'Joy Like Time' explores how memory, ritual and renewal intersect through the work of internationally renowned artists Marina Abramović, Kalliopi Lemos and Gillian Wearing.
Tracking the careers of this select group of artists in depth, this exhibition looks at how they have found life’s meaning through their practice via craft and repetition.
The exhibition asks if duration marks everything from commutes to lifespans, from harvests to histories, might it also help us confront one of humanity’s most enduring questions: what is the meaning of life? 'Joy Like Time' is curated by John Kenneth Paranada, Curator of Art and Climate Change at the Sainsbury Centre.
This exhibition is part of the Sainsbury Centre's 'What is the Meaning of Life?' exhibition season. The Sainsbury Centre continues its innovative series of investigative exhibitions in 2026 with a new programme that examines the fundamental questions of human existence, from rule-making, to time and play.
Concurrent exhibitions and interventions ask 'What is the Meaning of Life?', featuring: - 'Living by the Rule: Contemporary meets Medieval', 16 May – 4 October 2026 - 'Play Power', 16 May – 4 October 2026 - 'Joy Like Time', 20 June – 15 November 2026 - 'Life in the Multiverse: Libby Heaney', 16 May – 4 October 2026 - 'CATKINS FOREVER: Ruth Ewan', 20 June – 15 November 2026 All Sainsbury Centre exhibitions run on a 'Pay If and What You Want' basis.
Image above:
Marina Abramović, Red Period, Blue Period, 1998, single channel video 1998. © Marina Abramović. Courtesy of the Marina Abramović Archives
Universal tickets are free for UEA and Norwich University of Arts students with Student Membership and Pay If and What You Want for the general public.
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