prada mode's traveling social club opens in london with installation by theaster gates

the third edition of prada mode (see previous coverage here) saw prada‘s traveling social club occupy 180 the strand, an iconic brutalist building in the heart of london for two days during frieze 2019. the private club presented a new installation by american artist theaster gates along with a dynamic live program that included performances and talks created in collaboration with the vinyl factory and the showroom, london. titled collective intimacy, the program drew from gates’s ethos of collaboration and togetherness, taking on multiple trans-located narratives of the current black experience as the point of departure for a cosmopolitan worldview.

all images © henry woide, courtesy of prada

prada mode is organized to augment and extend significant cultural events in various cities worldwide, with its inaugural iteration taking place during art basel: miami beach in december of 2018, and followed by a second at art basel: hong kong in march 2019. this time, the club traveled to london, where its members could enjoy a unique art experience along with music, dining, and conversations, over the course of the two-day period during frieze art fair 2019. inside, a new chapter of theaster gates’s black image corporation project explored further the visual and cultural representation of contemporary black identity and material culture, from the legacy of ebony and jet magazines in the johnson publishing company’s iconic archives, old record stores from the artist’s hometown in the south side of chicago, and the powerful creative energy currently pulsing through london.

gates’s new installation offered distinct spaces for people to gather, listen, converse, and contemplate amongst a fusion of art, architecture, music, and everyday life, exploring the methodologies of urban renewal and community activation found in the artist’s collaborative projects worldwide. members could enjoy a screening room featuring gates’s new films along a selection of videos by emerging artists; a DJ plinth where the vinyl factory radio and london-based creative collectives hosted radio sessions and activated records from the artist’s dr wax collection; a mississippi shack where guests could encounter ceramic objects and enjoy more intimate conversations; and the temple, where art and music performances came to life and radiated throughout.

in addition, prada mode launched collective intimacy, a live program of performances and talks in collaboration with the vinyl factory and the showroom, london. a series of interdisciplinary interventions by artists, musicians, cultural producers, collectives and members of the public took place, with the current black experience as a point of departure, distorting ideas of togetherness and selfhood in the spirit of creating a temporary global community. panel discussions and screenings involved luminaries from the fields of fashion design, literature, fine art, and collectives, such as grace wales bonner, larry achiampong, phoebe boswell, postscript, and thick/er black lines, while live performances featured dancers, singers, musicians, and poets, including julianknxx, nephertiti oboshie schandorf, inua ellams, and more.