Generating a new art project in the city

Aspex presents Boîte-en-Valise: Generator, ​a collaborative project taking place in Portsmouth, at the Preview Week of the Venice Biennale and at Syracuse in America.

Six established and emerging artists from England and America – working with three curators and audiences in Portsmouth – are developing new work for transport and presentation.

Each artist is transporting the means to generate new artwork within a normal-sized suitcase. This will be taken as luggage, on a plane, train or bus journey and be presented without any fixing to walls or floors of the venues.

The six artists will bring together works including sculpture, performance, video, photography and sound.

While in the UK, each of the six artists will be working with community groups in Portsmouth, and leading workshops at Aspex, to develop their artworks. As a result, audiences in Portsmouth will contribute to the international presentation of these artworks.

This Friday, from 4pm to 6pm, there will be an opportunity to meet the artists and curators at Aspex and learn more about their work before their journey to Venice.

Visitors to the preview week of the Venice Biennale are also invited to join the artists on May 10-11.

Then in autumn, Syracuse University in New York will feature all of the artists and their work.

Syracuse University provides an international critical space for artists and curators to consider the project, while connecting back through live-streaming to the people who took part in the initial development and production phase here in Portsmouth.

The project is a partnership between curator Mark Segal, theartists​agency, Aspex and the University of Syracuse. It is funded by the National Lottery through Arts Council England and Syracuse University and supported by Arts University Bournemouth. For information go to aspex.org.uk