An exceptional opportunity has emerged for young and aspiring arts journalists as Dazed Club, in partnership with Audemars Piguet Contemporary, launches an open call for an emerging writer to conduct an exclusive interview with renowned Swiss artist Renée Levi. The selected candidate will have their completed Q&A published on Dazed Digital, offering a significant platform to showcase their critical voice alongside a major international art commission. This initiative forms a core component of a broader cultural collaboration designed to bridge the gap between world-class contemporary art institutions and the next generation of creative tastemakers.
The announcement precedes the highly anticipated public unveiling of Levi’s latest large-scale outdoor artwork, titled September, which is scheduled to open on September 23. Commissioned jointly by the Hayward Gallery and Audemars Piguet Contemporary, the project represents a monumental milestone in Levi’s career, marking her very first large-scale public art commission in the United Kingdom. By merging her signature painterly, gestural style with the unmistakable brutalist architecture of the Hayward Gallery, Levi is set to transform one of London’s most polarizing and celebrated cultural landmarks into a living canvas.
Background Context And The Evolution Of The Hayward Gallery Canvas
The Hayward Gallery, situated within the Southbank Centre complex on the South Bank of the River Thames, has long held a controversial yet revered place in British architectural and artistic history. Opened in 1968 and designed by a group of architects including Norman Engleback, Ron Herron, and Warren Chalk, the building is a prime example of brutalist architecture, characterized by its raw, board-marked cast concrete surfaces, external sculpture courts, and labyrinthine geometry. While architectural historians praise its bold expression of structural materials, the fortress-like concrete exterior has historically presented unique challenges for visual artists seeking to exhibit beyond its indoor white cube galleries.
Over the decades, the Hayward Gallery has occasionally opened its exterior facades to ambitious site-specific interventions, inviting contemporary artists to dialogue with its uncompromising architecture. However, few projects have matched the scale and conceptual ambition of Renée Levi’s upcoming September commission. Levi, born in Istanbul in 1960 and based in Zurich, has built an international reputation for her investigations into painting, space, and architecture. Her artistic practice frequently pushes the boundaries of traditional canvas painting, extending strokes and color fields into spatial installations, public buildings, and digital mediums.
By applying her distinct visual vocabulary to the exterior ribs and soaring concrete walls of the Hayward Gallery, Levi aims to recontextualize the brutalist monument. Her gestural marks and vibrant application of color will introduce a dynamic tension between the permanence of the architecture and the transient, expressive energy of contemporary painting. This dialogue between surface and structure is expected to draw substantial foot traffic from commuters, tourists, and fine art enthusiasts alike, temporarily redefining the visual landscape of the South Bank.
Chronology And Timeline Of The Collaboration
The genesis of the September commission stretches back several years, rooted in Audemars Piguet Contemporary’s long-standing admiration for Levi’s trajectory. The curatorial arm of the Swiss haute horlogerie manufacturer has spent years tracking the artist’s evolution, working quietly behind the scenes to secure the logistical and financial framework necessary to bring such a complex public installation to life in central London.
Following extensive planning sessions between the curatorial teams at Audemars Piguet Contemporary and the Hayward Gallery, the project was finalized to coincide with the autumn cultural calendar in the British capital. The official timeline for the public-facing elements of the collaboration encompasses several key milestones:
- Spring and Summer: Finalization of engineering assessments, safety protocols, and surface preparation for the Hayward Gallery’s exterior concrete panels, alongside the ongoing production of Levi’s paint-based interventions.
- September 23: The official public opening of September, introducing Levi’s landmark outdoor installation to the London skyline and initiating the primary exhibition window.
- Mid-September: Publication of the exclusive Dazed Digital interview featuring the winning emerging arts writer from Dazed Club in conversation with Renée Levi.
- October 12: A culmination event featuring an exclusive Dazed Club gathering at the Southbank Centre’s St Paul’s Pavilion, designed to convene young creatives, arts professionals, and cultural critics to discuss the themes underpinning Levi’s work.
Official Statements And Institutional Objectives
The partnership between the Hayward Gallery and Audemars Piguet Contemporary underscores a shared dedication to fostering innovation and experimentation within the contemporary arts sector. Both organizations have established reputations for backing ambitious, risk-taking projects that challenge artists to transcend their traditional mediums.
Audemars Piguet Contemporary operates with a distinct mission: to support living artists in the creation of new works that explore unexpected territories. Audrey Teichmann, curator at Audemars Piguet Contemporary, emphasized the conceptual depth driving the collaboration with Levi.
"Renée Levi’s new work expands the possibilities of painting," Teichmann stated. "Levi approaches the Hayward Gallery not as a backdrop, but as a surface to engage, responding to its rhythm, materiality, and scale."
This sentiment is echoed by the leadership at the Hayward Gallery, which continues to position itself as a vital incubator for boundary-pushing contemporary art. By inviting an artist renowned for her mastery of color and gesture to intervene on a brutalist monument, the gallery reinforces its commitment to public accessibility and architectural dialogue. The commission invites passersby to reconsider the urban fabric of London, proving that historic architectural spaces can remain vibrantly relevant when subjected to contemporary artistic inquiry.
The Dazed Club Open Call And Opportunities For Emerging Talent
In parallel with the artistic production of September, the collaboration places a heavy emphasis on democratizing arts journalism and creating tangible pathways for emerging talent. The media landscape has long faced criticism for barriers to entry, often requiring extensive networks or unpaid internships to break into cultural criticism. Through this open call, Dazed Club and Audemars Piguet Contemporary are actively seeking to bypass traditional gatekeeping by offering a coveted assignment directly to its community.
Members of Dazed Club who identify as emerging arts writers are invited to submit their applications through the official Dazed Club digital platform. The winning candidate will be formally commissioned to prepare for, conduct, and edit an in-depth interview with Renée Levi. This assignment provides not only financial remuneration and editorial mentorship but also a high-profile byline on Dazed Digital, a globally recognized authority in youth culture, fashion, and contemporary art.
The initiative extends far beyond the initial digital publication. On October 12, the partnership will host an exclusive Dazed Club event at the Southbank Centre’s St Paul’s Pavilion. This gathering is strategically designed to foster community engagement, bringing together Dazed Club members, arts enthusiasts, curators, and critics to dissect the ideological and aesthetic implications of Levi’s commission. By merging physical curation, digital publishing, and live community programming, the partnership creates a holistic ecosystem of cultural engagement.
Broader Impact And Implications For Contemporary Art Criticism
The convergence of high horology, public institutional curation, and independent youth media in the September commission highlights a shifting paradigm within the contemporary art world. Brand-sponsored art commissions have increasingly become vital financial pillars for ambitious public projects, bridging funding gaps that traditional public arts grants often struggle to cover. In this instance, Audemars Piguet Contemporary’s sustained involvement has enabled the realization of a project that might otherwise have remained unfeasible given the logistical complexities of working on a protected brutalist landmark.
Furthermore, the integration of an emerging writer initiative signals an evolving approach to arts communication. By ensuring that the critical narrative surrounding a major public artwork is shaped in part by a fresh, unjaded voice from the Dazed Club community, the institutions involved are inviting a younger demographic into the high-art discourse. This strategy helps dismantle the intimidation factor often associated with major gallery commissions, reframing monumental art not as an exclusive academic pursuit, but as a public dialogue accessible to all.
As London prepares for the September 23 launch, anticipation continues to build across the city’s creative sectors. Renée Levi’s intervention on the Hayward Gallery promises to be one of the most visually arresting public art moments of the autumn season. For the emerging writer selected for this assignment, the project offers a front-row seat to art history in the making, cementing a vital stepping stone in what promises to be a vibrant career in cultural journalism.
Interested applicants who meet the criteria are encouraged to submit their portfolios and applications through the Dazed Club app before the submission window closes.
