Jared Leite Performance Lecture

Curator-in-residence Jared Leite presents a performance lecture rereading Shakespeare’s The Tempest through postcolonial histories.

As part of our Residencies Programme, current curator-in-residence Jared Leite will present a performance lecture on his project Two Tempests: Prison or Hermitage , accompanied by works by Vusumzi Nkomo, Dan Halter and Farren van Wyk. Long read as an allegory of European colonialism, Shakespeare’s The Tempest (1610–1611) has been taken up, inverted and rewritten by postcolonial writers and artists. Leite rereads the play through citation, following how its recurring characters, Prospero, Caliban, Ariel and Miranda, travel across texts. He will approach the performance lecture from two angles: the etymology and origins of the characters’ names, and the colonial histories that inspired these encounters. Tracing power, race and exile from Césaire’s Martinique to his own home in Cape Town, Leite seeks how postcolonial versions of Shakespeare’s play unfold. Leite’s residency project initiates a broader inquiry into how artists in postcolonial societies negotiate resistance and self-reflection, with site-based research on Shakespeare’s legacy and Britain’s colonial history in London and the Midlands. Leite is the co-founder of Lemkus Gallery, a gallery located in inner-city Cape Town centred on artist residencies and collaborative curatorial projects. With a focus on emerging artists in the South African contemporary arts ecosystem, his curatorial practice draws on postcolonial theory, Afro-Pessimism, institutional critique and the aesthetics of the Black Radical Tradition.

About Jared Leite Jared Leite (b. 1995, Cape Town) is a writer, curator, and gallerist with a focus on emerging artists in the South African contemporary arts ecosystem. He is the co-founder, curator, and director of Lemkus Gallery, an archipelagic gallery model in the inner city of Cape Town centred on artist residencies and collaborative projects. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Fine Art (BAFA) with a major in printmaking and a Master of Arts in Fine Art by dissertation (MAFA) from the Michaelis School at the University of Cape Town (UCT). Leite has a background in teaching art history, contemporary curatorial practice, and body politics. His research is centred on the historical contributions of South African artists of colour, specifically those that have gone undertheorised within the local canon. In terms of research, Leite is interested in and regularly draws from postcolonial theory, Afro-Pessimism, institutional critique, and the aesthetics of the Black Radical Tradition. His curatorial projects have been featured in several local and international publications, such as Artforum, Art Plugged, ArtThrob, Latitudes Online and the Daily Maverick.

Access This event takes place in the Events Studio and will be seated. If you have any questions or need assistance with your visit, please feel welcome to contact us at +44 (0) 20 7622 1294 or…