ELAINE M.L. TAM



is an itinerant writer, editor and curator from Hong Kong currently living and working in London. She collaborates with contemporary artists and thinkers to create new forms and forums for critical engagement. Her research interests include psychoanalysis, media theory, performative writing and feminist new materialisms.

Works @ White Cube
Plays @ Fieldnotes 

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MORE INFO
︎ About me
︎ Writing
︎ Contact
︎ Instagram

Day-job:
Curatorial, White Cube, London (2016-present)

Education:
MA Contemporary Art Theory, Goldsmiths, University of London
BA Media and Communications, Goldsmiths, University of London

Editorial:
White Cube
Fieldnotes Journal
Whitelies Magazine

PROGRAMS

Zoning (2022)
Site-specific Fieldnotes writing workshops with a revolving set of exercises inspired by works of art and literature. Made possible by Arts Council funding and partnering with various arts institutions in London.  
Locations: Pushkin House; TACO!; Whitechapel Gallery; South London Gallery; Tower Hamlets; Warton House; all London UK.

A Primer On Fictioning (2020)
A five-week course on departing from Simon O’Sullivan’s notion of ‘fictioning’ with set reading materials that took place during Covid-19 lockdowns, supported by The Trampery, London UK.
Location: Online

Resilient Alliances (2019)
A two-part academic lecture and workshop program funded by the university featuring thinkers and artists Thomas Moynihan, Anna Mikkola, Most Dismal Swamp and Dr. Daniel Rourke.
Location: Goldsmiths University, London UK

Interfaces Monthly (2016—18)
A program of talks at the intersection of art and technology spotlighting three speakers each month around a set theme. Keynote speakers included Ilona Sagar, Patricia MacCormack, Joanna Zylinska, Paul Sermon, Max Colson, Daata (David Gryn), Random International, Richard Healy, Werkflow and Yuri Suzuki.
Location: Barbican Centre, London UK

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PROJECTS

Wish Lush @ 230 Portobello Road, Kravitz Contemporary, London UK (2022)
Featuring João Alves, Louis Appleby, Suzy Babington, Ryan Brown, Sofie Burgaard, Luke Burton, Zoë Carlon, May Hands, Angus McCrum, Peter Larsen, Ranald Macdonald, Conor Murgatroyd, Alfie Rouy and Paula Turmina

Eyot @ Montez Press Radio, 64-84 Chisenhale Road, Chisenhale Studios, London UK (2022)
Featuring Eloise Bennett, Alasdair Milne, James Hendrix Elsey, Elaine Tam & Arthur Gouillart, Department of Energy, Jessica Simas, Silvia Bombardini, Giles Thackway, moreiya, Siegrun Salmanian, Angelina Radakovic, James McAleer

Mudcast @ AAJA & Deptford X, online (2021)
Featuring Anna Borzello, Arthur Gouillart, Nick Harris, Esther Leslie, Ted Sandling, Nicole and other unidentified mudlarkers at Deptford Beach

Semionautics x Subtexts @ Montez Press Radio, New York USA (2021)
Featuring Eloise Bennett, Silvia Bombardini, Andrew Copolov, James Hendrix Elsey, Arthur Gouillart, Alasdair Milne, George Finlay Ramsay, Siegrun Salmanian and Elaine Tam

Chatroom: Empathy @ Avantgardening, online (2020)
Featuring Geiste Kincinaityte, George Finlay Ramsay, Rebecca Salvadori and Elaine Tam

Heaven @ HOAX, online (2020)
A collaboration between Arthur Gouillart and Elaine Tam

smooth space, pleated @ Vilniaus g. 39, Galerija Vartai, Vilnius LT (2020)
A collaboration between Geiste Kincinaityte and Elaine Tam

Hybrid Prophecy @ 82a Commercial Street, Kravitz Contemporary, London UK (2019)
A presentation of work by artist Kle Mens

To the core @ 337 Kennington Park Road, White Crypt, London UK (2018)
Featuring Charlie Godet Thomas, Anna Gonzalez Noguchi, Emily Lazerwitz, Paloma Proudfoot, Victor Seaward, Hua Wang and Rafal Zajko

The window was left open... @ 3 Ada Road, Lily Brooke, London UK (2017)
Featuring Matt Ager, Olivia Brook Alfa, Fenella Brereton, Oli Epp, Zsofia Margit, Sisters from Another Mister, Tenant of Culture and Will Thompson

Disappearance is a trick @ Fotopub festival, Novo Mesto SL (2016)
Featuring Oliver Hickmet, noot.club, Juan de Porras-Isla, Liga Spunde and Jack West

No Place Like Home @ 13 Ross Street, The Telfer Gallery, Glasgow UK (2016)
A collaboration between Oliver Hickmet and Elaine Tam

Lunch break @ 140 Lewisham Way, Deptford X, London UK (2016)
A two-person presention of work by Christian Feltham and Jack West, curated by Elaine Tam

Standing in the shade @ Clinton Road, Mile End Pavilion, London UK (2016)
Featuring Nancy Allen, Kirsty Andrew, Charlotte Barnard, Verity Birt, Stephane Blumer, Tom Estes, Charlie Franklin, Oliver Hickmet, Eva-Maria Gisler, Matthew Miles, Emily Motto, Noot.club, Sikander Pervez, Hannah Regel, Helen Robertson, Marion Sagon, Rebecca Sangster, Tamsin Snow & Sarah Tynan and Dominique White

For you! I'd do anything @ Tritongatan5, Gothenburg SE (2015)
Featuring Jos Bitelli, Luke Burton, Alina Chaiderov, Oliver Hickmet, Julia McKinlay and Evelyn O'Connor

(De)tour @ Vilniaus g. 245, Siauliai Art Gallery, Siauliai LT (2014)
Featuring Johann Arens, Oliver Hickmet, James Howard, Lottie Hughes, Evelina Kerpaite, Geiste Kincinaityte, Alana Lake, Rachel Libeskind, Sasha Litvintseva, Jacob Love, Vladislav Novicki, Sabrina Ratte, Maja Rozbicka, Nicolas Sasson, Imantas Selenis, Ruta Songailaite, Sven Steinhauer, Dan Szor, Gedvile Tamosiunaite and Anne de Vries

Imagining the exotic @ 74 Kingsland Road, theprintspace, London UK (2014)
Featuring Martin Beverton, Tina Hillier, Sam Laughlin, Jei Tootle, Remy Whiting, Kyler Zeleny

Inside the Sarcophagus @ 71 Powerscroft Road, MKII, London UK (2013)
Featuring Claire Boyd, Chris Ditchburn, Ren Garden, Oliver Hickmet, John Howard, Kabir Kanabar, Geiste Kincinaityte, Alana Lake, John Lawrence, Rebecca Salvadori, Aza Shade and Dan Szor

Talks, workshops & programs:
Fieldnotes REVERB workshop @ Pushkin House, London (2022)
Fieldnotes ZONING workshop @ TACO!, London (2022)
Fieldnotes BLOCK workshop @ Whitechapel Gallery, London UK (2022)
Tell-tale heart and other stories @ Open Space Contemporary, online (2022)
Fieldnotes ZONING workshops @ South London Gallery, UK (2022)
Tactics & Praxis Conference @ University of Cambridge UK (2021)
Good /In/tensions @ Antiuniversity, London UK (2020)
A Primer On Fictioning 1—5 @ The Trampery, London UK (2020)
Exercises on Displacement 4/5 @ Camden Arts Centre, London UK (2019)
Resilient Alliances I & II @ Goldsmiths University, London UK (2019)
The navel gazes back @ Goldsmiths University, London UK (2019)
Sites of Sexual Tension, Vilnius Takes Over @ Rich Mix, London UK (2018)
Interfaces Monthly @ Barbican Centre/The Trampery, London UK (2016—18)
Histories for future use @ H+K Symposium, London UK (2016)

Participation:
Geopoetics Research Group, Goldsmiths University (2018—present)
A Group Novel workshop with Lucy Ives, online (2021)
Chaosmosis reading group, Goldsmiths University (2017—2020)
Art & Politics: Containment, IMMA Summer School, Dublin (2021)
The Untranslatable: Miracle, Oblivion, Artifact, E-flux (2020)
Curating... in the Age of Continuous Mediation, The New Centre (2020)
Institutional Analysis, Goldsmiths, University of London (2020)
Modern Art & Ideas (5-week course), Museum of Modern Art (2020)
Curating for Digital Platforms, Camden Arts Centre (2019)
Lacan on Feminine Enjoyment, Freud Museum (2019)

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PERFORMANCES

Filth_Substratum, 5 January 2023, V2_, Rotterdam, The NetherlandsMessengers, 2–3 December 2022, PAF Festival, Olomouc, Czech RepublicTell-tale heart, 12 April 2022, Open Space Contemporary, onlineSpills, 5–8 July 2021, CRASSH, University of Cambridge, UK
The navel gazes back, 11 June 2019, Goldsmiths University, London, UK

ET has received grants and scholarships from organisations including Institute of Contemporary Arts, Wysing Arts Centre (both via Art Fund), Camden Arts Centre, Goldsmiths University, Kultur Ungdom, Göteborgs Stad, Lithuanian Council for Culture, The New Centre for Research & Practice, and the Irish Museum of Modern Art.