ICA is closed from the 30 May – 3 June inclusive.
12 October 2021 – 30 January 2022
Artist Bios
As night falls on 11th October a rogue frequency is transmitted from London’s Mall. This frequency sits below popular channels, infecting smart devices with bursts of encrypted data with no beginning and no end. Offering an alternative to algorithmic censorship and cultural extraction. Beyond notions of history, place and time.
– Nine Nights
Channel B is an audio-visual exploration of Black futurism by the Black-owned art, music, and creative initiative Nine Nights. The exhibition features sound and video installations by founding artists Gaika, GLOR1A and Shannen SP. At the heart of Channel B is the live event series New Syntax, which sees each installation act as staging to host performances by Black artists from across the world.
Nine Nights emerged in May 2020 to counter the systemic racial inequalities of the global music industry by exploring new modes of artistic empowerment. Founded in response to the persistent undervaluing of Black people, the growing protest movement, and the current pandemic’s impact on nightlife and live music, Nine Nights has one purpose – to support Black culture.
The work of the exhibiting artists is rooted in the electronically mutated rhythms of the diaspora that pulse through every city, every night. Drawing on a lineage of pirate radio, subterranean dance floors, and the art happenings of the 1960s, Channel B is nostalgic for an unknown past and committed to the imaginaries of a future. The installations use speculative fiction, experimental sound, and satire to explore contemporary digital issues such as surveillance and non-human intelligence.
Nine Nights will create a future archive of Black counterculture at each New Syntax event, with each installation becoming a transmitter, recorder, and broadcaster. Featuring one-off contributions from performers, live musicians and artists working with electronic music, sound and movement, New Syntax invites both present and online audiences to participate in re-imagining the future.
Nine Nights is a new music concept featuring thoughtfully curated Black artists across the world, spanning music, performance, poetry and spoken word. The name 'Nine Nights' is rooted in Jamaican tradition that celebrates the life and safe passing for those deceased over nine nights. This ‘dead yard’ series is for those who have lost their lives at the hands of racism, police brutality and COVID, to celebrate their existence, and push for change. We want a new system, one that helps develop Black lives in music, art and community.
Artist Bios
Above photographs © Anne Tetzlaff
The inherent contradictions and systematic inequality at the heart of the global music industry frequently results in Black artists sustaining its ecosystem yet consistently being undermined by it. Combined with the persistent undervaluing of Black people, the growing protest movement and the global pandemic’s impact on nightlife and live work, Nine Nights emerged in May 2020 as an attempt at exploring new modes of artistic empowerment that supports life and community directly with labour. Founded by Channel B exhibiting artists and Zara Truss-Giles, Nine Nights has one purpose – to support Black culture.
Support from Good Measure Studio (Volumetric video specialist), HTC Vive Arts (Virtual Reality partner) and SUBPAC (Tactile audio platform).
Thanks to the following for their work on GLOR1A’s installation SWARM: Strap fabricator: Abdul Hamid; Music: Barkley Bandon; and Editor: Jessica Au.
And for their work on Dark Matter Inc.: Dress: Joanna Prazmo; and Mix Engineer: Tony Bennet.
Ticket information
- All tickets that do not require ID (full price, disabled, income support) can be printed at home or stored in email
- For aged-based concession tickets (under 25, student and pensioner) please bring relevant ID to collect at the front desk before the event.
Programme
Friday 28 January
Nine Nights host their final closing party with performances from LD, Belinda Zhawi, BRBKO + Friends, Deacon, GLOR1A, NGBLK, RAX, Rowdy SS, Shay UFO, and The Yardman.
6 – 30 January
A rotary dial telephone hacked to play lullabies.
6 – 30 January
New works by artists biarritzzz, GLOR1A and LVLZ explore speculative fiction, human psyche and consciousness.
6 – 30 January
An imagined story through CGI and field recordings produced in Freetown, Sierra Leone.
12 January – ongoing
A four-hour celebration of Jamaican club culture with visuals from ’90s cult films Babymother and Dancehall Queen.
14 – 30 January
Kibwe Tavares’ film follows young robots surviving at the sharp end of inner city life, living in poverty, disillusionment and mass unemployment.
Wednesday 26 January
A talk on the importance of the Black Artist Database by DJ and co-founder NIKS.
Friday 21 January
A full takeover of Channel B with performances and video pieces.
Synth Workshop: Distribution of Power
Tuesday 18 January
Artists Rebekah Alero and Zara Truss-Giles invite you to their second workshop on modular and hardware synthesis exploration
Tuesday 18 January
Artists Rebekah Alero and Zara Truss-Giles invite you to their second workshop on modular and hardware synthesis exploration
Tuesday 14 December
A sonic experience for a small audience to gather together and explore new work in progress. With DJ Tash LC and Club Yeke.
3 – 10 December
A durational moving image project investigation into Blackness and Diaspora.
Synth Workshop: Distribution of Power
Tuesday 30 November
Tuesday 30 November
An evening of modular and hardware synthesis exploration with Rebekah Alero and Zara Truss-Giles.
Zatoichi – GAIKA
Thursday 18 November, 6 – 10pm
A dance inside the War Island installation to celebrate the release of GAIKA’s single ‘Zatoichi’, with A.G, GAIKA b2b Serocee (Dancehall Special), Maybe Anton, Sandra Omari, Trim + MJK, and special unannounced guests.
A dance inside the War Island installation to celebrate the release of GAIKA’s single ‘Zatoichi’, with A.G, GAIKA b2b Serocee (Dancehall Special), Maybe Anton, Sandra Omari, Trim + MJK, and special unannounced guests.
Central Hype
Every Wednesday and Thursday in November, 4 – 9pm
Channel B invites dance collective Central Hype to use SWARM as a working progress performance space for practice, development and more hype. Audiences are invited to watch the rehearsals.
Friday 5 November
Black Futures presents an afternoon of works in progress featuring Danielle Braithwaite-Shirley, Nina Bowers, Ta-Nia and Nine Nights.
Saturday 30 October
Scuti, Big Sick, Lori Asha, Peezly, D Wills
Scuti, Big Sick, Lori Asha, Peezly, D Wills
New Syntax 2
Thursday 28 October 2021
Mykki Blanco reading From The Silence Of Duchamp To The Noise Of Boys, Ojerime, MikeQ with Bambi Revlon & Amani Revlon, Joseph Funnell, Chamber 45 B2B Jetsss
New Syntax 1
Monday 11 October 2021
Novelist, UNIIQU3, FAUCI + NWAKKE, Joviale, Tony Njoku
Entry information
The exhibition is open to the public from 12 – 9pm, Tuesday – Sunday.
Tuesday: Free for all visitors
Wednesday – Sunday: £5 (+ £1 booking fee for non-Members), free for all ICA Members
Free exhibition entry with every ticket to the cinema or theatre.
Face coverings are compulsory in the galleries. More on COVID-19 safety
Accessibility
This exhibition contains high-volume audio at certain parts of the galleries and sound fluctuates from quiet to loud.
This exhibition contains flashing lights.
Full access information is available here
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no. 236848.