I Am...

JMCAnderson (a.k.a Jade-Marie Anderson) is a Curator and Artist who has been inspired by the recent movements of The Black Lives Matter protests and research into how text has been used politically within creative activism, revealing beautiful examples of human evil and human possibility.

’I Am…’ is a performance piece and intervention that will occur over the Festival’s middle weekend, highlighting diversity and culture within Norfolk. It will be the remaking of the ‘I Am A Man’ poster and happenings, that was a declaration of civil rights during the Memphis riots in 1968, by the African- American sanitation workers, and was subsequently taken-up at the Martin Luther King memorial march. Later on, conceptual artist Glenn Ligon’s Untitled (I Am A Man) 1988, captured and explored the slogan to confront the themes of language, identity, race and sexuality.

The public will have the chance to sign up to a workshop where they will be able to join JMCAnderson in creating their very own human billboards, by finishing off the ‘I Am…’ sentence. They will be able to reflect on their own identity, experiences and what matters to them. Participants will have the option of joining JMCAnderson in her performance Outside The Forum on Saturday 22 May as part of our Garden Party Weekend, wearing the work they have created.

Sign up for the I Am… workshop is now closed. See the I Am… performance Outside the Forum on Saturday 22 May.

About JMCAnderson

Located in the field of contemporary art, JMCAnderson (Jade-Marie Anderson) is a Curator, Artist and Facilitator. Whilst both her practices inform one another, Anderson’s curatorial practice explores thought activity located in the development of an idea. She specifically challenges the artistic roles in connecting the acts of seeing and telling, and her current exploration involves collaboration, cocreation and co-curation. She has found a passion for working with communities, from working at Firstsite as Programme Assistant (2019 – 2020) and currently as Coordinator at Young Norfolk Arts Trust.

She has co-design the ‘We Came Here To Conquer’, publication for Norwich Castle Museum (2017) and has curated exhibitions such as ‘In This Moment’, an online exhibition for Isthisit? (2018), Associate Curator for ‘We: You, Me’, Firstsite, Colchester (2017) and ‘Mind.Language.Matter’ at St Marys Works, Norwich (2017).

Anderson’s artistic practice, focuses on the questioning of language and is influenced by theories on semiotics and visual tautologies. Language becomes the object of enquiry and is used in order to translate ideas and concepts. She usually creates large-scale installations using text-based art, digital media, sculptures and paintings.

She has been involved in residencies at St Marys Works, Norwich (2016) and Cyprus College of Art, Paphos (2018). She has also most recently exhibited at First Light Festival, Lowestoft (2019).