Luna Nera has been working as an artist-curator group since 1997 in London. Luna Nera aims to stimulate interest in the environmental and architectural heritage of localities. By asking the audience to re-look at sites in a new way, Luna Nera addresses a series of issues around ideas of society, community, history, memory and public space. Our mission is to reclaim disused or abandoned "forgotten" spaces through art. The work is created and presented in direct response to the environment, transcribing histories, memories, textures and functions into art.

Luna Nera is concerned with exploring the conjunction of theory and practice in site-specific/site-responsive work, through a series of projects that also include text, talks and workshops.

The collective operates as a kind of mobile gallery or institute of urban projects, as a network of projects and persons. We make onsite residencies and researches, and have created a number of large-scale live and visual art events in disused premises, including a Victorian theatre, 17thC underground prison, synagogue, church, and factories in the East London area. We have commissioned various local and international artists to produce live and visual site-responsive works.

Since 2000 Luna Nera has been collaborating and working internationally. In 2000 the group was invited to Russia to work with Dirigible to create POEMA VREMENYI/FLOODPLAIN OF TIME, a large-scale site-responsive project, which was subsequently shown at Moscow Art Fair 2001. In 2002 we worked in Berlin with Gruppe TRO and others at "Helden der Arbeit? Festival of Art in Old Factories" and created projects in a former battery-factory in the historic Obershoeneweide area. This was the begining of an ongoing reciprocal relaitonship with Kunstergruppe TRO. Later in 2002 we were invited to Weimar for the BackUp Media Art in Film festival, to present installation in the e-Werk strassenbahn depot.

In 2003 Luna Nera went to Zurich to take part in the DAdA Festival, where we created live art installations with performance in an old paper factory. In summer 2003 in St Petersburg, we created a site-responsive project in Kronstadt, a historic naval base. In November 2003 Luna Nera made "THE DERELICT SENSATION" site-specific exhibition in the Gothic splendour of the former Midland Grand Hotel in London. In 2004 we returned to Kronstadt to create INTERCONNECTION, an international radio and audio art project with site specific art actions and installations.

Luna Nera is concerned with finding alternative and exciting ways to present art, particularly video art.

Luna Nera's video work has been shown a number of festivals and venues including the Institute of Contemporary Art and Gallery 291in London; the 6e Bienniale Champ Libre MANIFESTATION NTERNATIONALE VIDÉO ET ART ÉLECTRONIQUE, MONTRÉAL; the Paradise Bunker Berlin, the Atelier des Artistes de cité d'Alexandrie, the Manege Central Exhibition Hall St Petersburg, and more.

www.luna-nera.com

 

·         Gillian McIver                                            

·         Sandrine Albert

·         Valentina Floris

·         Julian Ronnefeldt

·         Hilary Powell

·         Ben Foot

·         Natasha Mayran

00130gallery@gmail.com

www.00130gallery.net