Reflections on Shake! by Orla Price

2014 was a great year for Shake!. We had two of the largest intensive course groups so far, and got to meet some pretty amazing people, including the talented artist, writer, and editor Orla Price.

Orla was no stranger to the idea of art as a powerful tool for social change, and in fact when we met her she was half way through her master’s course in art and politics. She decided to include Shake! as a case study for her dissertation, and has shared with us some of her insights about Shake!, art practice, and radical pedagogy.

“In observing group participation at the August 2014 SHAKE!, one girl trying to express the relationship between mental health and systemic power and […] her own reasons for being there quoted Bell Hooks saying, “I came to theory because I was hurting”. In examining Bell Hooks’ views on critical pedagogy she goes onto to state “Theory is not inherently, healing, liberatory or revolutionary, it fulfils this function, only when we ask that it do so and direct our theorising towards this end”. In many ways Hooks makes a criticism of the University as a place where the digestion of theory is encouraged but the influence of personal experience and motive not so. Taking into consideration this mix of telling personal stories, motive and theorising, we can see how [this kind of] space is essential, and especially when it comes to the matter of personal stories, art can then become the medium to represent the mix.”

….

“The personal experiences of the facilitators were treated on an equal level to those of the participants. Commenting on her role Paula said ‘We focus on exploring everyone's opinions on certain topics instead of feeding them with facts and content’. In observing the facilitation of ‘SHAKE’ the participants would first discuss the themes of injustice before they creatively responded to them. Talking about this process and its facilitation Grainne said “They made the space feel like somewhere you could feel safe to express yourself and your ideas without judgement.” Comparing this to her experience in University she said there it was like “There was this hierarchy that was very present and you also felt like you where being judged on everything you said, and you had to try and impress.””

….

“[I]t is integral that for a critical pedagogy to function, its participants must feel whatever their background that their experience can be voiced. If we take SHAKE! as an example of critical pedagogies on this relational level, we can see how well the project incorporated these ideas.”

Thanks so much to Orla for sharing her reflections with us!

Shake Showcase #5 @ Rich Mix London

The blue Shake! banners pinned to the walls, clipboards and notes flurrying about, groups of Shake! participants deep in concentration rehearsing their lines on stage or tucked away in corners,  sound-checks, mic-checks, warm embraces to old Shake friends being made.. it’s that time again…

On Tuesday 7^th October we hosted our 5^th Shake! Showcase at Rich Mix London.  Teaming up with our family at NUMBI, the show was based on the August Shake! Intensive Course, “HeadSpace”, and shakers came from far and wide to perform their art and share their political insight and ideas with the public.

During the course in August, the participants used a variety of poetic, musical and filmic tools to dig deep and critically respond to the central theme of “HeadSpace”. Having created a wealth of original artistic work,  the showcase offers an extension to the week of radical learning, and gives a platform where the participants can express their creativity to an audience.

The hosts Cizz, Tasnima & Edwina 

Performing to a full house, our hosts Cizz, Tasnima and Edwina took us on a journey through poetic lyricism, thoughtful rhymes, sweet melodies, and engaging documentary film. Shakers old and new performed, extending the family and widening our community.

Young people that had never been on stage before bravely stood in the spotlight and read their poetry to the 160 people in the audience, followed by a loud chorus of heart-felt applause each time.  Young people that had never made a film before premiered their documentary, followed by a professional panel discussion and Q & A with the filmmakers and audience.  

In conversation with the filmmakers 

The dynamic mixture of performances and contagiously good vibes and spirit meant that the show was funny, thought-provoking, inspiring, and deeply profound – with all of the work reaching an incredibly high-standard. Everybody left with a huge smile on their faces, buzzing with energy and positivity. 

The showcase not only gives the participants a chance to exhibit their creative work, it also serves as an opportunity to engage the public in the social and environmental issues covered at the Shake! Course, and uniquely, from a youth voice. The spectators get the chance to view these topics through the Shake! lens of art,

Spoken word by Mujtaba Ahmed

   media, race and power – which opens up new    ways of seeing and understanding to more and more people. 

The effectiveness of the show can be summed up by the way one girl came up to me at the end of the performances and said “you’re definitely gonna see me up there next time...” She, like many others there, had caught the Shake bug.

Watch out for Shake! Showcase #6…. You really don’t want to miss it.

Saara J-R

Shake! well-being skills pool: Top tips for surviving the system

Here are some of the Shake!r's top tips for countering and surviving the system:

The importance of finding and defining community, and the coming together of like-minded people through ideas.

co-operation = good!

oppressing your friends = not so good...

We must maintain awareness that there is a dominant narrative, and question whose interest it serves to maintain the status quo and accept norms and existing power structures… And then, we must challenge these! For instance, through:
-> music
-> youth work
-> alternative education
-> graffiti
-> group facilitation
-> the internet (non mainstream media)
-> independent film
-> things like SHAKE!
Check out Orla's poem

combating gender marketing from a young age:
'just for humans'

Despite what the education system tells us, knowledge is not always gained through written word. Education is in the experience; you can't just go somewhere to 'get educated.' Check out the trailer for the short film soon to be released, co-created by some of the Shake!rs and NuWave Pictures:

Finding ways to stay strong and remain positive. Annie Rockson shared with us a helpful tool from her new book for combatting stress:

Step one, work out the root of your stress:
1. Emotional (how you feel) - scared, sad, etc
2. Behavioural (how you behave) - addiction, procrastination, etc
3. Environmental (your surroundings) - family, work, friends, etc
 4. Physical (bodily) - bad diet, poor posture, lack of exercise etc

Step two, work out why you feel like this:
1. What is the perceived stress?

Then, you must choose the course of action most suitable for the occasion:

                               Fight, or flight! 

   (or find some other Shake!rs for a group hug…hugs are always good)

The importance of reclaiming inaccessible spaces and creating safe spaces. Spaces have memory: they are more than a material construct, they have spirit and we must challenge the removal of community spaces. Here's a poem by Zena doing just that:

And last, but most certainly not least, we must - unite, resist and stay resilient!

Event: Shake Showcase no.5 - #Headspace

Following an intense Shake! summer course at Bernie Grant Arts Centre.  We are back! This time we explored issues of well-being, activism, power & privilege, and mental health and so much more Our next showcase might just be our best one yet! Hosted by afropunk collective Numbi Arts, the event will take place at
Rich Mix
Oct 7^th 
Doors open at 6:30pm

We are lucky to have an explosive line-up of poets: Adaobi, Connie Iloghalu, Dami, Cizz Centrik, Haneen Hammou, Iqra Shazad, Tasmia Salim, Tito Mogaji-Williams, and Will Sayer. Also  are excited to welcome back returning Shakers Annie Rockson, Nathaniel Chapman, Holly , Lateef, Mujtaba Ahmed and Orla Price. As usual, they will be joined on stage by in-house talent Zena Edwards and Sai Murray.

We will be hosting the premier of the latest Shake film, a documentary about failing education in the UK. Our film crew includes Anisa Rashid, Ary Surendran, Carmen Hoang, Dhelia Snoussi, Ezhilojan Jeyakumar, Isla Munro, Olivia Kamara, Maria Kelly, Maria Gous, Amrin, Nadia Nafakh, Sonia Padia, Tilly Ottley-Matthew and Zaieda Coker. The film was co-produce by Nuwave Pictures’ Dershe Samaria and Patrice Etienne.

 Joining us will be musician and poet Marcina Arnold & shake!r Zareeen. Happy to have Dj Zhao in the mix, and the Numbi Family Drumdancesong Poetic Jam Session.

Tickets for the event are £5 and available via Rich Mix box office: 02076137498, Concessions are available just email farzana@platformlondon.org
http://www.richmix.org.uk/whats-on/event/shake-showcase-headspace-hosted-by-numbi-arts/

See you there!

Holly: Some reflections on #Headspace.

It's no surprise to hear that things have been Shaken right up once again!

The 5th Shake! intensive course began with a dive straight into the deep end, with the group discussing some of the impacts that capitalism has on society, the education system, and our relationships. This Shake! intensive focused on Headspace: from the repercussions of social media, to the influence that dominant narratives have upon the way things are viewed, to the importance of challenging these narratives, reclaiming inaccessible spaces and creating our own safe spaces. The discussion focused on how each topic affects our mental and physical well-being, and how to avoid the harms of these.

Just a few of the fabulous talks throughout the week included: an amazing lecture by Esther Stanford-Xosei speaking about Birthing Social Change: how the way in which we are birthed affects our capacity to love and the traumas our communities can inherit.

An inspiring talk from Platform's Jane Trowell focused on many things including the importance of dialogue and solidarity between different fields, race, class, age and religion, that any solutions we seek will be found through collaboration. Our activism "we must out last and out wit those who do not want to listen," because it's a long game we are playing.

Josetta Malcolm gave an eye-opening session on  Black LBGTQI communities mental health. Paula Serafini gave another fascinating talk all about art and activism; the challenging and appropriating of space for political goals and culture as a struggle of resistance.

Themes that kept popping up throughout the week included the absolute necessity for resilience and unity, the need for alternative methods of education, and the need for dialogue.

With a combination of lovely, passionate, interesting , talented people and fascinating workshops, the week has been inspiring, engaging, exhausting and exhilarating all at once - it has been my first time as a Shake! facilitator and it certainly won't be my last - I am eagerly looking forward to the next one already.

A more detailed run down of the weeks events will follow shortly, including sneak peeks into some of the poetry and, if you are lucky perhaps a snap shot or two of the film work to tempt and tickle and tide you over until the very exciting showcase so... Watch... This... Space...!

Big love, Holly x

Farzana: 'I am hopeful'

Feeling so moved by all the remarkable creative and critical young people I get to work with and learn from. Shake! last week, as per usual, blew me away. It's always just too much! Today is also the last day of a summer program I have been coordinating with young women in my community and of course they too completely smashed it.

I can't help but be hopeful for the future, especially for gender and race relations, despite the state of everything in this world telling us otherwise. How can there be so many imaginative, fierce and self-empowered young people and people of colour and things remain the same?

I pray and hope that the relentless injustices they face does not wither away their zeal for bringing about powerful and transformative change. Or that the day-to-day sickness inflicted by capitalism and patriarchy does not wear away at the rigorous challenging and questioning they have embarked on.

Equally, I hope that us as facilitators, educators, artists, activist or in whatever we do, we are always working to cultivate engaged and embodied spaces for young people, esp for young women and people of colour. And that these spaces always bring in and considerately hold the marginalised in our communities, in the way that any sense of other-ing only comes from a place of self-distinguished autonomy and affirmed identity and not ever from a sense of not belonging. More over, that these spaces are forever unapologetically gentle while stringently equipping us for the long fight in dismantling unfair power structures and working towards justice.

I am hopeful!

Shake! Update: Black Women Scientist Inspires Us!

We start all Shake! mornings with a few inspirations shared by participants. Today we had Anisa telling us about a space scientist that inspires her: Maggie Aderin-Pocock.

Aderin-Pocock is a space scientist, mechanical engineer, and science communicator. Anisa tells us her story; Maggie is inspiring because she was the daughter of Nigerian immigrants, bouncing from one area of the country to the other, never able to find her own place. She was also diagnosed with dyslexia, which meant she had to overcome certain challenges while she was at school. Luckily she found science, something she was good at and made her feel better about herself. Then she found space science, and was able to follow her love for the stars and outer space. Space was great because, in her own words.

“Growing up in London at that time, I was a black kid in a mainly white area and I often got teased… Although I had never been to Nigeria, I was scared that if I said ‘I’m British’ the other kids would say, ‘No, you’re not’. You’re black, you’re not from here’. That led me to feeling a bit lost, like I did not belong here or there. That’s why space was brilliant: space was all-encompassing”.

Anisa remembers the first time she saw Maggie on a school trip and how inspired she was because she was the first black woman in a field which is traditionally seen as for privileged white men. But besides her strength and the fact that she overcame all these challenges in her life in order to achieve her goals, Anisa also finds Maggie Aderin-Pocock inspiring because of her commitment to giving back to others. She believes that being in a position of privilege comes with the responsibility of helping others realize their full potential, and for that reason speaks about science to school children and particularly hard to reach audiences.

We think her work is very inspiring! Anisa perfectly sums up the lesson she takes away from Maggie, with a Toni Morrison Quote:

"When you get these jobs that you have been so brilliantly trained for, just remember that your real job is that if you are free, you need to free somebody else. If you have some power, then your job is to empower somebody else. This is not just a grab-bag candy game.'

HeadSpace Update: Challenging narratives and creating new stories & spaces

It's the second day of the Shake #Headspace course, and we're deep in discussions around narratives.  We started exploring building our own narratives and conceiving how we can challenge  power and dominant narratives with our own stories.

Yesterday we discussed issues of power and who has the control over dominant narratives in our society. Analysing how issues of class, race, gender, ableism, sexuality and age intersect in the uneven distribution of power and political voice in society. We heard from wonderful guests including Esther Stanford, Sai Murai, Jane Trowell, Orla Price and Josetta Malcolm who shared with us alternative narratives on issues of mental health, inequality, commodification of the body, race, and LGBTQI experiences.

 Questions we have been asking ourselves over the past two days: Who does our story serve? Whose interest is it in? What is the cultural value of a story? What does it take to craft a story? What is our responsibility to the story espeically when we speak on behalf of the other?


Responses that came through were issues around identity and belonging quickly came to mind, and also the idea of a story as a way of passing on rituals and reproducing a sense of community. Others saw stories as a way of presenting and constructing truth, but also possibly as propaganda.  We appreciated how stories are a form of catharsis, and as the visualization or projection of dreams and ideals. Devices like a structure and framework, empathy and reliability and a clear message help us craft the story.

Throughout the next three days Shake participants will be working in either film or poetry, fully engaging with their medium of choice and creating their own stories. As always we are excited to see the powerful art that will come out of this week.

Grainne Aldred: Voice that Shakes and Sends Ripples

At our recent Shake! showcase graphic artist & film-maker Grainne Aldred bravely volunteered to step out of her comfort zone and host the night with Lateef.

On the way down to London she wrote this piece to share with us:

"I am a part time factory girl and part time graphic artist living in Lancaster in the north of England. I work with an ethical mind and like to think that I make a positive impact with the work I choose to do.
 
This can sometimes be hard as people try and push you from this path and advise you that you should be chasing the money. As someone whose voice literally shakes, it can sometimes be hard to find your voice, stick up for what you believe is right and express yourself through words. But Shake! makes me feel part of a bigger voice.
We are all expressive and creative people and I know together we are doing something good and sending ripples of this energy and inspiration to others. I hope you take hold of these ripples and send them off in your own way."

Big thanks again Grainne for your own positive energy and inspiration - and those who attended the showcase were definitely touched by these words. The ripples roll on!

For more on Grainne and to support her ethical graphic design work check her website here.

What Shakers are up to: Shell's "Sprout-out" project

 
Today Shell sent us a message to update us on the amazing work she has been doing after taking part in last February's edition of Shake!. We are excited to hear she's applying the skills she learnt at her workspace, and look forward to hearing more about her inspiring projects!





"Just wanted to say a massive thank you. Yesterday I ran part 1 of Sprout out- a bushcraft and media skills session at my work, working with families with additional needs. We built dens, made fire and cooked on the fire, whittled sticks, walked up the stream and explored with film and photography. Couldn't have done the film side without everything i learnt and all the inspiration from everyone at Shake. We are going to make a short film about young people's emotional health and well being and the outdoors.. and we will exhibit their photography in the woods with frames made from sticks. Don't know what else to say but thanks a billion." -   Shell
                                                                    

Applications open for #Shake2014 at the Bernie Grant Arts Centre

Our next shake! up >> 18th-22nd August 2014 << at the Bernie Grant Arts Centre.

Applications now open for our FREE! 5 day course on Art/ Race/ Media/ Power for 16-25's.
See below for more info & how to apply 
======================================= 
Art can be a powerful non-violent force for change.

Each day Shake! creative workshops will provide space to imagine what justice looks like, experiment with new ideas, learn new tools and fire up your imagination.

Over the five days, the course will include:

>> interactive workshops, stimulating dialogue & skill-shares to creatively campaign for change with practising artists/activists/educators:

>> ZENA EDWARDS
>> SAI MURRAY
>> FARZANA KHAN
>> PAULA SERAFINI
>> NU WAVE PICTURES
>> PLATFORM
>> MARCINA ARNOLD
>> ESTHER STANFORD-XOSEI
>> JANE TROWELL (Platform & Body Politics)
(+ more to be announced!)



>> practical hands-on techniques in spoken word, online media, film/video and music technology to develop your ideas around injustice and power.

>> access to a/v equipment, workshop spaces, rehearsal room, and refreshments at the landmark Stephen Lawrence Centre.

>> opportunity to showcase your work and continued involvement in the Shake! network.

>> You don't have to be an activist or artist to apply, just have an interest in social justice or change and creativity.


=======================================
** LIMITED PLACES AVAILABLE (for 16-25 year olds) **
 
To receive a short application & for more info,  
email: platformshake@gmail.com or farzana@platformlondon.org
====================================
http://voicesthatshake.blogspot.com/

Shake! Showcase #4: Remembering, Re-imagining, Reparations

Last Thursday 26^th of June we held our fourth Shake! showcase at Free Word Centre. Shakers present and past got together in an amazing line up of poetry, fiction, music and film, targeting pressing social and political issues.

The weeks prior to the showcase were intense. We had planning meetings, rehearsals, worked on our poetry and music, and practiced our performance skills. We also got together to think about what we wanted people to take away from this. We decided we wanted the audience to feel energised, inspired, and to realise they could be change-makers too.

The showcase was an opportunity to share some of the work created during the 4th Shake! course last February at Stephen Lawrence Centre. For five days we took part in intense discussions and art making sessions around the themes ‘Remembering, Re-imagining, Reparations’, challenging official narratives and stories, and thinking of ways to transform ourselves and the structures of society.

The event, hosted by Lateef and Grainne, featured powerful poetry by Christianah, Onysha, Selina, Mujtaba, Zena, Umaru, Orla, Sai, and Annie. We were also lucky to have Heritier and Marcina on the music front, a short story by Orla, and a long-distance video poem by Maaike all the way down in the Netherlands. 

Last but not least, the showcase saw the premiere of ‘Remember’, a short poetic film by Michelle, Mujtaba, Grainne, Isi, Edwina and Tasnima, who worked in partnership with Patrice and Dershe from Nuwave Pictures.

The 4^th showcase was a 2 hour taster of what we do at Shake, packed with powerful performances, shared stories, and passion for change. Here are some of the comments from our audience, who shared with us their experience:

Emotional, empowering, the themes of positivity, strength of voice… You are all amazing ! –

FANTASTIC SHOWCASE! 

The singing, the stories of individuals and people their voices and minds are powerful “AMAZING!”–

I’m still digesting and contemplating the wonderful work I saw in the showcase. Many congrats again.–

Our next Shake! Course is in August 18^th-22^nd. For more info on how to apply email farzana@platformlondon.org.