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.

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

Shake! Showcase #4:

Thursday 26th June 6pm @ The Free Word Centre 

An explosive showcase from the participants of the fourth Shake! course.

An explosive showcase from the participants of the fourth Shake! course. Featuring freshly created poetic, filmic & musical responses to injustice from:

Poets >> Arkady Johns / Carmela Cuesta / Maaike Boumans / Orla Price / Paula Serafini / Sai Murray / Zena Edwards

Musicians >> Heritier / Marcina Arnold / Zareen Roy-Macauley

Film-makers >> Dershe Samaria / Edwina Omokaro / Grainne aldred / Michelle Bella / Mujtaba Ahmed / Patrice Etienne / Tasnima Ahmed

Special Guests >> Annie Rockson / Onysha D Collins/ Christianah Babajide / Lateef Shofoluwe.

 

Watch below a little taster of the poetic film,   which will be premiered during the showcase. 

 

 

 

Online Ticketing for Remembering, Re-Imagining and Reparations powered by Eventbrite

For more info:
email platformshake@gmail.com 020 7403 3738
box office: 020 7324 25

Shake February 2014 sharing

 Another February half term. Another Shake Intensive.

This Shake was perhaps one of the most free-flowing organic Shakes we’ve had. The discussions were epic with Adam Cooper provoking us to think about policing when we are aware of our rights as citizens, while Mark Fisher’s discussion was a historical journey through social justice with an understanding of how capitalism and equality have evolved and conflicted over time. We were left asking so many questions to help us re-imagine. Esther Stanford’s (PARCOE)  talk on reparations was mind blowing, educational and so enlightening, opening pathways to how we think about the damage done through colonialism in the light of constructive repairing beyond the money. “There are some things money cannot heal.”  said Heritier.

The poetry created by our Shakers was reflective, moving, soul searching and invigorating. Our poets found a lot of voice through music with the help of Marcina. Best to let them speak for themselves. Here is a recording of three of you Shakers – Heritier, Orla and Zareen.

Heritier has a powerful vocal and his poem is translated by Selina Nwulu, one of our Shake participants from 2010 and now a strong poets and activist in her own right.

Orla’s piece, has a timelessness about it asking the listener to put themselves in her shoes how would they feel about the world they live in - 

 “I want to get lost on purpose…”

And Zareen, writes a hit with a great hook and a strong lyrical flow – 

“Hold on and not be broken,

intertwining, diving, rising, trying here

out in the open.”

Well done all. Will be posting more of February 2014 Shake poems soon!

Zena

Zena's Thoughts on the Three R's- Remembering, Re-imagining, Reparations

This will be my fourth time as a Shake! facilitator and the third time as  core team intensive 5-day course deviser.

Shake! 1: The pilot "Arts Race and Power" course honoured the lives of aspiring architect and London youth Stephen Lawrence, and the eco-activist and Nigerian Ogoni Tribesman writer Ken Saro-Wiwa and used their stories as case studies to interrogate the themes

Shake! 2 – The "Voice Verse Power" course analysed media representation, political definitions of race and power to estabilish, validate and give a platform for the voice of the marginalised and stigmatised.

Shake! 3: focused on the themes of and "Power, Perceptions, Propaganda".

Now we’re going in deep – Remembering, Re-imagining, Reparations. This the title of the next course and it is going to be one of our most challenging courses to devise for the themes are so broad, complex and could potentially take us down a worm hole of new age theory and idealistic visions of Utopia.

What we are going to endeavour to do is imagine a world where equality is a reality, where the redistribution of wealth is just and sustainable, where the generations and races are working together to ensure the human rights of every child is acknowledged and honoured into their old age.
WHAT could or will this world look like and WHERE TO BEGIN?

Since coming on board there has been clear trajectory for the content of this course.

We begin with the Story. 

Paula on the 3 R's Re-imagining, Remembering, Reparations

Shake! intensive at the Bernie Grant Arts Centre

My name is Paula, I joined Shake! as a volunteer last August, and I have recently become part of the Shake! core team. Most of my work is around art and social change, be it as an artist, activist, or cultural manager. I am also, at the moment a research student at King's College London, working on the role of artistic performance within activism and social movements.

The following paragraphs present my reflections on how the words Remembering, Re-imagining and Reparations are already present in, and can be articulated into, our daily practices as artists, activists, and as members of our communities. These paragraphs also reflect how the ‘3 Rs’ are already part of what we do at Shake!, and how these concepts can allow us to think about what we do on different terms.