Black study, being in space and black bodies navigating space
Deadline for applications: 5pm, Mon 2 July
This DIY is supported by National Theatre of Scotland
sorryyoufeeluncomfortable have been asking about the movement of black bodies. This workshop will be a collaborative consideration and encounter with black histories, presents and futures in the city. Through a series of ‘time travel’ walks attended to by texts ranging from literature, poetry, theatre, theory, film and sound that critique and reframe the constitution of space in a way that makes visible the way black bodies shape space.
There are a number of exciting terms and theories such as psychogeography, dérive and drift but we want to consider the freedom of bodies that are not white and or or male to ‘wander’ the landscape and the way these urban landscapes are designed to act on black bodies, demanding a certain kind of presence from black bodies, (various forms of state violence, displacements and refusals of certain individuals and communities to even make home). How do we contextualise (using the intersection of sensing and moving through space and texts) and name the movement of black bodies from a Black British, specifically Black Glaswegian perspective using the intersection of ‘texts’ and walking? Our interest in Glasgow being one of the sites in which we engage in this performative conversation has to do with Glasgow’s growing black population, its history as a merchant city and thus its relationship to slavery. We wish to connect with our peers in Glasgow to collectively consider the visibility of black histories, presents and hoped for futures in the city through movement and conversation.
We welcome applications from local practicing artists of colour from any discipline e.g (writers, visual artists, sound artists, musicians, dancers, actors) at any level of experience. We hope for an intergenerational conversation so we can consider how sense of space has and can change over time.
The online application asks for a brief creative response to the words 'black drift' which can be provided in any medium. We accept writing, but you can also send us links to video or audio, or upload documents or pictures. We also ask about you and your practice, the role of moving through space within your practice, and what you hope to gain from participation in the DIY. If there are particular areas or locations in Glasgow that you would like to explore, you can tell us about those too.
Dates: 19 – 21 Oct 2018
Location: Glasgow
Formed in 2014 out of the the Baldwin’s Nigger Reloaded project initiated by Barby Asante and Teresa Cisneros, we are a multi disciplinary group of thinkers and makers committed to creative, nuanced and resistant discussions of how the intersections of race, gender, sexuality and class affect communities. One strand of inquiry – Black Drift as conceptualised by syfu’s Imani Robinson and Ciaran Finlayson during a 2015 residency at Showroom Gallery in collaboration with the Chimurenga Library and accompanying Pan African Space Station(Pass) was expanded upon during a 2017 ICA Learning Associates Public programme ( https://www.ica.art/whats-on/black-drift ). SYFU now want to take these discussions to the pavement. Our methodological approach to this project is influenced by TWRG (The Walking Reading Group) run in London by Lydia Ashman, Ania Bas and Simone Mair who were in turn inspire by IICD (if i can’t dance i do n’t want to be part of your revolution), Amsterdam.
For questions about this DIY, please contact SYFU.
Banner image credit:
Mapping the Black Drift, courtesy of the artists Imani Robinson & Ciaran Finlayson, 2015
We are looking for a better quality image for this page or to replace it if it's missing.
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