LONDON.- Tate launched Tate Exchange, a ground-breaking new programme which invites the public to come together with international artists and over fifty Associates annually to collaborate, test ideas and discover new perspectives on life, through art. This free programme takes place in the dedicated, spectacular spaces of Tate Exchange in the new Switch House at Tate Modern on Level 5 from 28 September 2016, and in the first floor galleries at Tate Liverpool from 26 November 2016. In the coming years, Tate Exchange will roll out at all four Tate galleries and will explore a different theme each year. Tate Exchange is supported by Freelands Foundation, Arts Council England and Paul Hamlyn Foundation.

Tate Exchange launched on 28 September with artist Tim Etchells’s project, The Give and Take, which looks at the theme of exchange through money, magic, labour, love and friendship and involves the public in a provocative series of presentations, conversations and instructions. Etchells (b. 1962) is well-known as the leader of the performance group Forced Entertainment and his inaugural project encourages members of the public to participate in the museum’s creative process for the very first time.

Anna Cutler, Tate’s Director of Learning said: ‘The project marks a shift in the relationship with our visitors. In the relaxed, social spaces,they will be central to shaping what goes on. They will be invited to drop in and get involved with artists and the artistic process. This is an exchange between what the public brings and what we bring to the conversation. Our aim is that people are drawn closer to art and to the work of artists; to think about what they do and why it matters. Our visitors carry their own culture with them and can use museums and galleries as creative spaces for exploring what that means.

Artists participating in the first year of the Exchange include the Guerrilla Girls, Raqs Media Collective, Christine Sun Kim, Simone Leigh, Lorraine O’Grady, Rashida Bumbray, Fannie Sosa, Larry Achiampong, Kader Attia and Shannon Jackson and many other artists and collectives.

Tate Exchange’s founding Associates include charities, universities, healthcare trusts as well as smaller organisations that include a range of disciplines such as architects, writers, young people and even a community radio station. All Associates will devise participatory workshops, activities and debates to run at Tate Liverpool from 26 November 2016 and at Tate Modern from early 2017, again with and for the public. These will explore new ways of thinking about art and its value to society revealing an ambitious ‘open experiment’. The Associates will also collaborate with each other, as well as with artists, around themes inspired by Tate’s collection, creating networks that thrive beyond the project itself.

From 4 to 9 October, The Guerrilla Girls will operate a Complaints Department in Tate Exchange, inviting individuals and organisations to conspire with the Girls, post complaints about art, culture, and politics. Thematic discussions will encourage participation and assist the public in creating statements and projects to post on rolling bulletin boards. The week will culminate in a special public event documenting and exploring the outcomes of the week.

Other Tate Exchange projects this autumn include; Bedfellows: Sex Re-Education (20 to 23 October) which will examine the role of sex, sexual identity, desire, consent and pornography in contemporary culture; Future Medina, a modern marketplace for energy and ideas (16 to 19 November); a performance by dance company Corali and visual arts organisation Intoart; and a performance and twerk workshop by Fannie Sosa. There will also be projects by Christine Sun Kim about the nature of sound; the Psychic Friends Network with Simone Leigh; Raqs Media Collective will invite the public to transform the space into a Thicket of lines; and a discussion about the 21st century dining table and attitudes to food entitled The Democratic Table. At Tate Liverpool, Edge Hill University will present a projected animation inspired by the gallery’s Yves Klein exhibition and the artist’s interest in Judo. Following Edge Hill University, partners including Liverpool John Moores University, University of Liverpool, DaDaFest and Open Eye Gallery will present a series of activities including dance performances, creative writing sessions and workshops dealing with dementia.

For full details of the programme visit tate.org.uk/tateexchange