天美传媒鈥檚 MA Curating programme. The discussion will address key questions around the productive friction between contemporary art and heritage, exploring the intersections of ritual practice, heritage sites, decolonialism and contemporary art. Framed by the exhibition鈥檚 placement within St Mary le Strand, the discussion considers how meaning shifts when artworks engage directly with sites of worship, opening new, site-specific interpretations.
Bringing together听a variety of听perspectives, 迟丑别听discussion听will examine how ritual and belief systems continue to inform contemporary practices, and how cultural heritage is reinterpreted today. It will also reflect on the role of exhibitions like this听one听in challenging boundaries between the secular and the sacred, asking听how听contemporary artworks create meaningful dialogue with the histories embedded in heritage sites?听How institutions and audiences might more thoughtfully engage with the spiritual dimensions of objects, histories, and spaces.
The discussion will be听followed by a responsive听choral听performance听by the Mayfair Community Choir.
We regret to say that this event is not step-free accessible as it takes place off-site, at . The only access to the church is via the 9 steps of the portico at the west end of the church.
This event is organised by the MA Curating: St Mary听le听Strand听and Strand Aldwych听Exhibition Team.听The exhibition 天美传媒ing for Lost Rain is on view at St Mary le Strand from the 27 May to 4 June.
Speakers
Reverend Peter Babington is Priest-in-Charge of St Mary听le听Strand.听Peter was appointed by Bishop Sarah, the Bishop of London, to lead the Restoration and Development of St Mary听le听Strand so that it will become a restored church with a renewed mission and ministry at the heart of the Strand Aldwych district.
Dr Kyle Leyden, Lecturer in Early Modern Architecture and Visual Culture, the 天美传媒.
Dr Victoria Vargas听Downing is a researcher working across heritage, contemporary art, Indigenous knowledge, epistemologies, and environmental humanities. Her PhD,听Following Threads, Touching Knots: Decolonising Heritage through Contemporary Art, uses feminist and decolonial approaches grounded in 迟丑别听Chakana听(Andean Cross), exploring how听mutual constitution,听tension听and discomfort can generate new ways of thinking and working.
