Tai Shani

Tai Shani
Born1976
London
NationalityBritish
Known forInstallation, Performance, Film, Image, Photography, Writing, and Poetry.
AwardsTurner Prize, 2019

Tai Shani (born 1976) is a British artist.[1] Shani uses performance, film, photography, sculptural installations and experimental texts to explore forgotten histories and stories. She is currently a Tutor in Contemporary Art Practice at the Royal College of Art.[2] Shani was born in London.

In 2019, her work DC: SEMIRAMIS commissioned by Glasgow International (May–April 2018)[3] and The Tetley, Leeds (July–October 2018),[4][5] and her participation in Still I Rise: Feminisms, Gender, Resistance at Nottingham Contemporary[6] and the De Le Warr Pavilion,[7] Bexhill-on-Sea, was nominated for the Turner Prize.[8][1] She was awarded the Prize, along with three other artists, after jointly requesting from the jury that all four artists win "in the name of commonality, multiplicity and solidarity".[9]

Shani has spoken about the inaccessibility of performance art,[10] as well as against cuts to arts funding and the increasingly "expansionist, market and state-driven managerial approach within museums and galleries", expressing solidarity with striking arts workers during the 2020 pandemic.[11]

  1. ^ a b "Who Are This Year's Turner Prize Nominees? Meet the 4 Provocative Artists Up for the UK's Most Prestigious Art Award". artnet News. 27 September 2019. Retrieved 7 October 2019.
  2. ^ "Tai Shani". Royal College of Art. Retrieved 7 October 2019.
  3. ^ "Tai Shani". Glasgow international. Retrieved 7 October 2019.
  4. ^ "Semiramis". The Tetley. Retrieved 7 October 2019.
  5. ^ "Tai Shani, Semiramis". The White Review. Retrieved 7 October 2019.
  6. ^ Clugston, Hannah (29 October 2018). "Still I Rise: Feminisms, Gender, Resistance review – spells, smoke and taboo-busting". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 7 October 2019.
  7. ^ "Last chance to see Tai Shani's Turner Prize-shortlisted work at DLWP". DLWP, The De La Warr Pavilion, Bexhill, East Sussex. 17 May 2019. Retrieved 7 October 2019.
  8. ^ "Turner Prize 2019 shortlist is announced". 1 May 2019. Retrieved 7 October 2019.
  9. ^ Holland, Oscar (4 December 2019). "Turner Prize won by all four nominees in appeal for 'solidarity'". CNN Style. Retrieved 4 December 2019.
  10. ^ "'Only the Important People Get to See It, and That's a Problem': Tai Shani on the Inaccessibility of Performance Art". artnet News. 14 October 2019. Retrieved 19 October 2020.
  11. ^ Shani, Tai. "Why Art Workers Must Demand the Impossible". artreview.com. Retrieved 19 October 2020.