ROTTERDAM.- Kunstinstituut Melly opens a new season of exhibitions and programs on Friday, September 20, 2024.

The season introduces the program of the new director, Gabi Ngcobo, and sets the tone for the following years. Embracing improvisation as an ongoing conceptual approach, the exhibitions and programs explore what it means to work and act in favor of freedom.

September also kickstarts educational initiatives and partnerships that build momentum toward future directions. In collaboration with our new neighbors Hiphophuis, we have invited several artists to transform our ground-floor convening space and bookshop, MELLY. Additionally, we are proud to launch the sixth edition of our ‘’Collective Learning in Practice’’ (CLiP) program, which invites former participants to create a new curriculum for CLiP participants of the future.

Pickup Notes: with Liz Johnson Artur, Madiha Sikander and Zara Julius

Pickup Notes is a group exhibition that features work by Liz Johnson Artur, Madiha Sikander and Zara Julius. The title refers to notes that occur before the first downbeat of a piece of music. Pickup Notes create a sense of motion and anticipation and are used to establish a tone delivered in rhythmic waves in a musical piece. Liz will show a series of cyanotype prints drawn from her Black Balloon Archive developed over 30 years. Madiha will present Majmua, a large “curtain” assembled with cloves, beads and microfilaments and Zara will present a video titled “Maroon Time.”

First Double 1, 2: with Jabu Arnell, Luana Vitra, Nolan Oswald Dennis, and Sara Sejin Chang (Sara van der Heide)

First Double 1 & 2, which takes its title from a song and collaborative album by South African musicians Madala Kunene, Baba Mokoena, and Sibusiso Mndaweni frames five solo presentations by Cihad Caner, Jabu Arnell, Luana Vitra, Nolan Oswald Dennis, and Sara Sejin Chang (Sara van der Heide). The song’s lyrics connect seemingly unrelated activities—such as a mother going to the marketplace, a father on his way to bet on horses, people going to vote and anti-colonial resistance chants. Similarly, the solo presentations reflect deeper connections between everyday life and broader socio-political themes. They explore diverse yet interconnected topics that think about spiritual technologies, the extraction of minerals, land-related questions, queer cosmologies, and the recollection of historical events.

Cihad Caner, (Re)membering the riots in Afrikaanderwijk in 1972 or guest, host, ghos-ti / Jabu Arnell, Turn off the Lights: Disco Ball #13, A Kind of Black / Luana Vitra, The beads of my rosary are artillery bullets / Nolan Oswald Dennis, geo-logics / Sara Sejin Chang (Sara van der Heide), Dismemberment

Kunstinstituut Melly mission is to organize activities on the latest developments in contemporary art and theory. The institution creates exhibitions, publications, and educational programs of artistic value and cultural significance. It also commissions new projects, supports innovative research, and advocates cultural partnerships. Kunstinstituut Melly welcomes year-round audiences in its +3,500 m2 19th-century building, located at 50 Witte de Withstraat in the Cool District in Rotterdam, the Netherlands.

Kunstinstituut Melly is supported by the Municipality of Rotterdam and the Ministry of Education, Culture, and Science in the Netherlands. The 2024 program is supported by the Hartwig Foundation and Droom en Daad. The solo exhibitions of Jabu Arnell and Luana Vitra are supported by Ammodo. New commissions of Nolan Oswald Dennis, Luana Vitra and Jabu Arnell were produced through the Hartwig Art Production Fund. Additional project support is obtained from individual donations and foundation grants.