Art / arnolfini
Arnolfini project aims to subvert British democracy
An artist and performer who has never voted and has no intention of ever voting is joining forces with other Britons under 30 like herself for a new project at the Arnolfini.
100 years after women were given the right to vote, Sortition by Selina Thompson (pictured above) is described as a “provocative new work (that) turns this moment of democratic history on its head”.
The commission forms part of the final season of 14-18 NOW, the UK’s arts programme to mark the centenary of the First World War.
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Leeds-based Thompson will develop the project this year with non-voters from across the UK, along with what the Arnolfini say are “a team of political provocateurs, experts and troublemakers”.
Sortition will imagine what the country would look like with representatives selected not by election but by lottery – at random.
“Thompson considers the distinction between using your own voice and electing someone to speak for you in a work exploring how young people make themselves heard in Britain today.”
Co-commissioned by 14-18 NOW and the Arnolfini, and supported by the Jerwood Charitable Foundation, Sortition will be presented at Arnolfini in the autumn.
For more information, visit www.arnolfini.org.uk/programme/selina-thompson
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