InIVA

InIVA
Rivington Place - the home of Iniva
Location within Central London
Established	1994
Location	Shoreditch, London EC2, England, United Kingdom
Coordinates	51.5263°N 0.0794°W / 51.5263; -0.0794
Director	Tessa Jackson
Public transit access	Old Street Liverpool Street
Website	www.iniva.org

Iniva (also sometimes written as inIVA) is the Institute of International Visual Art, an arts organisation based in London that represents contemporary artists, curators and writers. It consists of exhibition spaces and the Stuart Hall Library, and together with Autograph ABP, is housed in Rivington Place, their own visual arts centre in Shoreditch, in London’s East End.

Exhibitions

During the course of its 18-year existence, Iniva has hosted and/or produced major solo exhibitions by significant British and international artists, including sculptor Hew Locke ('Kingdom of the Blind', in 2008), filmmaker Zineb Sedira ('Currents of Time' in 2009), Donald Rodney ('In Retrospect', in 2008), Keith Piper ('Relocating the Remains' in 1997), Yinka Shonibare ('Diary of a Victorian Dandy' in 1998) and Guyanese painter Aubrey Williams in 1998.

The institute has also raised the profile of many artists to a wider UK public, including Israeli conceptual artist Roee Rosen, British painter Kimathi Donkor, British filmmaker Alia Syed, Indian conceptual group Raqs Media Collective and British contemporary artist Joy Gregory.

History

Iniva was founded in 1994 with a remit to address a perceived imbalance in the way culturally diverse artists, curators were being represented in the UK. Funded by Arts Council England and governed by a Board of Trustees, the institute has worked with artists, curators, creative producers, writers and the public to explore and reflect cultural diversity in the visual arts. Until 2008, cultural theorist and sociologist Stuart Hall was chair of Iniva and Autograph ABP.

Iniva's first director was Gilane Tawadros, followed in 2005 by international curator Sebastian Lopez, then the curator and cultural historian Dr Gus Casely-Hayford and, most recently, Tessa Jackson, former chief executive of the Scottish Arts Council.

Gallery and Library

Iniva and Autograph ABP partnered to build Rivington Place, a five-floor, 15,000-square-foot (1,400 m²) visual arts centre in East London. The £5 million building was designed by architect David Adjaye and opened to the public on 5 October 2007. It was the first publicly funded, purpose-built international visual arts venue constructed in London since the Hayward Gallery opened more than 40 years earlier. Rivington Place houses two exhibition spaces and the Stuart Hall Library, as well as art education and seminar rooms - plus the offices of Iniva and Autograph.

Publishing

Iniva operates as an arts publishing house, often working in collaboration with larger publishers and producing books by writers such as the cultural theorist Kobena Mercer, curator and educator Sarat Maharaj, artist Sonia Boyce and the art historian Guy Brett.

Education and Youth

Alongside its exhibitions and publications, the institute also runs a visual arts education programme, consisting of lectures, educational workshops and seminars. Based in the London borough of Hackney, the institute has developed a consistent strategy of working with young people, aimed at extending the field of arts education to include wider cultural objectives such as 'social inclusion' and personal development.

Governance

Iniva has charitable status under UK law and is governed by a Board of Trustees. Over the years board membership has included prominent figures in the world of ideas and the arts, including Yinka Shonibare, Sarat Maharaj and Stuart Hall.

External links

• Official website for InIVA
• Rivington Place
• artificial environments
• london.unlike
• London interview with Tessa Jackson, CEO of Iniva