DANCING THROUGH TIME COMMISSIONS ANNOUNCED
We are delighted to announce that Francis Augusto and Jordan Baseman have each been awarded a commission via the recent Dancing Through Time open call. Both artists will exhibit new work made during the commission period as part of FORMAT25. Our Curatorial Team and Project Coordinator will work closely with the two artists for the next few months to develop their projects.
We are delighted to announce that Francis Augusto and Jordan Baseman have each been awarded a commission via the recent Dancing Through Time open call. Both artists will exhibit new work made during the commission period as part of FORMAT25. Our Curatorial Team and Project Coordinator will work closely with the two artists for the next few months to develop their projects.
Francis Augusto
Francis Augusto (b. 1993) is an Angolan-born artist known for his observational approach to image-making. His practice, deeply influenced by his background as a refugee fleeing the civil war and his sociology degree, operates at the intersection of social research, documentary, and art. Exploring themes of self, mundanity, and interaction, Augusto’s works invite viewers into the frame, as evident in his recent major project, “Songs of Love & Loss,” which was awarded the Arts Council England grant in 2023. This social documentary approach to image-making is visible in his commercial and editorial work for Fuji, Nike, and Bloomberg.
Perpetually fascinated by the nuances of our existence and social interaction, I find myself drawn to unravelling our shared human experiences. In particular, utilising analogue photography and film, I am curious about how we interact, the meanings we ascribe to the world around us, and the ways in which we perceive ourselves. My practice is greatly influenced by my social science degree and upbringing in London as an asylum seeker from Angola. I spent most of my early years in the UK observing, which has lent itself to my quasi-ethnographic approach to my practice. I am passionate about adventure and enjoy pushing the boundaries of photography as an art form and incorporating social research or social theory. My ongoing series, Water, exemplifies this evolution as I incorporate social research to create a vulnerable and thought-provoking work. My work combines an interest in social theory and visual art, mainly focused on the self, vulnerability, and the everyday. With this approach and thinking, my art aims to spark curiosity, nurture empathy, and illuminate the threads that bind us.
Jordan Baseman
Jordan Baseman is a visual artist and filmmaker. He received a BFA from Tyler School of Art, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and an MA from Goldsmith’s College, University of London. Baseman is currently the Reader in Time-Based Media, Senior Tutor in Moving Image at the Royal College of Art, London.
Baseman has a long history of creating projects in collaboration with UK-based and international, not-for-profit and public institutions. The artworks are installations, audio works, and single-screen films. Jordan Baseman’s films are frequently featured in international exhibitions and film festivals.
Jordan Baseman is represented by Matt’s Gallery London.
The commissioned projects will be exhibited as part of FORMAT International Photography Festival biennale which will take place between 13 March and 6 April 2025 in various venues in the city of Derby. Some exhibitions may last until June 2025.
Dancing Through Time Overview
Dancing Through Time: from Pop to Punk in the City of Derby is an exciting new heritage project that will explore the social clubs, dance clubs, dance movements and music scenes in Derby from 1960 to 1979/80. This project is a partnership between: QUAD/ FORMAT and Déda. The project will celebrate the unique social history of Derby people and places and is generously funded by The National Lottery Heritage Fund, thanks to National Lottery players.
Many people of Derby and Derbyshire and further afield will have memories of Derby’s famous venues such as the Locarno, Clouds (which was previously called Cleopatra’s) and those venues considered more ‘infamous’, such as the Ajanta cinema – venues all now unfortunately long gone, repurposed anew as restaurants, or in some cases demolished, lost to time.
By covering the early 1960s to the late1970s we will chart the social-economic history of Derby against the backdrop of great societal change in the UK – from the summer of love and a more permissive 1960s, through the dour 1970s – including the 3-day week, political unrest and blackouts, to the rise of Thatcherism and the pending miner’s strike of 1984.