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Master of Reality: Talks on Nelson’s Exhibition

PAST EVENT
Fri 24 Mar 2023, 3pm
Level 5 Function Room, Green Side, Royal Festival Hall
Talks & debates
From £10
past event
past event
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Installation view of Mike Nelson, The Deliverance and The Patience, interior, 2001. Various materials. Various materials. Photo: Liam Harrison. Courtesy the artist and the Hayward Gallery.

In an afternoon of talks, speakers from architecture, literature, neuroscience and psychoanalysis unpack themes raised in Mike Nelson: Extinction Beckons.

Panel 1 is chaired by artist Babak Ghazi, joined by neuroscientist Dr Fatima Maria Felisberti and psychoanalytic psychotherapist Douglas Gill.

Panel 2 is chaired by curator Claire Louise Stanton, with writer Roger Luckhurst and architect Andrew Clancy.

Following the panels, all of the speakers come together for a discussion chaired by artist, theorist and educator Bill Balaskas.

Dr Fatima Maria Felisberti is a neuroscientist working as an associate professor at Kingston University London. Her research focuses on visual perception at the confluence of mental imagery, emotions, and empirical aesthetics. She has PhDs in Biological Cybernetics (MPI, Germany) and Neuroscience (USP, Brazil).

Douglas Gill is a visual artist, performance artist and art therapist who trained in psychoanalytic psychotherapy with The Philadelphia Association (RD Laing). He is co-founder of therapeutic arts charity Studio Upstairs, member of The SITE for Contemporary Psychoanalysis and The Association for Group and Individual Psychotherapy.

Babak Ghazi is an artist.

Roger Luckhurst is a writer and academic. He has written the Corridors: Passages of Modernity, Gothic: An Illustrated History and the BFI Classics book on The Shining, all of which display a mild obsession with labyrinths. He teaches at Birkbeck College, University of London.

Andrew Clancy is an architect. He is Professor of Architecture at the Kingston School of Art, director of Dublin-based Clancy Moore architects, and board member of the Irish Arts Council. His primary interest is in architecture's role as a gathering of multiple contingencies, and the potential for meaning to be found in their weaving.

Claire Louise Staunton is a curator, researcher and organiser. She holds a PhD from the Royal College of Art and her expanded research practice addresses the intersection between art, politics and housing development. Staunton is currently co-editing a book on Artist Placement Group, curating a project on housing associations for Three Rivers/Peabody in Bexley and lecturing at Goldsmiths College.

Bill Balaskas is an artist, theorist and educator. He is Director of Research, Business and Innovation at the School of Arts of Kingston University, London, and the Founding Director of the Centre for Practice Research in the Arts.

The day is organised in collaboration with the Centre for Practice Research in the Arts of Kingston University, London.

Mike Nelson (b. 1967, lives and works in London) creates psychologically charged and atmospheric installations that take viewers on enthralling journeys into fictional worlds that eerily echo our own.

Nelson represented Great Britain at the 54th Venice Biennale in 2011 and has shown in leading galleries around the world.

He has also been featured in numerous international exhibitions, including the 13th Biennale of Sydney, the eighth Istanbul Biennial and the 13th Lyon Biennale.

Need to know

Schedule
3pm – 3.45pm: Panel 1 – Dr Fatima Maria Felisberti (neuroscientist) and Douglas Gill (psychoanalytic psychotherapist), chaired by Babak Ghazi (artist)
3.45pm – 4pm: Break
4pm – 4.45pm: Panel 2 – Roger Luckhurst (writer) and Andrew Clancy (architect), chaired by Claire Louise Stanton (curator)
4.45pm – 5pm: Break
5pm – 5.30pm: Discussion with all speakers, chaired by Bill Balaskas (artist, theorist and educator)
5.30pm – 6.30pm: Drinks reception

Dates & times

Fri 24 Mar 2023, 3pm

Approximate run time: 3 hours 30 mins.

Run times may vary by up to 20 minutes as they can be affected by last-minute programme changes, intervals and encores.

Price

  • Standard entryFrom £10*
  • ConcessionsStudents £5**


* Excludes £3.50 booking fee.

Book as early as you can to ensure the best choice of tickets. Ticket prices may be adjusted without notice to reflect demand.

** Limited availability. Read about concessions.

Tickets can only be sold through the Southbank Centre and our authorised agents, and can't be resold. You can return your tickets to the Southbank Centre for a credit voucher up to 48 hours before the event. Tickets resold on any third-party platforms will become invalid.

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Venue

Royal Festival Hall

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The Royal Festival Hall is open to all for access to the Level 2 foyers and toilets, Level 1 and Changing Places toilets, the National Poetry Library, Skylon, Riverside Terrace Cafe, Southbank Centre Shop and Members' Lounge at the following times:

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**On event days, the Royal Festival Hall building remains open until the end of the event.

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Find out all you need to know about tickets, including concessions, group bookings, returns, credit vouchers and more, via the link below.

Frequently asked questions

As well as a 2,700 capacity auditorium, the Royal Festival Hall is also where you'll find our Welcome Desk and Ticket Office, Festival Bar & Kitchen, Ballroom Cafe, The Clore Ballroom, National Poetry Library, Members’ Lounge and Skylon.

Toilets

Toilets, including accessible toilets, are open on Level 2 of the Royal Festival Hall. 

A Changing Places toilet is located on Level 1 Royal Festival Hall next to the JCB Glass Lift, for the exclusive use of disabled people who need personal assistance to use the toilet.

The facility includes a height-adjustable bench, tracking hoist system, a centrally-placed toilet, a height-adjustable basin and a shower. The facility is open daily 10am – 11pm.

Please visit the Welcome Desk on Level 2, Royal Festival Hall, where a member of staff can provide you with the key. You can also use the phone next to the Changing Places toilet to speak to a member of staff. 

Cloakroom

There's a cloakroom in the Blue Side Foyer, Level 4, Royal Festival Hall. It’s £1 per item, card only. The cloakroom opens about an hour before ticketed events, and closes around 15 minutes after the performance ends. It can be accessed via Lifts 4 & 5, Blue Side, Royal Festival Hall.

Any sized item can be left in our cloakroom, including fold-away bicycles. We don’t accept non-folding bicycles. Items must be collected on the same day they are stored. From time to time, the cloakroom may not be available. You won’t be able to bring any bags over 40 x 25 x 25cm into the auditorium of the Royal Festival Hall or the Queen Elizabeth Hall, or into the Hayward Gallery, so please leave large bags at home.

Items are left in our cloakrooms at the owner’s risk, and we cannot accept any responsibility for loss or damage, from any cause, to these items.

We're cash-free

Please note that we're unable to accept cash payments across our site. 

Booking wheelchair positions

When booking a wheelchair position in the Royal Festival Hall for large motorised wheelchairs (more than 65cm wide), please book in the rear stalls or side stalls. Boxes aren't able to accommodate larger wheelchairs due to limited space. If you have any queries, please contact [email protected] or call 020 3879 9555.

Entering the hall

For level access to the Royal Festival Hall from the Queen Elizabeth Hall Slip Road off Belvedere Road, please use the Southbank Centre Square Doors. The JCB Glass Lift is situated at this entrance and will take you to all floors. All floors are accessible from the main foyer on Level 2. If you need further assistance, our Visitor Assistants are here to help you.

You can also use the external lift near the Artists' Entrance on Southbank Centre Square to reach Mandela Walk, Level 2. 

We welcome wheelchair users and guide companion dogs. 

Download step-free access map

More about Access & facilities

Parking

Blue Badge holders and those with access requirements can be dropped off on the Queen Elizabeth Hall Slip Road off Belvedere Road (the road between the Royal Festival Hall and the Hayward Gallery).

There are four Blue Badge parking spaces available for visitors located on the Queen Elizabeth Hall Slip Road. Spaces are allocated on a first-come, first-served basis, and are free to use. You must display your Blue Badge as you enter the site. Vehicles that do not display a Blue Badge are refused entry.

Blue Badge parking at National Theatre

Alternative parking for Blue Badge holders visiting the Southbank Centre can be found at the National Theatre car park (330 metres). If you are visiting the Hayward Gallery, just take your badge and car park ticket to the Ticket Desk in the gallery foyer for validation before you leave.

Please note: when the National Theatre building is closed (on Sundays, and on days without performances) there is no step-free access from the car park. Please contact the National Theatre directly to check before travelling. Call 020 7452 3961 or email [email protected]

Alternative parking is available nearby at the APCOA Cornwall Road Car Park (490 metres), subject to charges.

Blue Badge parking at APCOA Cornwall Road

Alternative parking for Blue Badge holders visiting the Southbank Centre can also be found at the South Bank Car Park – APCOA Cornwall Road Car Park. Just take your badge and car park ticket to the parking attendant office at the entrance to the car park for validation before you leave.

A drop-off point at the Royal Festival Hall (30 metres) has been created for visitors who are unable to walk from alternative car parks.

Our Access Scheme

If you have any access requirements, please sign up to our Access Scheme for discounts, wheelchair spaces, dedicated seats and free companion tickets. You can also join our mailing list to get news about accessible events and exhibitions.

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More about our Access Scheme

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