In the context of The Ten Murders of Josephine, the solo-exhibition by Rana Hamedeh, Witte de With presents a masterclass by the artist followed by an interactive exercise led by Witte de With curatorial fellow Grégory Castéra in the context of his Council research project.

The Ten Murders of Josephine is an Opera project by artist Rana Hamadeh commencing with the current exhibition on view at Witte de With and leading up to a theatrical production in December 2017. Constituted of a system of interplaying sonic zones where several characters or events manifest as a dramaturgy across a forty-minute looping score, The Ten Murders of Josephine investigates the boundaries between valid and invalid speech.

The masterclass will commence with a film viewing of Bamboozled, the 2001 Spike Lee satire on race in America and the television industry. Through a reading of the movie, Hamadeh will explore notions of the spectacle and the validity of the (documental) voice, notions central to her practice. Together participants will analyze and discuss the movie’s sources, and pick apart the different cinematographic building blocks as edits, sound, and lighting as inspirations that feed into the work and dramaturgy of Hamadeh.

Following, participants will join Grégory Castéra in an exercise in assembly. Following Castéra’s current research on curating assemblies, he will propose a series of conversations and body exercises to inquire how collective action produces knowledge.

This program is open to students, artists, practitioners from the arts and sciences, and everyone interested.