Curatorial students at Essex are looking for radical love

A new exhibition curated by Masters students from the School of Philosophical, Historical, and Interdisciplinary Studies will explore love, in all its forms, as a radical force for change.

Opening on 25 April with a launch party in Art Exchange on 24 April, Call it Love will exhibit the work of six contemporary artists whose work challenges expectations of what love should be.

Inspired by featured artist Charan Singh's artwork “They Called it Love, But Was it Love?”, Call it Love will invite visitors to rethink what love can be and how it might shape our futures.

The six strong team of students studying MA Curating and MA Heritage and Museum Studies spoke about why they chose their theme: "Our idea for this exhibition began with a critical reflection on love. Traditionally framed by society, love is often equated with monogamous heterosexual romance, reinforced through media, cultural traditions, and social expectations. However, such a narrow definition fails to capture the full spectrum of relationships and emotional bonds that shape human experience."

"We realised the urgent need to challenge the structures that dominate discussions of love. We aim to expand the conversation to include various forms of love: friendship, self-love, familial bonds, polyamory, and communal relationships."

Call it Love will feature the works Anna Maria Maiolino, Marina Abramović, Chloe Jones, Charan Singh, Sola Oluode, and Daisy Blower.

The artists and archival materials featured in this exhibition were chosen by the students to reflect the theme of taking a critical reflection on love.

The artworks and presented across a variety of media, including: sculpture, painting, film, and personal correspondence and were selected as they subvert traditional romantic narratives and interrogate cultural rituals that uphold exclusionary ideals of love.

The student curators have chosen to create a show that combines contemporary artists with historical archival materials from the University of Essex Library Special Collections to expose the historical legacy of love in all its forms through items such as correspondence between Hugh Brogan and Hugh Tulloch.

Carla Reboud, MA Curating student said: “Far from presenting love through the typical imagery of hearts and pink aesthetics, Call It Love aims to expand our collective understanding of love. We approach love not as a rigid construct but as something fluid, multifaceted, and deeply intertwined with social transformation. Through artistic exploration, we aim to celebrate love's capacity for change and offer new ways of thinking about intimacy, care, and connection in the present moment.”

Independent curator and writer, Jes Furnie, who has been supporting the students through their curatorial studies, said: “Organising an exhibition as a student group is really hard! Time and budget challenges, egos and institutional diktats must all be negotiated. It has been an absolute joy guiding these Art History, Heritage, and Curating students through the process of putting Call it Love together. They have made a beautiful, timely exhibition that we hope will strike a chord with other students across the campus.”

Call it Love will open in Art Exchange on Friday 25 April and run until Friday 23 May, with a Launch Party on Thursday 24 April, 6pm to 8pm.

The exhibition will feature a public programme (dates and times are all TBC):

• Speed Crafting - Thursday 1 May, 6pm to 7.30pm
• Lunchtime curators’ tour - Tuesday 6 May, 1pm to 2pm
• Artists Talk with Chloe Jones – 11 May, 6pm to 8pm
• Talk with Dr. Veronica Lamarche (Psychology) – Tuesday 20 May, 6pm to 7.30pm

Call it Love is curated by Lauren Wainwright, Scarlett Angove, Yu Li, Carla Reboud, Vendija Zile, and Freeha Hashmi.

More information about Call it Love can be found on the Art Exchange website.