Dangerous Times Festival! Sat 31st May

How to Build an Urban Youth Movement?

Tuition fees, rising inequality, police harrassment, stigma and stereotyping - these are just come of the issues young people are facing in Britain today. Unite the Youth is a new group trying to build an urban youth movement to challenge this and fight for the interests of young people.

Come to their event at the Dangerous Times Festival on Saturday May 31st. There are still a few free tickets available for young people - who will get free entry to any event over the entire weekend. Other sessions include

- Carole Duggan, aunt of Mark Duggan, on the police, power and racism.

- Woman and austerity: glass ceilings and sticky floors Ellie Badcock and Jess McCabe from the f-word

- Comedian and disability activist Francesca Martinez on What the f**k is normal anyway?

- A spoken word session from Different Skies.

To get a free ticket register here: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/unite-the-youth-at-dangerous-times-festival-tickets-11736406909.

We visited Shell on the 20th Anniversary of Ken Saro-Wiwa's last arrest

Here's a great minute and a half video of the poetry intervention that made with people from Shake! and Platform - activism, education and the arts outside the Shell Shareholder meeting last week, as part of the #ActionSaroWiwa launch. Read more about what happened on the day here

                       

Some useful tips for interacting with the unemployed

To all the employed people. Here are some useful tips for interacting with the unemployed:

• Do not remind them, their degree is useless (they've probably now figured this out)

• Do not ask them have they considered an internship? (If they could afford this and are young and lacking in experience they probably have, otherwise they can't afford it!!)

• Depending on the length of time they are unemployed if it's only recently, then s'alright but if it's been a while or re-occurring it sounds a bit ridiculous, don't ask 'how's the job hunt?' If it goes in any way differently, they'll say otherwise it is shit.

• If they have been unemployed longer than a few months, do not tell them they are looking for jobs that are 'too good', they will already have realised this and explored the nether regions of gumtree and spend a lot of time bunched up their duvet realising actually helping people or in some small way trying to fulfill their human potential will be impossible for a good while.

• This is an internal thing and probably isn't real and only exists only in my mind, but do not think 'it's well for some' because the unemployed person can have a lie in or more time to play the guitar or whatever. Even if they're financially secure, they probably crave some type of certainty or stability in their future. 

• Do not ask them if they have considered an internship? Besides the money and even if they could afford it, especially depending on their age they might have a lot of experience, they might not need anymore, they might have removed an entire chunk off their c.v. because they've already done so much unpaid work, they might find the idea of even more, disillusioning, disheartening and exploitative. They might have a little teeny tiny bit of hope that if they only hang on refreshing these jobs websites, they won't have to turn that way again.

Good luck job hunting everyone or should I say .... Foraging in a near nutritionless desert... Like vultures on decaying carcasses.

By Orla Price - Read more from her:
www.play-spaces.weebly.com and www.sillical.blogspot.com

Event: New Narratives: Re-imagining the Story

Anyone who knows Shake! knows that we are about change: from the tiny moments of growth and self-transformation that we go through on every Shake! intensive, to the structural changes we aim to make in society. We don't go for traditional approaches to education, and we place a lot of emphasis on dialogue and inter-generational learning.With this in mind, we invite you to our first ever New Narratives, an experimental social policy seminar that looks to re-imagine the needs of young people, and to refresh the structures in society that affect us.

Interactive youth led sessions and artistic exercises will provide a safe space for dialogue and an opportunity to develop strategies to incorporate into practice.
 
New Narratives #1 features sessions led by:

Orla Price - Well-Being and Mental Health
Nathaniel Chapman - Homelessness
Selina Nwulu - tbc

Date:  Saturday 31st of May
Time: 10:30 -5pm
Where: Platform Office, Tower Bridge
Refreshments and lunch included.
 
Here is the link to fb page -  please forward to like minded people.

Platform office has limited capacity, so first come first serve, please RSVP platformshake@gmail.com

Self- Reparations: Art, Activism & Well-being

"Creativity is the immune system of the mind..." - John Holt, founder of Artists in Mind (AiM)


Once again I was shaken by the Shakers!
Feel very honoured to be one of the facilitators on this project as the generosity, trust, desire to learn, share, give and work together for change is genuine and inspiring from all. This is now the 4th Shake! intensive I've been lucky to be a part of and each time we have refined the formula with the feedback we receive and the collaborative process with the participants.  The collaboration between the art forms of film, music and poetry was much more integrated than past Shake!s and this worked well with lots of ideas how this can be developed further. The intensive was intense and our guest speakers set the scene with some stimulating presentations, exercises and dialogues. Still things we can tweak and tailor to improve in the structure possibly but from the results the participants produced at the end of the week - it worked. Fired and inspired with ideas from the participants energy, passion and powerful art and looking forward to keeping in touch with these new Shakers as we implement the continuity programme, next Shake events, writing collective and more.

                                                                        
This latest Shake! had some very welcome additions I felt - especially the well-being workshop as mental health and artist/activist burnout has been a topic that has arisen naturally in discussion on previous Shake!s so incorporating a dedicated space and time for us all to skill-share our experiences and feedback coping strategies was extremely useful and productive. This was only possible due to the trust and safe space that had been built up during the week and this resource list will hopefully stand people in good stead for the future.

There can be a lot of ego and foolishness in the arts world so it's been very refreshing to work with such a fantastic giving team of artists/activists - learnt a great deal from their methods, approaches, fun warm up techniques and yoga breathing skillz. (Sai)

We did a pool of what we all do in our day to day lives to promote well-being in our art, activism and just generally. Here is what we came up with:

• Stop and breath ( deep breaths)
• Give without expecting even in our creativity 
• Switch off from electronic pollution 
• SMILE!!!
• Surround yourself with safe networks 
• Build a nice inner voice 
• Meditate 
• Remember things you are grateful for 
• Remember the inner child inside of you
• Be kind
• Learning how to say NO!: unlearning expections 
• Cleaning up and opening windows 
• Scream into a pillow
• Deactivate social networks for a while
• Aromatherapy
• Remember 'Life isn't a rehearsal'
• Do what makes you happy 
• Have a long bath 
• Yoga 
• Painting 
• Exercise 
• Re-defining our social environments 
• Lionel Ritchie
• Knitting 
• Playing the keyboard - make music 
• Pray 
• Download a self-control app

DIY 11: 2014 Call for proposals

Want to run training for artists on race & intergenerationality? 

In partnership with LADA we are making a call for proposals on the following theme:

Let Go Of The Shore*
Shake! seeks proposals on live art, intergenerationality and race. You are invited to devise a project that brings together artists committed to thinking and making work against racism, and who want to learn, experience and create across and between the generations. The proposals should take into consideration the age range from 16 years to venerable old age.

[*from a poem by The Elders Oraibi]

DIY is an opportunity for artists working in Live Art to conceive and run unusual training and professional development projects for other artists. DIY understands that the development of a Live Art practice is as much about the exploration of ideas and experiences as training in skills and techniques, and past DIY projects have proved to be invaluable experiences for project leaders, participants and organisers alike. We want to hear from you if have an idea for an exciting, innovative and idiosyncratic Live Art professional development project that offers something new and is geared to the eclectic and often unusual needs of artists whose practices are grounded in challenging and unconventional approaches, forms and concepts. If you think you can initiate and run a DIY professional development project then read the guidelines below and send us a proposal.

We plan to support a minimum of 23 DIY projects all across the country that will take place between July and November 2014. Each project will receive £1,000 support.
DIY projects may take any form, can be based anywhere, and can be loosely or rigorously focused on a specific theme/content. We particularly welcome proposals from artists from culturally diverse backgrounds and disabled artists, and artists working in other “politicized” territories.
Although DIY projects can take place anywhere and be about anything, this year we will again be looking for some projects to happen in the areas where the various partner organisations are based, and inviting projects that respond to a number of specific themes.

More info on LADA website page.

DIY is an opportunity for artists working in Live Art to conceive and run unusual training and professional development projects for other artists.

Deadline for proposals to run DIY 11 2014 projects: Noon Tuesday April 29th, 2014.