Applications Open for Shake! Arts >> Media >> Race >> Power

Monday 5^th – Friday 9^th August 2013

FREE 5-day course for 16-25 year old's

Shake! is a dynamic youth initiative using art as a powerful non-violent force for change and a celebration of youth voices. Each day Shake! creative workshops will provide space to imagine what justice looks like, experiment with new ideas, learn new tools, work with incredible artists and inspire your imagination!

You can get a flavour of how it went from the pilot of the course that took place in 2010 in the trailer that was made by the young people who took part in the course, click here. To see the full video check out our videos sections.

Over the five days, the course will include:

>> interactive workshops, stimulating dialogue & skill-shares with practicing artists/activists/educators ZENA EDWARDS, SAI MURRAY, ED LEWIS, FARZANA KHAN, MARCINA ARNOLD, HI8US SOUTH to creatively campaign for change.

>> 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 and refreshments at the landmark Bernie Grants Art Centre Tottenham.

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

Shake! vs School?

Ed Lewis is part of the Shake! team, focusing in particular on political education. Here discusses the significance of the project for him and reflects on the most recent Shake! course, held at the Stephen Lawrence Centre this February.

I spend most of the working week as a teacher in a secondary school. I experience the pressures, challenges and limitations of working in compulsory education, as well as the rewards and pleasures that can come from doing so. Experiencing Shake! alongside my working life has been hugely interesting. Schooling can encourage teachers to have a restricted view of the capacities of young people – when their engagement is limited and their answers are one word long, cynicism can easily develop. Some teachers, myself included, are also disappointed when they encounter many of their students approaching their education in a fairly narrow way, seeing it ultimately as an economic investment, and the value of time in class to be judged in terms of how it will contribute to their exam results (there is a tendency for teachers to see things in these narrow terms too). There are a range of reasons why this is the case, but part of the answer is to be found in education itself. An obvious but too easily forgotten fact is that the content of formal education is overwhelmingly externally imposed – students are not encouraged to pursue their own interests, to develop intrinsic motivation around learning. And the mechanics of schooling – such as the relentless focus on target grades – and the rhetoric employed – such as the use of sports-style aspirational language – encourage the investment-oriented outlook of students.

So my first experience of Shake!, back in 2010, was a liberation. In a context devoted to thinking, learning and exploring in its own right, defined in many ways by the participants themselves, fusing political inquiry with creative activity, I saw an energy and engagement from several of my own students that I hadn’t encountered before. As an educator, it was a release to have the freedom to discuss and explore ideas without the confines of a highly prescribed curriculum. What’s more, I felt that I was able to utilise my skills – for all its problems, formal schooling does equip one with some valuable knowledge and capacities – in the service of critical political education in a way that is very difficult to achieve in school.  I’ve worked on Shake! ever since, buoyed by the energy of that week, and looked forward to re-launching the project, which we finally did this February (not that things were quiet in the interim – we did loads!).

Shake! '13 @SLCT, The Low down...

Having completed our first Shake! intensive for 2013 we are bursting with ideas, continuity projects and creative ways to use our voices to shake things up. The week at the Stephen Lawrence Charitable Trust was truly inspiring, uplifting and emotional.

Through invigorating and eye-opening discussions, skill-shares, workshops and via the mediums of spoken word poetry, film, documentary, visiting guest artist/activists, and international web link-ups we addressed a variety of topics of injustice (power, tar sands, creative campaigning, gender, race, media and mental health).

The caliber and rigor of ideas, opinions and artwork definitely shook us up and over the next few weeks we look forward to sharing some of this with you. So watch this space!

Here’s what some of the Shake!rs had to say:

“Thank you for a wonderful week, for your enthusiasm and for providing a space for openness & creativity. I look forward to continuing my relationship with Shake! I have been inspired to feel as though I can really make a difference, even on a small scale. I have realized the importance of engaging with my creativity and thinking about the way I think ☺”

"This week has been life changing!”

“I have learnt so much that I didn’t even know I didn’t know. I have met people who are amazing, incredible, inspiring who I never would have come into contact with.”

“It’s been fascinating sharing this journey with you, it’s been a reminder of values and ideas I believe in. Carry on the journey and keep refreshing your spirit.”

“One of the most inspiring and energising weeks I can remember... it will definitely get me through my next batch of essays! Looking forward to the next steps...”

A big thank you to the Shake!rs (Adam, Amariah, Annie, Ceris, Catherine, Christina, Dershe, Holly, Ifty, Kate, Khafilat, Nathaniel, Saif, Umaru) for helping create such an honest, warm, humorous, trusting and stimulating environment. Welcome to the Shake! fam, and we looking forward to continued growth and learning with you.

If you are interested in getting involved in our next Shake! intensive this summer at the Bernie Grant Arts Centre or would like to know more, get in touch at: farzana@platformlondon.org.