I won't do what you tell me
Simona Barbera, Tim Etchells, Marianne Heier, Frans Jacobi, Phillip Henderson, Pil and Galia Kollectiv, Peter Mills, Kate Pendry, Ina Wudtke, ​Vandaler Forening
(11.–28. august 2016)

I won’t do what you tell me is an exhibition and series of performances at RAM Galleri curated by Kunst Vardo that respond to the physical repositioning of the gallery in the city of Oslo. The program acts as a commentary on the closing of the space due to invested capital interests. The title of the program is taken from a line of the classic Rage Against the Machine track Killing in the Name. The lyrics are said to be a response to police brutality and the legitimisation of actions taken by people with the authority to wear a badge, nothing more. The program will question the powers of the 1%, ownership and the legitimisation of authority whilst exploring relations between different types of politics and the effects of these politics on individuals. The re-location of the gallery from one part of the city to another is part of an increasing movement of capital development in the city, driven by the Capitalist dream.
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The live program brings together artists to respond to the thematic through performance, using the live situation as an opportunity to explore duality and repetition. This time based response allows for an echoing of change as the gallery closes, re-opens, breaks, pauses and re-invents. 

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Kunst Vardo is a nomadic art platform which takes its name from the nomadic Romani wagon which acts as both a home and a vehicle, carrying its inhabitants from place to place developing new connections and exchanges. Following this ethos Kunst Vardo is a platform for exchange, production and dissemination without borders. Kunst Vardo looks to create opportunities for artists to create new work in response to a thematic or as part of an exchange process. The platform works predominantly with performance as a way to generate lived experiences for both the artists and audience. Kunst Vardo is run by Oslo and UK based artist Amelia Beavis-Harrison.