RCA cult journal ARK | Parrhesia—a publication-as-exhibition and exhibition-as-publication—led
by the Philosophy Society, in collaboration with and guest edited by conceptual artist Ryan Gander,
creator of The Annotated Reader.
This first edition of ARK | Parrhesia explores pressing themes such as gender, power,
migration, colonialism, poverty, generational trauma, and artificial intelligence.
This is a limited-edition print-only release (100 copies). The format invites visitors
to curate and assemble their own versions of the publication as a live performance,
challenging the idea of a singular narrative. It is deliberately raw and
unbound—reflecting the volatility of our current moment.
Contributions from current RCA students, staff, and artists are presented in multiple
languages and diverse forms—some addressing subjects considered taboo or even punishable
in their home contexts. The issue also reflects on David Hockney’s recent exhibition in Paris.
Hockney, a former radical RCA student and editor of ARK in 1962, now occupies a place in the
institutional canon—raising questions about art’s evolution, authority, and visibility.
