Commissioned by Manchester International Festival, The Find (2023) was a participatory art project by conceptual artist Ryan Gander. It distributed non-monetary coin in public space to create what Gander termed “a currency of happenstance,” engaging chance procedures and choice. This essay discusses The Find’s participatory aesthetics and ethical claims, asking what its engagement with coin might elucidate regarding continuities and changes in cultural and economic life, and contemporary political struggles regarding money.
Articles by Louise Owen
Louise Owen is Senior Lecturer in Theatre and Performance at Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, University of London. Her research examines contemporary theatre and performance in terms of economic change and modes of governance. Her work has been published in various edited collections and in the journals Performance Research, frakcija, Contemporary Theatre Review, and TDR. Her book Restaging the Future: Neoliberalization, Theatre, and Performance in Britain (Northwestern University Press, 2024) was shortlisted for the ATHE Outstanding Book Award 2024 and the TaPRA David Bradby Monograph Prize 2024.