Catharsis Conference, May 2025
Ekow Eshun and Tschabalala Self in conversation with Claude Grunitzky (Tuesday, May 13, 2025).
Ekow Eshun is a writer and curator. He is Chairman of the Fourth Plinth, overseeing Britain’s foremost public art programme, and the former Director of the Institute of Contemporary Arts, London. Described by Vogue as “the most inspired - and inspiring - curator in Britain”, he has staged acclaimed exhibitions internationally and is a contributor to publications including Vogue, the New York Times, Financial Times and the Guardian. He is the author of books including, most recently, The Strangers, longlisted for the Gordon Burn Prize and the Jhalak Prize. He was a judge for the Turner Prize 2024 and a member of the jury for the British Pavilion at the Venice Biennale 2024.
Tschabalala Self (b.1990 Harlem, New York) lives and works in the Hudson Valley, New York. Self is an artist who builds a singular style from the syncretic use of painting, printmaking and sculpture to explore ideas surrounding the black body. She constructs depictions of predominantly women using a combination of sewn, printed, and painted materials, traversing different artistic and craft traditions. The formal and conceptual aspects of Self’s work seek to expand her critical inquiry into selfhood and human flourishing. Recent solo exhibitions and performances include Longlati Foundation, Shanghai (2025); Espoo Museum of Modern Art, Finland (2024); Kunstmuseum, St. Gallen (2023); Le Consortium, Dijon (2022); Performa 2021 Biennial, New York City (2021); Baltimore Museum of Art, Baltimore (2021); ICA, Boston (2020); Hammer Museum, Los Angeles (2019); Art Omi, Ghent (2019); Frye Art Museum, Seattle (2019) and Yuz Museum, Shanghai (2018).