Artists Ruth Beale and Brian Griffiths discuss library commissions for Brent Biennial in ArtReview event

ArtReview will host a Zoom discussion on October 27 at 6:30 PM exploring the role of libraries in community building amid austerity threats. Artists Ruth Beale and Brian Griffiths will present their Brent Biennial commissions at Kilburn Library and Cricklewood Library respectively. Beale's work, The Library as Memorial, involves placing bookplates in volumes from Brent Libraries' collection—one for each COVID-19 victim in the borough—with space for public dedications. This project emerged from workshops with Brent Youth Parliament members about lockdown experiences and post-pandemic societal rebuilding. Griffiths' SELF–CONSCIOUS installation at Cricklewood Library functions as a parallel lending library where nine books are paired with hidden sculptures, examining unreliable narration through a wooden cupboard display. Both commissions investigate libraries as social spaces beyond mere book repositories. The conversation will be moderated by ArtReview editor-at-large Oliver Basciano. Beale, based in London, frequently addresses public services through collaborative practices including The Alternative School of Economics with Amy Feneck, while Griffiths creates theatrical sculptures and teaches at Royal Academy Schools.