Until 12 March 2018
EXHIBITION: THE PAST IS NOW: BIRMINGHAM AND THE BRITISH EMPIRE (BIRMINGHAM MUSEUM & ART GALLERY)
“The Past is Now explores Birmingham’s relationship to the British Empire. It has been co-curated alongside Birmingham based graphic designer, Abeera Kamran; artivist, Aliyah Hasinah; writer, Mariam Khan; cultural activist, Sara Myers; textile designer, Shaheen Kasmani, writer and researcher Sumaya Kassim. At its height in 1922, the British Empire covered a quarter of the world and ruled over 458 million people. However, the creation and retention of the Empire resulted in many people losing their lives or becoming severely traumatised. Whilst the Empire has officially ended, its legacy still exists today in institutional structures and affects both individual and national senses of identity. This exhibition challenges the typical colonial narrative used to present the history of the British Empire. By focusing on a few key events and themes, the exhibition examines the museum’s own bias in telling difficult narratives and explores other perspectives, which have been historically misrepresented. This exhibition will be shown in our new gallery Story Lab. Story Lab is a space that will test different storylines and ways of creating museum displays. We encourage visitors to interact, feedback and engage in conversations with us and each other. Your responses to this exhibition will affect how the museum displays these topics in the future. “
#ThePastIsNow
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Until 18 March 2018
ART: LUBAINA HIMID: METICULOUS OBSERVATIONS AND NAMING THE MONEY (WALKER ART GALLERY, LIVERPOOL)
This is a powerful new exhibition by 2017 Turner Prize winner Lubaina Himid MBE. “The full installation Naming the Money was gifted by the artist to the International Slavery Museum. It addresses how Europe’s wealthy classes spent their money and flaunted their power in the 18th and 19th centuries, by using enslaved African men and women. The highly individual sculptural figures, each with their own profession and life-story, demonstrate how enslavement was disguised and glamorised. Visitors to the Walker will find groups of these figures positioned around the gallery in configurations determined by the artist.
There are free introductory tours of this exhibition on 12th, 30th, January 27th February and 13th March at 1 pm in room 9. Do call the gallery first to check and confirm.”
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Artlyst Review here
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Until 20 May 2018
ART: SLAVES OF FASHION – NEW WORKS BY THE SINGH TWINS (WALKER ART GALLERY, LIVERPOOL)
“Slaves of Fashion: New Works by The Singh Twins” explores the history of Indian textiles, Empire, enslavement and luxury consumerism, and the contemporary relevance of these issues in the world today.”
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Related link: https://www.singhtwins.co.uk/index.html
#singhtwins
22 – 27 January 2018
THEATRE: A PASSAGE TO INDIA BASED ON THE NOVEL BY E M FORSTER (SALISBURY PLAYHOUSE)
“One cannot be friends with the English!” “The advice was harsh but clear, and Aziz ignored it. Now he lies in jail on a charge of sexual assault. Forster’s masterpiece poses a question more urgent today than ever: how can we love one another in a world divided by culture and belief? Multi award-winning ensemble simple8 transport us to Imperial India, conjuring up the elephants and caves, courthouses and temples with the simplest and boldest means – including original music played live on stage by legendary composer Kuljit Bhamra. Full of humour and rich humanity, but with vast philosophical and political scope, “A Passage to India” is one of the great novels of the 20th Century. simple8’s thrilling new adaptation reimagines it for contemporary Britain.”
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23 January 2018 – 17 February 2018
THEATRE: THERE OR HERE – BY JENNIFER MAISEL / DIRECTED BY VIK SIVALINGAM (PARK THEATRE, LONDON)
The producers of the 2013 hit “Yellow Face” (Park Theatre/ National Theatre transfer) are opening the Park90 2018 season with “There or Here”, a dramatic comedy about relationships, race, belonging and… outsourcing. Jennifer Maisel’s poignant comedy follows the journey of Robyn and Ajay; when illness prevents them from having a child of their own, they return to India – the country of Ajay’s birth – to outsource their pregnancy. As they come together to face this next step in their lives, their increasing inability to be each other’s comfort drives them to seek solace from strangers on the other end of their phone lines in the unlikeliest of places – call centres, drive thrus and even sex lines… Through sharp writing and witty observation, “There or Here” explores what happens in this changing world when couples forego face-to-face communication in favour of the virtual. The cast includes: Lucy Fenton, Manish Gandhi, Ursula Mohan, Chris Nayak and Rakhee Thakrar.
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24 January 2018
SEMINAR & FILM: ‘THIS IS EUROPE?’ VOICES FROM THE FORGOTTEN MIGRATION CRISIS IN EUROPE BY HALDANE SOCIETY OF SOCIALIST LAWYERS
The Haldane Society of Socialist Lawyers presents a seminar discussion and documentary film screening on the daily life and experiences of refugees in Greece.
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25 January 2018
FILM: INJUSTICE (BERNIE GRANT ARTS CENTRE, LONDON)
“This hard-hitting documentary investigates the crisis in Britain’s prisons. The past years have seen the worst prison riots in decades, eruptions of violence that could barely be contained by guards and walls. This hard hitting doc investigates, delving into the world of prisons, the judicial system, and crime through interviews with ex-prisoners, activists, criminologists, and government officials. Look closely, and you’ll see that it’s not that prisons are in crisis; prisons are the crisis.”
Screening to be followed by a panel discussion including: Faith Spear, former prison inspector; Deirdre O’Neill, Inside Film; Charlotte May Henry, JENGbA campaigner; Andrew Neilson, Head of Campaigns, Howard League for Penal Reform.
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26 January 2018
BOOK LAUNCH: INSIDE THE IVORY TOWER: NARRATIVES OF WOMEN OF COLOUR SURVIVING AND THRIVING IN BRITISH ACADEMIA (UNIVERSITY SQUARE STRATFORD CAMPUS, LONDON)
“This book places the perspectives, experiences and career trajectories of women of colour in British academia at the centre of analysis, positioning academia as a space dominated by whiteness and patriarchy where women of colour must develop strategies for survival and success. It explores how the experiences of the contributors are shaped by race and gender and how racism manifests in day to day experiences in the academe, from subtle microagressions to overt racialised and gendered abuse. Presented as a selection of autoethnographies, each chapter touches on common themes such as invisibility, hypervisibility, exclusion and belonging, highlighting intersectional experiences. It is a must-read for anyone interested in equality within and beyond academia.” You can find out more information about the Authors here: http://blackbritishacademics.co.uk/research/inside-the-ivory-tower/
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27 January 2018
HOLOCAUST MEMORIAL DAY 2018
Various events listed by the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust
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Until 31 December 2018
EXHIBITION: GLASWEGASIANS (SCOTLAND STREET SCHOOL MUSEUM, GLASGOW)
Working in partnership with Colourful Heritage, ”GlaswegAsians” traces the influence and heritage of South Asian Communities across Scotland and throughout Glasgow. The exhibition marks the start of a relationship between Glasgow Museums and Colourful Heritage, a community group based in Glasgow that has developed an online archive of material recording the migration of people from South Asia to Scotland. The exhibition will run for an extended period at Scotland Street School Museum allowing Glasgow Museums to explore how people came to Glasgow and how the city grew and changed as a result. Among the exhibits are the copy of the Quran Mohammed Sarwar used as he was sworn in as the UK’s first Muslim and South Asian MP and the kilt and sherwani worn by Humza Yousaf MSP as he was sworn in at the Scottish Parliament in 2011. The exhibition explores entrepreneurship and working life, politics, war, family and social life and schools.
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