With Helena Reckitt (Reader at the Curating Department of Art Goldsmiths, University of London). An out loud reading group exploring citation as a creative, critical, and political tool. No advance reading is required as all texts will be read out loud, together, during the meeting.
Homage, reference, tribute, fandom: citation enables us to trace the lineages that shape and sustain a work, while recognizing the collective nature of knowledge production. The practice of citation foregrounds the porous relationships between writers and readers, as well as the dynamics of influence and inspiration. By consciously refraining from referencing sources that are routinely cited, it becomes possible to question and reverse habits of systemic exclusion. Citation thus extends far beyond the act of referring to a source: it shapes where attention is directed and how we orient ourselves in the world.
This shared reading will prompt discussions about the role and relevance of citational practices within feminist, queer, and decolonial contexts. […]
By Helena Reckitt (Reader at the Curating Department of Art Goldsmiths, University of London)
In her lecture, Helena Reckitt examines the citational practices of contemporary, intersectional feminist artists, writers, and readers. She considers how citation can function as a means of homage and tribute, reparation, and activism. Through creative acts of recitation and circulation, artists and collectives such as Barby Asante, Maja Bekan, Claire Fontaine, The Hildegard von Bingen Society for Gardening Companions, and Mai Ling map their artistic and political lineages. Within long-term artistic and curatorial projects including Read In (Utrecht), Mundos Habitables (Lima), and the Feminist Duration Reading Group (London), the collective reading of overlooked texts challenges established citational habits. Reckitt highlights citation as a tool for questioning entrenched canons while also addressing current critiques of citational methods.
The lecture connects to Moyra Davey’s sustained engagement with the work of other writers and artists, whose practices she cites and references in her own work. In doing […]