Written by Anna Nesterenko, MA Curating and Collections, Chelsea College of Arts, based in London but originally from Ukraine.

Q. In the lead-up to your work being added to the UAL Graduate Showcase in September, what are you working on?

A. During the past six months together with one of my classmates I was working on the exhibition that is part of the project Testing Ground in the Zabludowicz Collection Gallery. In our exhibition, No Thing is Waiting we bring together 17 multi-generational artists to explore the idea that artworks exist in their own realities, independently from human thought, as autonomous entities. The exhibition also features a virtual space [ www.nothingiswaiting.com ] hosting screenings and digital works. The exhibition is open in the period of 8 July to15 August 2021 and there is a series of curator tours, online screenings, and live performances.

In my course, we are working on the exhibition that will be a response to the Her Noise Archive, which is an archive that includes women artists that work with music and sound. The exhibition will be open both online and offline in the Chelsea Space in September.

Q. How have you found the process in producing your work this year?

A. It was challenging, but interesting. On the one hand, there were many difficulties, but on the other, this year's situation encouraged the development of new formats of work. I have never done a completely online project before and I had to do it for the first time during the work on the exhibition that we were making together with my course group in the period of February to April in the middle of the lockdown. This definitely allowed me to gain new skills in working with the digital space, which I was able to use and improve while working on my exhibition No Thing is Waiting and will continue using in my future projects.

Q Have you had to be creative under restrictions and a blended learning environment?

A. Yes, during the lockdown period my course and I have curated an online exhibition Our Haunted Futures:no one is bored, everything is boring.  This exhibition draws on hauntology, a concept first introduced by French philosopher Jacques Derrida as a return of elements from the past, in the manner of ghosts. It endeavours to reflect on how a contemporary reading of the historic Camberwell Inner London Education Authority (ILEA) Collection shows stagnation in our envisioned futures. The exhibition was live 12 - 24 of April 2021.

We also started to work on No Thing is Waiting remotely in February and have not seen the actual exhibition space till April, which made the work definitely harder but, in the end, we made it through all this.

Q. Do you think the last year’s experiences have been reflected in your work?

A. Yes, we deliberately wanted to include in our exhibition a reference to the pandemic and how people coped with time during this period.  The past year has fundamentally changed how we perceive time, becoming ever more quantified by 40-minute video calls, 5pm press conferences and beer garden booking systems. We wanted to challenge this perception in No Thing is Waiting and encourage people to be in the exhibition space outside of the set time frames.

Q.What are your post-graduation plans?

A. Currently, I am working on the exhibition that will be in London in Autumn 2021 and about which, unfortunately, I cannot share details yet. But I am definitely planning to continue my curatorial practice in the UK and abroad. I am especially interested in the performance and would like to work more with this medium.

Related Links:

• Learn more about Anna's work here
• Follow Anna on Instagram
• Learn more about the exhibition here.

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