Please check the booklet at the link below:

Booklet-Festival-Complete

Please register here: creativeinterruptions.net/festival

Probots are hacked robotic protestors, tele-operated to reduce the risk of activists who might otherwise receive sharp blows to the head while exercising their civil rights.

Probots become a “dissident witness” to the act of protest. Following early development by La Fábrica de Cosas Bonitas, the tele-operated self-balancing robot now reduces personal involvement in protests to a clinical and measurable effect. Mirroring military drone technology, it protects the “operator” from sharp blows to the head by angry police or drunk fascists, while at the same time maintaining some of the power of an embodied, human sized protestor that can carry a sign and produce loud chants and cheers. Built from shipping pallets, hoodies, and bullhorns, running on a single board computer, using surplus motors and a cheap android phone, the self-balancing robots can be sent on protest missions or a full day, controlled via low-latency mobile internet for two-way audio and video participation.

For the festival we will have the robots circling the Blue Room, being controlled by participants to the conference. With a cafe table the exhibit depicts an operator’s “cockpit,” in the form of the classic transient workspace of the European intellectual. The table is equipped with requisite Sartre and Proudhon texts, ashtray and Gauloises tobacco pouch, used espresso cups, and rough-and-ready control panel.

The viewer should be able to engage with the robot by sitting at the table and interacting with the robot as it rolls through the space. If viewers prove irresponsible, the artist will take that role.

Chris Csikszentmihályi is European Research Area Chair at Madeira Interactive Technology Institute, and directs the Rootio Project, a sociotechnical stack for community radio. Csikszentmihalyi has been a professor at colleges, universities, and institutes, including a decade at the MIT Media Lab, and was Distinguished Visiting Professor of Art and Design Research at Parsons the New School for Design. He cofounded and directed the MIT Center for Future Civic Media (C4), developing technologies that strengthen communities, and founded the MIT Media Lab’s Computing Culture group, which used participatory design techniques to create unique media technologies for cultural and political applications.

Many thanks to : Vitor Hugo Agiar and Victor Azevedo

By Jay Gearing and Ben Rogaly

The Gladstone Community Association (GLADCA) Annual General Meeting was as packed with graduating ESOL students ready to receive their certificates in October 2018 as it had been the year before. Ben had been invited to the 2017 GLADCA AGM by Alison Davies, herself an academic researcher in the city. Based on his experience then, we chose this as the most suitable time and place for a second public screening in Peterborough of Workers, a film that ‘shows working people in some of the broader contexts of their lives – as musicians and poets, as community activists and informal teachers… as individuals whose employment conditions are onerous and whose creative capacities persist’.

At the screening, members of Peterborough’s multi-ethnic, multi-nationality, multi-faith and multi-lingual working-class came together to celebrate and eat, showing off the city’s diversity. This at a time when a seminar was being announced to launch a new academic book that seemed to legitimate the idea that there could be ‘too much’ diversity.

As David Roediger reminds us, anti-racist struggle is a contributor to the struggle against class inequalities. Theories of racial capitalism show how capitalists have long created, perpetuated and taken advantage of racialised and other socialised difference in the workplace to enhance their power over labour by dividing workers.

When, earlier in 2018, Workers was selected for The Sociological Review’s Undiscipliningconference we were thrilled. Here was a conference organised by an academic journal that seemed explicitly to resonate with Jacques Rancière’s opposition to ‘that ancient hierarchy which subordinates those dedicated to labour to those endowed with the privilege of thought’. The conference also promised an annual lecture by Satnam Virdee whose earlier work had inspired us to think about the historical role of racialised others in UK labour struggles. And there were to be responses by Sivamohan Valluvan and Bev Skeggs both of whom, in very different ways, pioneered critical reworking of the white, male, national citizen version of the image of ‘workers’ and of the English working-class.

Our deep and intimate involvement in Peterborough – through years of research in Ben’s case and being a life-long resident in Jay’s – meant that we already had close relations with people who had worked in the city’s warehouses and food factories to build on. Both of us see listening as central to what we do. Listening to current and former workers as peoplemeant that the film would work as a series of portraits. Following on from Ben’s and Kaveri Qureshi’s interviews earlier in the 2010s we wanted to ask people about their experiences of being part of diverse warehouse and food factory workforces, and about moments when people came together across difference to resist harsh supervisory regimes. At the same time, we sought to avoid defining people according to their occupations at a particular point in their lives and used a broad understanding of creativity to ask about people’s creative lives within and beyond the workplace.

Before Jay came on board Ben had put a version of these ideas together with the rest of the Creative Interruptions team as part of a bid for research funding. It was always a collaborative process in other ways too. An early meeting about the framing of the Creative Interruptions proposal was attended by Agnieszka Coutinho, one of the narrators (Workers, Chapter 5) in the eventual film. Following a model used by Les Back, Shamser Sinha and their co-authors, we are now preparing, with Agnieszka, a jointly-written chapter for a forthcoming collection ‘Creativity and resistance in a hostile world’ being edited by Sarita Malik and the rest of the Creative Interruptions team.

In Peterborough, photographer Chris Porsz had also discussed the ideas for the film with Ben before Creative Interruptions was funded. He attended and spoke at the first of two dinners cooked and hosted for narrators and Peterborough-based digital media artists by Metal Peterborough, where Ben was writer-in-residence. The second dinner was followed by a screening for the film’s narrators of a first cut, using a cinema space secured by Jay at the back of a Peterborough wine bar. The film was greeted enthusiastically and we were urged to complete the work. We released a trailer for the film and arranged a public première at Peterborough Central Library in June 2018, three weeks before the Undisciplining conference. About eighty people attended including many current and former workers, trade unionists and other activists. It was followed by a lively question and answer session at which we were urged to distribute the film widely to assist campaigns for workplace rights.

When Ben had put out a call for proposals for Peterborough-based film-makers in May 2017 four were received. These were ranked by eight different people from a wide range of backgrounds including Creative Interruptions International Advisory Group member Fatima Manji of Channel 4 News, who grew up in Peterborough; a former warehouse worker; Peterborough-based arts commissioners; and Sarita Malik and Photini Vrikki of the Creative Interruptions team. They all considered the pitches of the people who applied and almost unanimously recommended Jay, who had previously been suggested for the work by Peterborough resident and community garden activist Sophie Antonelli, a mutual friend.

The two of us met often in Peterborough and sometimes in Brighton and communicated frequently by phone, text and email. Using Jay’s equipment and some prior technical training from him, Ben conducted audio interviews in summer 2017 – mostly at the premises of Metal Peterborough – on the basis that this would be the audio used for the film. However, when Jay listened to the recordings he decided that they were not of sufficient quality. Ben had intervened, reassured and assented too often. As an interviewer he was too audible. So when Jay, as planned, visited the narrators’ homes for video footage he also recorded on-camera interviews with each of them, listening to Ben’s interview first, and often using a similar line of questions. Jay built on the intimacy that had emerged through Ben’s relationships with narrators in some cases over a six-year period, and doubled down on this, using his own personal, emotionally aware and intimate approach. He left plenty of time to be with the people being interviewed in their own space. Our conversations before and after each interview, along with the words of the narrators, further honed the themes of the film and informed the editing process. Following an afternoon when we worked together to reduce one of the film’s chapters from two hours to five minutes of audio, the rest of the editing was done by Jay.

There were others who decided not to be part of the film, people whom we had approached and met with. Some of them even attended the Metal Peterborough dinners. At least one of these people stayed closely in touch with the work after recording an audio interview with Ben. We also met with a former revolutionary leader from south-east Asia who had been interviewed as part of Ben’s earlier research and was currently working in a Peterborough warehouse; and we had an introduction to a Sikh woman in her sixties who worked in a potato chip factory and with whom we communicated at regular intervals over several weeks. Two narrators came on board right at the end: Joanna Szczepaniak (WorkersChapter 3), whom Ben had kept in touch with since 2011 and now runs a Polish newspaper, and Natalina Cardoso (Workers Chapter 9), introduced to us by Gladstone Community Association.

After over a decade of austerity, declining real wages and worsening employment conditions, the residents of Peterborough, as of the UK as a whole, face new economic, political and cultural struggles. It is our hope that Workers will contribute in a small way towards moving away from a culture that stigmatises working-class creativity towards one that values and respects people who work in food factories and warehouses as people; and towards bolstering the prospects for collective action in the face of divisive racist and anti-migrant rhetoric and the practices of racial capitalism.

Jay Gearing is an Independent Filmmaker based in Peterborough under the guise of Red 7 Productions. He directed and co-produced Workers. Twitter: @red7productions

Ben Rogaly teaches in the Department of Geography at the University of Sussex. He researched and co-produced Workers. Twitter: @rogaly

Read a review of ‘Workers’ by Dawn Lyon here.

35.875 people have died in the mediterranean sea since 1993 to today trying to reach a safe port. Hundreds continue to die monthly. Spanish and Italian governments have started prosecuting and forbidding navigation to any NGOs that will try to save their lives. Our brothers and sisters keep dying. The seas of the world are filled with black bodies.

In this piercing and heartbreaking piece, Sally uses the Kola nut, and the significance of the ritual behind it, as a narrative device. 

A scene from Sally Fenaux Barleycorn’s short film, Unburied

The Significance of the Kola Nut

“He who brings the Kola nut brings life.”

In joining our forces with Runnymede Trust,we have collaborated on commissioning two short films that resonate with our ethos and project themes.

We are pleased to announce our second commission, Alors on Danse by Director, Choreographer, and Creative Producer of Afrique Au Monde, Irene Ashu.

The short film is an exploration of African cultural diffusion. African dance has changed the world and created a global culture. From Shaku Shaku to tribal dance styles, Alors on Danse presents a raw and untraditional exploration of movement. African dance is birthed from our joy, pain, anxiety, ego, fears, love, and ancestors. From Beyonce to Michael Jackson, to Shakira, African dance has created waves on global stages. Paris is a melting pot of African migrants and some of the best afro-beat dancers in the world. Alors on Danse follows five iconic dancers through the streets of Paris reflect the ways in which African dance has traveled and evolved.  

Bio

From Arizona to Hollywood. From Arizona native Irene Ashu is making a name for herself in the entertainment industry. Irene is a dancer, director, and choreographer. Since moving to Los Angeles in 2013 Irene worked alongside artist such as SZA, P!NK, Superfruit, Nicki Minaj, Jennifer Hudson, David Guetta, Afrojack, DJ Carnage, WIZKID, Fanny Neguesha, AlunaGeorge, Chris Brown, Big Sean, Jeremih, SHIN, Carrie Underwood, Little Mix, Beba Rexha, MAJOR LAZER, and more.

Irene has performed and curated performances on shows such as the Late Late Show With James Cordon, and the MTV VMA awards. Irene had the privilege of performing with P!NK for her Michael Jackson Video Vanguard performance. Irene has appeared, directed, and choreographed various commercials with brands such as Apple, Sony, Coolhaus Ice Cream, Hollister, Google, Android, LG, Toyota, Irvine Auto Center, and Under Armour.

Beyond her work, Irene is Cameroonian activist and the owner of Dance For A Cause. Dance For A Cause is non-profit that gives underprivileged children & teens the opportunity to learn about jobs like directing, choreographing, producing, and more.

For more information about Irene and her work check: Www.ireneashu.com

Twitter: @IreneAshu

We are pleased to announce our first commission, Unburied by Sally Fenaux Barleycorn. A truly moving and poignant account of the heart-wrenching affects that hostile migration policies can have on real people. 

Below is a description of the film and some shots from behind-the-scenes by photographer Alice Brazzit. We will be uploading a preview of the film very soon…

Unburied by Sally Fenaux Barleycorn. Photograph by Alice Brazzit.

35.875 people have died in the mediterranean sea since 1993 to today trying to reach a safe port. Hundreds continue to die monthly. Spanish and Italian governments have started prosecuting and forbidding navigation to any NGOs that will try to save their lives. Our brothers and sisters keep dying. The seas of the world are filled with black bodies.

Unburied by Sally Fenaux Barleycorn. Photograph by Alice Brazzit.

Sally Fenaux Barleycorn’s short film is a visual poem of pain and remembrance. Dedicated to those buried in the waters, to their lost-at-sea souls; it is a moment for heartbreak, guiding their souls back home.

Unburied by Sally Fenaux Barleycorn. Photograph by Alice Brazzit

The film has been shot in Barcelona in collaboration with Ghanian artists, The Sey Sisters and Mouhamet Dia (Advisor of Immigrant & Refugee services, Barcelona).

Unburied by Sally Fenaux Barleycorn. Photograph by Alice Brazzit

Bio

Sally is the daughter of African and European migrants. She has been working in the film industry in 2009, and premiered her first short film in Amsterdam (NL) in 2015. As a director her focus has always been to translate emotional experiences into images, ideas into visual metaphors, exploring how much one can communicate beyond the ‘rational’ into the hearts of an audience.

To find out more about Sally’s work check out her website: www.nowheresally.com

Creative Interruptions is a project funded by the UK Government’s Arts and Humanities Research Council. We conduct research and support diverse communities to explore the role of the arts, media and creativity in challenging forms of exclusion, including racism. 

The current uncertainties around immigration, cultural difference, rights and responsibilities have resurfaced global debates on colonialism, borders, race, and resistance and brought to light the creativity that these circumstances produce. With this in mind, we have collaborated with different people from diverse backgrounds to find out why, and how, particular kinds of creative forms, textures and (alternative) aesthetics are used in arts and activism.

Some of the questions we have been asking include:

What is it about theatre, film, or the digital medium that makes each of them the most appropriate or enabling forms and spaces to communicate, share and enable activist messages, for example around race and class politics? In what circumstances does everyday creativity constitute a creative intervention?

Our team has teamed-up with Runnymede Trust ,and we have been writing posts on the Race Matters blog. You might have seen a few blog posts floating around Twitter news-feeds, if not here are the direct links to these articles, we aim to publish more soon:

Arts and Resistance in a Hostile World

Research subjects or co-creators? Making public outreach count

Together with Runnymede Trust we are currently co-organising a roundtable discussion about inequalities in the cultural and creative industries to enable conversations between artists from different communities, and, cultural policy-makers, towards thinking about what need to be changed and how we can do this through a collective effort. This will take place on the 17th June at the BFI in London, as part of our festival.  

To register for the festival and see our exciting programme click here: http://creativeinterruptions.net/festival/

In joining our forces, Runnymede Trust and Creative Interruptions have also collaborated on commissioning two films that resonate with the ethos and project themes. 

• inequalities and racism in the arts
• making differences between policies and practice in the art world
• engaging with the ideas of race, access, and representation
• ideas and opinions related to how art is used to tackle issues around race and/or class, and other inequalities

These films are still cooking, but keep your eyes peeled as we intend on announcing our commissions shortly.  

We are proud to present a series of contributions that address how everyday citizens and communities that have been marginalised communities use the arts, media and creativity to challenge exclusion. Alongside contributions from established academics, we are pleased that the programme for Creative Interruptions: Festival of Arts and Activism will also provide an opportunity for postgraduate students, early career researchers, independent scholars, artists and creative practitioners to showcase their work and research.

The topics that will be addressed over the course of this 2 day festival emphasise the diversity of interests within the field of grassroots creativity and processes of exclusion, and will illustrate the local and global dynamics of co-creative, decolonial, and participatory approaches.

The draft programme (subject to change) can be viewed in full by following the link below:

Programme-Final-Complete

We are greatly looking forward to welcoming you all to BFI Southbank in June, and will soon be making further announcements about how to register for workshops. For all the latest information, please follow Creative Interruptions on Twitter: @CreativeInterr

Creative Interruptions (Brunel University London) in collaboration with The Runnymede Trust, invite expressions of interest from innovative digital media practitioners (filmmakers, animators, etc.) who work across artistic media platforms, to produce and create a short film with us. The chosen practitioner will be expected to showcase work produced at the BFI Southbank this June, as part of our festival, for a live audience of artists, cultural and creative industry professionals, and policy experts.

This is a paid opportunity to commission a practitioner/collective for the production and creation of a short film. We are looking for practitioners who share the ethos of the Creative interruptions project, led by Professor Sarita Malik and Runnymede, the UK’s leading independent race equality think tank. They will be passionate about collaboration and advocate for equality in the arts, activist practices, and grassroots craft.

Themes of interest for the film can include (not limited, but must be related to these):

• inequalities and racism in the arts
• making differences between policies and practice in the art world
• engaging with the ideas of race, access, and representation
• ideas and opinions related to how art is used to tackle issues around race and/or class, and other inequalities

We would like your work to show the strengths, diversity, imagination, and innovative nature of your chosen genre: from observation to filmic essays, creative short films, animation films, 360 films, VR films. We are open to submissions on/or around the above-suggested ideas. If you think you have a great idea related to these themes, please mention this in your application.

Works should be between up to 5 minutes long and ready to be exhibited at the Creative Interruptions festival in June 2019, subject to schedule and feasibility.

The deadline for the film submission is 28 May 2019.

The commission fee will be up to £3000 depending on submitted budget.

This collaboration is between you, Creative Interruptions, Brunel University London and The Runnymede Trust. Our aim is to promote how artists and filmmakers use the arts, media, and creativity to challenge exclusion.

HOW TO APPLY

• A one-page CV
• A one-page expression of interest. This document should address, your practice and the way you work; why you are interested in this project; and how you would approach working with suggested ideas, and your initial ideas.
• Additional LINKS to your portfolio website, showreel, or online videos.
• A budget break-down (pre-production, production, post-production)
• Please combine these documents into one single file (doc. / PDF).
• The email subject line should read: Open Call App <YOUR INITIALS>.
• Send as an emailattachment to the project’s curator, Yiota Demetriou (panayiota.demetriou@brunel.ac.uk)
• Deadline of application 10th April 2019 10 am. We will not be accepting submissions after this time.

We welcome and encourage applications from those currently underrepresented in our workforce and in the arts community; particularly working-class people, people of colour, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender people, and disabled people (as defined by the Equality Act 2010).