Contemporary Art Week is an annual programme, which offers young people space to connect with the practice of a contemporary artist, experiment with different ways of artmaking, and collaborate with peers to develop creative work.
This year the programme was led by visual artist Maz Murray and focused on art through performance, play, and stagecraft – partly inspired by the 2025 Summer Season of exhibitions.
Throughout the four days the group experimented with different approaches to storytelling, stagecraft, live art making and film, rooted in the sense humour and surrealism which underpins Maz’s artistic approach.
Through writing exercises, improvisation sessions, and time spent testing out the artistic potential of projection, green screen and audio, the group wove together different narrative thread and tested how they could be staged live. The week culminated in a devised performance by the group ‘Cats Against Tyranny’, an anti-capitalist tale about revolution, cats and runaway brides.
Maz Murray (b. 1995 Basildon) is an artist working across film, performance and writing. They use satire, surrealism and melodrama to talk about queer and trans identity, class, and the complexities of public life. Their first institutional solo show Principal Boy was at Focal Point Gallery, 2024. They are currently working on a collaborative novel with Montez Press.
