Quench Presents: Nastja Säde Rönkkö In Conversation with Giulia Casalini

Join us for an evening with artist Nastja Säde Rönkkö in-conversation with Giulia Casalini at Quench Gallery, where they will be discussing their artistic practice and screening a selection of short videos from ‘Survival Guide for a Post Apocalyptic Child’.

This satellite event accompanies the main exhibition taking place at Fort Burgoyne (Dover) throughout August, as part of the University for the Creative Arts; curatorial program, curated by Bean. Focusing on the queer, feminist ecological language of the films, Casalini will share specially selected films from the work as part of the discussion.

Nastja Säde Rönkkö:

Nastja Säde Rönkkö is an artist working with video, performance, installation and text. Her projects investigate the relationship between the digital era, power, humanity and the future of our planet. She is particularly fascinated with how concepts such as love, slowness or affection can be silent yet radical ways to be and act in the world. Her practice dreams about the future and explores presence through politics and poetics of emotion.

Rönkkö has exhibited and performed internationally, Recent solo exhibitions include Those Who Kept the Light, Rønnebæksholm Kunsthall, Denmark (2022) and Salt in Our Blood, in Our Sweat, In Our Tears, Beaconsfield Gallery, London (2023).

Her work has won several awards including Best Experimental Film at Hollywood Reel Independent Film Festival, Best Editing, NYC Indie Film Awards, Best Short Film and Best Director in Short Film, Marietta International Film Festival and Seeing the Bigger Picture Award, American Documentary Film Festival and Film Fund (2018). She is the 35th recipient of the Young Artist of the Year 2019 title and award in Finland and recipient of Below Zero Art Prize (2023).

Giulia Casalini:

Giulia Casalini is an independent curator-artist based in London. Her research explores artists/collectives from across the globe whose live art practices have been informed by queer-feminist politics, aesthetics and ethics beyond the ‘Western’ canons. Since 2012 she is the co-director of the non-profit arts organization Arts Feminism Queer (CUNTemporary).

Her curatorial practice engages with challenging feminist perspectives to create multidisciplinary exhibitions and events across both institutional and alternative spaces. Selected projects: EcoFutures, a 3-week festival tackling the implications of gender, sexuality and race in ecological discourses (April 2019, London); Still Burning, a womxn group show (Varbergs Konsthalle, Sweden, 2019); Transitional States, touring exhibition exploring hormonal therapies across art and science (Project Space Plus, Lincoln; Peltz Gallery, London; Labs Gallery, Bologna; CCCB, Barcelona, 2017-2018); Transformer, exhibition re-make of the 1974 show exploring transvestism in the arts (Richard Saltoun Gallery, London, 2014).