Artangel & Miranda July present...

Artangel & Miranda July present Norwood Jewish Charity Shop, London Buddhist Centre Charity Shop & Spitalfields Crypt Trust Charity Shop in solidarity with Islamic Relief Charity Shop at Selfridges

All the books and films on sale are written by women, shoes have been selected for either their “blingy” or “practical” qualities, and she has a particular penchant for an accordion pleat. It is also surely no coincidence that July’s charity shop is located directly next to Parisian collective Vêtements, which is known for giving cheap and second-hand looking clothing price tags that are anything but. – Louisa Buck, The Telegraph

There are more than 10,000 charity shops in the UK. For a short time in 2017, there was just one more. A shop within a shop, a participatory artwork, an unexpected retail experience: the UK’s first interfaith charity shop.

Situated on the third floor of Selfridges surrounded by designer boutiques, this shop was run and staffed jointly by four religious charities invited by July: Islamic Relief, Jewish charity Norwood, London Buddhist Centre and Spitalfields Crypt Trust. Although those who visited might have noticed the hand of artist Miranda July in the stock selection, everything else – from the fluorescent lighting through to the laminated signage – was designed to resemble any other charity shop. 

Image: From left, Yasmin Wall, Diana Ngonyama, Latifa Rahman, Miranda July, Natasha Hodes and Abhayanandi outside Miranda July’s Interfaith Charity Shop, 31 August 2017. Photograph: Hugo Glendinning 

Documentary: Open to the World

Miranda July looks back at her Artangel project, an interfaith charity shop that opened up unannounced inside one of the world's most famous department stores in August 2017.

Situated on the third floor of Selfridges, London, surrounded by designer boutiques, this shop was run and staffed jointly by four religious charities invited by July: Islamic Relief, Jewish charity Norwood, London Buddhist Centre and Spitalfields Crypt Trust.

This short documentary, Open to the World, is a featured extra on Criterion's new special edition release of July's Me and You and Everyone We Know (2005).

This video is also available to watch on Vimeo and YouTube.

Distributing the Proceeds

Net sales are divided equally between the four participating charities, each in turn then donating 2.5% of their share to another charity of their choice as follows:

• Spitalfields Crypt Trust: Providence Row

• Islamic Relief: The Bike Project

• London Buddhist Centre: Praxis Community Project

• Norwood: Carers in Hertfordshire

Image: Shop manager Diana Ngonyama and shop worker Latifa Rahman. Photograph: Hugo Glendinning

Items for Sale

Items for sale will be typical of those traditionally sold in charity shops: second-hand clothes, books, games, DVDs, kitchenware, toys ornaments and bric-a-brac. Prices are similar to those in any charity shop.

Image: Bric-a-brac(left) and books (above) for sale 4 September 2017. Photographs: Matthew Andrews

Miranda July in conversation with Jeremy Deller

Miranda:...the shoes had to be either very classic or very blingy, I liked pleated skirts, I like objects that could be interpreted as sculptural but weren’t, I liked also, beyond lots of religious stuff I liked, because it was all mixed together, I also liked just kinky stuff in general. I wanted clothes for premature babies because my baby was premature but that’s actually really hard to find. Some basic things like winter jackets for kids, I feel those should never be bought new they just whip right through them and everyone should have access to cheap winter coats.

Jeremy: Importantly, this is the only charity shop in Britain where you can’t buy a book by Jeremy Clarkson

Miranda: Right! Only books by women, that was a subtle intervention.

Here Miranda July speaks with artist Jeremy Deller at Prince Charles Cinema, London, 19 October 2017 about how this project came about.

Also available to view on Vimeo and YouTube.

Director and Editor: Jared Schiller
Camera: Cressida Kocienski and Erin Hopkins
Stills photography: Hugo Glendinning
Additional footage: Miranda July

Miranda July, Personal Shopper: Seth Price

Artist Seth Price is in the market for some 90s UK gear. To his rescue comes Miranda July to assess his metaphysical and emotional needs when shopping.

Also available to view on Vimeo and YouTube

Directed and edited by Hugo Glendinning

Miranda July, Personal Shopper: Georgina Starr

Miranda July helps artist Georgina Starr choose outfits for Frieze Art Fair 2017.

Also available to view on Vimeo and YouTube

Directed and edited by Hugo Glendinning

Miranda July, Personal Shopper: Marcus Coates

Personal shopper Miranda July would like to get an idea of what artist Marcus Coates needs in his shopping experience at Selfridges. He wants to be fitter and richer but she's thinking red sequins.

Also available to view on Vimeo and YouTube

Directed and edited by Hugo Glendinning

Miranda July, Personal Shopper: Cornelia Parker

Miranda July acts as a personal shopper to artist Cornelia Parker. The two artists talk sleeve complexity, everyday kitchen utensils and whether or not jewellery is ageing.

Also available to view on Vimeo and YouTube

Directed and edited by Hugo Glendinning

Book: Miranda July

£39.99 from Prestel Publishing

This chronological retrospective documents Miranda July’s performance and video projects, award-winning films, digital multimedia, and written pieces which chart the multidimensionality of her work. The book includes photography, stills, and archival ephemera, and is narrated by friends, collaborators, curators, assistants, and audience members as well as July herself.

In one of the book’s essays, Artangel Co-director Michael Morris provides behind-the-scenes commentary about the process of developing the interfaith charity shop. Read an excerpt.

• Published by Prestel Publishing
• 224pp
• Illustrations colour
• Hardback
• ISBN: 978-3-7913-8521-1

Image: Books for sale at the interfaith charity shop, 4 September 2017. Photograph: Matthew Andrews

Images: (left) Bric-a-brac for sale, 31 August 2017. Photograph Hugo Glendinning; (above) Miranda July inside Artangel & Miranda July present Norwood Jewish Charity Shop, London Buddhist Centre Charity Shop & Spitalfields Crypt Trust Charity Shop in solidarity with Islamic Relief Charity Shop at Selfridges, 31 August 2017. Photograph Hugo Glendinning

Selected Press

The shop is as much a curated art piece as a functioning retail venue and it has July’s distinctive style, with the offbeat and sometimes bizarre tone that infuses her films and books. — Hannah Ellis-Peterson, Guardian, 31 August 2017

‘It’s ultimately up to the viewer, as in any piece of art, if they find meaning in it,’ July explains. We certainly do. She uses the high profile nature of the Bond Street location to propel us into thought, playing on one of the city's ubiquitous pastimes, July is selling us a complex, performative artistic idea in a package we can all buy into. — Elly Parson, Wallpaper*, 6 September 2017

It seems important to July that the 1% are confronted with the simulacrum of what they might never engage with – bargain bins and racks of pre-loved (and pre-stained) nightdresses and formal shirts – if left to their own devices. The multi-faith backing of the retail space, too, feels timely. — Emily Watkins, Plinth, 15 September 2017

Production Credits

Artangel

Interfaith Charity Shop

Set Works

Photo: Miranda July, Michael Morris and Sam Collins at a stock meeting, London 2017. Photograph: Andy Donohoe

Credits

Artangel & Miranda July present Norwood Jewish Charity Shop, London Buddhist Centre Charity Shop & Spitalfields Crypt Trust Charity Shop in solidarity with Islamic Relief Charity Shop at Selfridges is made possible thanks to the particular generosity of Mala Gaonkar and Oliver Haarmann and Sigrid Rausing, Publisher, Granta Books, and with the kind collaboration of Selfridges.

Artangel would like to thank Leith Clark and Sophie Carruthers for their styling contribution and The Beaumont Hotel - Mayfair for their support of this commission.

Artangel is generously supported by Arts Council England, and by the private patronage of The Artangel International Circle, Special Angels, Guardian Angels, and The Company of Angels.

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