Virtual Migrants

art, digital media, performance exploring race, migration, environment, global justice

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Migrant Frontiers, Hostile Detainment: creative activism

Two FREE events before and after a screening of ‘Human Flow’ by Ai Weiwei: ‘Migrant Frontiers’ and ‘Hostile Detainment’, both with a strong political agenda and dedicated to the hunger strike at Yarlswood detention centre by over 100 detainees just two months ago.  They are taking place at HOME, a leading arts centre in Manchester, on Thurs 21st June 2018.  More info:

 

Migrant Frontiers

Migrant Frontiers8.30pm – 10.30pm, the café-bar at HOME, 2 Tony Wilson Place, Manchester M15 4FN

In conversation with veteran campaigner Tony Openshaw, Mariam Yusuf who is currently seeking asylum, the ‘These Walls Must Fall’ campaign, artist-filmmaker Kooj Chuhan, and other guests to be announced.  Live poetry from Sai Murray with musical backing will punctuate the discussion.  The panel will reflect on the Human Flow film, the injustice of immigration detention, the history of migrant justice and the work of Virtual Migrants who are marking 20 years of art and activism.  [Read more…]

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Continent Chop Chop documentary re-launches critical climate justice creativity by Virtual Migrants

At the end of 2015 Virtual Migrants toured Continent Chop Chop, an innovative theatrical performance which is now the short film – the Continent Chop Chop documentary.  This film exposes the complex process involved in making an authentic artist-activist statement that avoids being didactic, doesn’t pull punches, and steers away from the common trappings of climate change art and performance.

Here it is, please leave comments below or watch it directly on YouTube and leave comments there: www.youtube.com/watch?v=FAPKS3IobTk.

Background to the Continent Chop Chop Documentary

‘Continent Chop Chop’ is a touring transmedia production linking narratives of climate change to the broader issues of poverty, race and social justice. Using interwoven narratives portrayed through music, poetry, and projected imagery, it will ask:

  • Continent Chop Chop documentary - still from the performance by Max FarrarWho controls the narrative of climate change?
  • What are the connections between climate change and poverty?
  • How does the wider climate of austerity and scapegoating of migrants connect with climate change?
  • And why should anyone care when they don’t have enough to eat?

A performance project by the Virtual Migrants collective.
Devised and led by Sai Murray (writer, performer), Aidan Jolly (musician, composer) and Maya Chowdhry (transmedia artist).  Supporting artists: Tracey Zengeni (vocals, performer), Jaydev Mistry (musician, digital soundscapes), Kooj Chuhan (video artist), Mazaher Rafshajani (photography and video).
Directed by Amanda Huxtable.

Featuring commissioned work from guest artists:

Nnimmo Bassey, a leading environmental activist who has won a number of awards and has played leading roles in Friends Of The Earth International, Oilwatch Africa and the Global South Network.

Zena Edwards, a London-based performance poet, writer and musician and creative director of Conversations: Verse in Dialog; Re-Imagining Arts In Action; The Fury Project; The Poetic Debaters.

Visit www.virtualmigrants.net/continent-chop-chop for more information about the project.

 

More is coming…

Virtual Migrants have been involved in a number of small interventions and mini-projects over the last two years, and have been working on organisational development over the last six months in preparation for sustained and focused slate of projects which will begin to emerge soon.  If you liked watching our work in the Continent Chop Chop documentary, please watch this space and see you soon!

Photo Gallery of Continent Chop Chop show in Leeds

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Video, music, digital art box set on sale! Asylum and refuge, identity and human experience.

…an alternative to the usual festive items for those of a conscious disposition…

EXHALE artists DVD, audio-CD and booklets exploring asylum/refuge – a video, music, digital art box set on sale now!

IN STOCK – ORDER ONLINE NOW! http://www.virtualmigrants.com/order.htm

OUT NOW! only £15.99 including free delivery

EXHALE box set of DVD, audio-CD, bookletsOUT NOW! only £15.99 including free delivery [Read more…]

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Stand up for La Guajira!

The Threepenny Festival Association, Virtual Migrants, Rainbow Collective, Voices That Shake!, with the London Mining Network and War On Want created an artist led intervention in the protest outside the BHP-Billiton Annual General Meeting in London on October 19th. A map representing villages displaced by the Cerrejón open cast mine was created and rolled out in front of the entrance to the conference hall, leaving shareholders with the choice of confronting or dodging their complicity. The film was made alongside this process, documenting the struggle of the WaYúu people, and calling for action.

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Mining as Neocolonialism – Stories of Resistance

Members of the Threepenny Festival and Virtual Migrants have to got together to perform songs, poetry and music for this event on October 19th at UCL in London – there will also be a special surprise! Come and show solidarity for communities affected by mining at this event, featuring speakers from indigenous communities in Colombia and Brazil. For more information click here.

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Maria Balshaw ‘Give Back To Moss Side’?

On 12th February 2015, Maria Balshaw was interviewed By Radio 4, she talked about the very diverse communities in Moss Side on their doorstep and stated “We want to give something back to Moss Side”.

This was in answer to the question about the Whitworth Art Gallery being about catering for all walks of life.  She is now to be promoted to the top job of director of the Tate.  We wonder what people from Moss Side think about her publicly broadcasted statement?

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Extremely Safe Radical Preventions

Earlier this year we were involved in a research project devised by the University of Manchester Centre for Criminology and Criminal Justice and a series of interactive drama-based workshops led by Theatre in Prisons and Probation to faciliate conversations about radicalism.

The project was devised as ‘a collaboration between young people, school staff, interdisciplinary researchers, and creative artists, that focuses on developing an inclusive and open discussion about how schools approach extremism that speaks to, and is led by, young people’.

The government’s Prevent strategy has been accused of being more damaging than enabling; acting as a mechanism of exclusion that represses rather than encourages conversation. It was fascinating to hear the views and frustrations of teachers and pupils in dealing with Prevent and Safeguarding legislation highlighting even more the need to “talk about this”.

Here’s the poem that [Read more…]

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Photo Gallery of Continent Chop Chop show in Leeds

Following our recent tour, here is a photo gallery of Continent Chop Chop as it was performed in Leeds, all photos by Max Farrar.  We are going to add more updates about that tour as time goes on, as well as details of what we are currently developing.  For full details of the Continent Chop Chop project, go to http://virtualmigrants.net/continent-chop-chop/ or locate the project in the drop down menu above.

Photo Gallery:

Click on any image to view the photos in a nice and cool large-size slideshow.

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Nowhere To Run: Climate Refugees – call for photos and artwork

We have received the following call for creative contributions from Jennifer Heath and are posting it as an interesting and potentially worthwhile project (with the disclaimer that we know very little about the project):

Call for Photos and Artwork
Nowhere to Run: Climate Refugees
Contact: Jennifer Heath, Baksun Books & Arts for Social & Environmental Justice
baksunarts [at] aol.com

Nowhere to Run: Climate Refugees is seeking eye-witness accounts of the experiences of people forced to leave their homes and communities because of climate change and environmental degradation, whether from flood, drought, storm, rising sea levels, deforestation or agricultural uncertainty. Climate refugees, also called environmental migrants, are found worldwide in places of both privilege and poverty (ranging from New York to Bangladesh). There are said to be at least 50 million environmental refugees today and the United Nations predicts the number could grow to 120 million by 2050. [Read more…]