06 March, 2025
Curatorial collective In Lucid Dreams We Dance, Eduard Solaz (Founder of IKLECTIK), and curator Sara Sassanelli (Alice Agency, CONDITIONS) come together to explore the evolving landscape of sound practices and sonic experimentation in London.
They reflect on the opportunities available to artists and creatives working beyond conventional frameworks, with a particular focus on sound and experimental approaches.
As the visual arts and music sectors face increasingly challenging conditions, this discussion explores the spaces that remain for practices navigating the intersections of disciplines or resisting clear categorisation, and the roles grassroots, community-driven venues play in sustaining these experimental practices.
Sara Sassanelli is co-founder of Alice Agency and Associate of CONDITIONS studio programme. Until 2024, they were the Curator of Live at the Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA), where they programmed across dance and electronic music, with a focus on emerging artists. Their work explores collective and enthusiastic cultures that form around raving and how these manifest in multidisciplinary practices. Their most recent ICA programme, this dark gleam (2024), showcased artists engaging with formal technique, social dance, pop culture, and punk sensibilities. Currently, they are collaborating with Eve Stainton, Fernanda Muñoz-Newsome, Billy Bultheel, and Jose Funnell, among others.
IKLECTIK is a non-profit organisation based in London, founded in 2014. It focuses on fostering experimentation in sound, art, new media, and emerging technologies. IKLECTIK organises events, workshops, residencies, talks aiming to explore processes and techniques while addressing social, political, and cultural issues. It has hosted over 3000 artists in live performances, festivals, and fundraisers.
In lucid dreams we dance is a transitory curatorial project intersecting sound experimentation and visual art in different forms, active since 2022. With a multidisciplinary approach, the project unfolds through live events, including screenings, installations, performance and sound art, and the publication of a zine. Collaborations include international artists working with sound and performance, venues and institutional partners in London and Rome. The project was initially supported by the Italian Council (11th edition, 2022) and is currently self-funded.