Maltese curator and creative Hannah Dowling joined the newly founded Furies Collective in a collective debut exhibition One Extended Meditation at the Copeland Gallery in London in October.

Following the research Dowling carried out for her History of Art bachelor’s degree at the University of Malta, the curator found herself in an environment with like-minded creatives at the Royal College of Art in London, where she recently completed her MA in Curating Contemporary Art and was supported by the Malta Arts Scholarship Scheme.

Towards the end of the year-long programme, Dowling was invited by fellow student Margot Wilson, to join her newly founded Furies Collective, which seeks to explore this creative act through acts of collaboration and meditation.

The Furies Collective comprises of nine female and non-binary artists, who are united by their shared interest in the creative act. The term ‘Furies’ stems from the verb iteration of the word Erinyes, meaning ‘to raise, stir, excite’.

In October, the collective held their debut exhibition One Extended Meditation at Copeland Gallery, London.  Through experimental meditative practices, performance and theatrical improvisation, this exhibition, which was on show from October 17-20, aimed to underline the affective nature of the ‘impulse’ of creation.

Installation view of One Extended Meditation. Pictured work by Amanda Cornish (left) and Lujane Pagganwala (right).

Installation view of One Extended Meditation. Pictured work by Margot Wilson, Trancing the Third Millennium_ Predictive text.

Installation view of One Extended Meditation. Pictured works by Margot Wilson (centre floor), Maria Helena Toscano (centre wall) and Suni Mullen (right wall).

During the exhibition’s run, each artist offered different meditations towards their understanding of the creative act, where they sought to present art as an active force, always in the process of emerging, never static.

This was brought together through the curation of Dowling, whereby she aimed to create a space which carried the potential to engage transformative viewership.

The show also consisted of an extensive live programme, where guest performers were invited to respond to the exhibition through improvised actions, further extending this meditation into the realm of performance.

Hannah Dowling is a beneficiary of the Malta Arts Scholarship Scheme financed by the government of Malta. To find out more about the Furies Collective, visit instagram.com/furies.collective/