Event overview
Bob and Roberta Smith (born 1963), is a British contemporary artist, writer, author, musician, art education advocate and keynote speaker; his works have been exhibited in collections in Europe and the United States. Brill also co-founded The Ken Ardley Playboys band, and hosts the Make Your Own Damn Music radio show on Resonance FM. Following a period of 'loser' text and video work, Smith developed a signature style of brightly coloured slogans - bittersweet humorous musing on art, politics, popular culture, Britain and the world in general; these often support his activist campaigns, such as his 2002 amnesty on bad art at Pierogi Gallery, New York. Smith also makes sculpture using cement; a sculpture he proposed was shortlisted for the fourth plinth in Trafalgar Square, London.
In March 2005 he was commissioned to act as curator on a series of five public art projects collectively named Art U Need; writing of the "glittering Notting Hill Gate" event to introduce the project, Lynn Barber said of Smith: "It was a startlingly unsuitable subject for such a glossy audience, but he held them spellbound. I see him as a sort of Ian Dury of the art world, someone who keeps on trucking, doing his own thing, making absolutely no concessions to fashion or marketability, but generally giving pleasure to everyone who comes across him." A feature documentary about the work of Bob and Roberta Smith, Make Your Own Damn Art: the world of Bob and Roberta Smith, directed by John Rogers, premiered at the East End Film Festival in 2012.
He is an advocate for art education and the arts, in 2013 creating the Art Party to make contemporary art more accessible and demonstrate its ability to influence meaningful conversation and political thought; an Arts Council-sponsored two-day conference brought more than 2000 people who attended discussions of art education in schools and lectures, listened to music and attended performances. In May 2015 Bob & Roberta stood as a candidate for election against former Education Minister Michael Gove.
Dates & times
| Date | Time | Add to calendar |
|---|---|---|
| 21 Oct 2015 | 5:30pm - 7:00pm |
Accessibility
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