About

A Decorating Dissidence Project

Take Dada Seriously!

In 1920, the International Dada Fair shocked Berlin. The era’s most radical, experimental artists showcased shockingly confrontational works that lampooned the establishment and ripped up the rules of conventional art. The collage and photomontage work on display reflected a broken society that had been shattered by violent conflict and rampant capitalism.

Decorating Dissidence

The decorative is political. Craft is powerful. We host workshops, curate exhibitions and facilitate discussions on the topics of decorative art. We trace the lineage of modernist making legacies to the contemporary and bring to light stories of marginalised makers.

Decorating Dissidence is an interdisciplinary project exploring the political, aesthetic & conceptual qualities of craft from modernism to the contemporary. The project brings together art practitioners, makers, curators, activists and academics to break down disciplinary boundaries and find new ways to critically engage with feminist art history. It opens up a space for intergenerational dialogue between contemporary and modernist makers, in order to reveal the lasting legacies of marginalised women artists who worked at the dissident intersections between established mediums and modes of modern art.

Decorating Dissidence is run by Jade French, Suzanna Petot, and Dr Lottie Whalen.

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