90 Degree Citizen

an exhibition by Virtual Migrants + performance / discussion events
on show at the Manchester Museum 10th October – 17th November 2013

migrant art – alternative connections – cultural boundaries
A rare exhibition of work by a new wave of visual artists whose experiences include life as refugees in the UK engaging with objects from The Manchester Museum

Opening event:
In Conversation with artists and curators plus live music from Emmanuela Yogolelo
Thursday 10th October, 6.00 – 8.30pm
FREE to attend, but please register at www.90degreecitizen.eventbrite.co.uk

Produced in partnership with Street Level Photoworks (Glasgow), Manchester Museum and GM Immigration Aid Unit.  Part of Platforma 2013 national festival of arts and refugees.

Special performances / discussions on 10th and 30th October, starting at 6pm.

90 Degree Citizen presents artworks that resonate with experiences of migration and refuge. They represent a sample of a new wave of expression in the UK outside of the limitations of western art schools and markets, often with a greater interest in symbolism, narrative and cultural hybridity.

Exhibiting artists include award-winning Amang Mardokhy from Kurdish Iraq, whose paintings touch on repression, history and resistance. Photographer Iseult Timmermans worked with Refugee women at Glasgow’s Red Road Community Studio exploring “how military violence affects women’s lives”. Iranian photographer Mazaher creates detailed montages combining human forms with Persian-influenced designs. The International Women’s Group from North Glasgow use photographic mixed media in response to issues of violence against women. Bold paintings and prints by Tracey Zengeni from Zimbabwe reflect on influences between her homeland and the UK. Painter and mixed media artist Flora Alexander presents intricate paper-cuts, subverting popular notions of her native Iran.

A special display of museum objects by curator Stephen Welsh (Manchester Museum) challenges how cultures were categorised during the era of colonial object collecting, which among other things suppressed diaspora expression.

“Committed To Represent” pop-up exhibition produced with Greater Manchester Immigration Aid Unit will be on show Weds 30th October to Friday 1st November. This celebrates the critical work of legal caseworkers in the difficult lives of refugees.

Exhibition open daily 10am – 5pm at the Manchester Museum, Oxford Road, Manchester M13 9PL

Special event:
Re-Presenting Refugees panel discussion with ‘Passenger 12’ multimedia performance
+ special guests including international artist Humberto Velez, Denise McDowell the director of Greater Manchester Immigration Aid, and Glasgow-based Iranian artist Flora Alexander
Wednesday 30th October, 6.00 – 9.00pm plus: at 5.00pm a talk + preview of the “Committed To Represent” pop-up exhibition
FREE to attend, but please register at www.re-presentingrefugees.eventbrite.co.uk

Both events are FREE and the café will stay open. Registration of your attendance is advised via the direct links above.

Project directed by Kooj Chuhan, co-managed by Tracey Zengeni, curatorial support by Iseult Timmermans and Rosalind Sandhu, marketing by Maya Chowdhry, PR by Tim Birch, print design by Wellington Mbofana, performances produced by Sai Murai and Aidan Jolly.