Hookedblog were invited down to Somerset House in London earlier today for a smoke performance in the Edmond J Safra Fountain Court ahead of the opening of a new show, Venturing Beyond: Graffiti and the Everyday Utopias of the Street. The performance we got to see by Italian born artist Filippo Minelli is part of the artists Silence/Shapes series which will feature in the forthcoming exhibition along with 18 other artists who were commissioned to create works for this show.

Following on from the success of Mapping the City and Futurismo Ancestral (Previously on Hookedblog) Somerset House is once again collaborating with arts organisation A(by)P for this new exhibition Venturing Beyond: Graffiti and the Everyday Utopias of the Street which opens to the public on the 3rd March 2016. The exhibition is also one part of a much larger show at Somerset House, UTOPIA 2016: A Year of Imagination and Possibility which celebrates the 500th anniversary of the publication of Thomas More’s inspirational text and will be the largest ever celebration of this radical work anywhere in the world, spaning the realms of art, literature, fashion, design, architecture, film and more.

The exhibition will explore unsanctioned public art – or graffiti – as an intrinsically utopian practice and showcases specially-commissioned works from Antwan Horfée, Brad Downey, Eltono, Filippo Minelli, Huskmitnavn, Les Freres Ripoulain, Lucas Dillion, Mike Ballard, Misha Hollenbach, Nano4814, Petro, Revok, Russell Maurice, Saeio, Shepard Fairey, Sixe Paredes and Swoon.


The Utopian Flag flying above the South Wing of Somerset House, designed by Jeremy Deller and Fraser Muggeridge studio to launch the Utopia 2016 season.
Filippo Minelli laying out the smoke bombs in sequence around the courtyard.
Minelli takes a step back to document his own smoke performance as the pins are removed from the smoke bombs one by one.


A(by)P and Somerset House have also produced a wide-ranging programme of events that will follow the key themes of the exhibition, including workshops, talks, films, music and additional performances by Filippo Minelli. These series of events are presented in partnership with the UCL Urban Laboratory. For a full list of events, tickets and timing visit the Somerset House website.

Venturing Beyond: Graffiti and the Everyday Utopias of the Street opens to the public on the 3rd March and will run until the 2nd May 2016.
Somerset House, Strand, London, WC2R 1LA.