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Meet Me at Reception: Alvaro Barrington and Róisín Tapponi

21 April 2023

In the latest episode of Meet Me at Reception, eminent painter Alvaro Barrington, and his partner the film curator Róisín Tapponi, meet Director of No.9 Cork Street, Selvi May Akyildiz. The three imagine which YBA artist they would be, the unexpected effects of Brexit on British culture, holidays in South London, Margate’s renaissance, and the Shasha Movies screening night of Iraqi cinema.

This is the third video in a new series of films from Frieze’s gallery, No.9 Cork Street, where we welcome cultural personalities to have a chat at reception.

Alvaro Barrington was born in Venezuela to Grenadian and Haitian migrant workers, and was raised between the Caribbean and Brooklyn, New York, by a network of relatives. An unwavering commitment to community informs his wide-ranging practice. While Barrington considers himself primarily a painter, his artistic collaborations encompass exhibitions, performances, concerts, fashion, philanthropy and contributions to the Notting Hill Carnival in London. His approach to painting is similarly inclusive – embracing non-traditional materials and techniques such as burlap, concrete, cardboard and sewing – and infused with references to his personal and cultural history.

Róisín Tapponi is a film curator, critic and PhD candidate based in London. She is the Founder CEO of SHASHA Movies. She has also founded Habibi Collective, ART WORK Magazine and Independent Iraqi Film Festival (IIFF). Tapponi is Curator of TBC, a new curatorial strand launching soon at Lisson Gallery. She also works at the forefront of independent cinema and artist film, with a focus on South-West Asia and North Africa (SWANA). She is Iraqi and Irish based in London.