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Exodus
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ARCHIVE - EXODUS
Exodus is the Greater Manchester Refugee Arts Partnership's
exciting three year creative programme, the first stage took place between
2005 & 2008.
The following is a cross section of projects & events that have
taken place as part of the Exodus project. Click on the links for more
information.
Partner Organisations
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 48
Hour Film Challenge 2008
As part of this film festival Community Arts North West and Urbis
ran the Exodus Shorts 48 Hour Film Challenge!
What?
Could you make a film in 48 Hours? The films produced will be screened
as part of the Exodus Shorts Refugee Film Festival 2008. All that
was needed was a camcorder and bags of enthusiasm! Participants
were encouraged to tackle the challenge single-handedly or assemble
the world's largest film crew. All that was necessary was to register
a team either before or on the day of the competition and then
off they went. But of course there was a catch...
In order to make this event a 'challenge' teams were be given
a few pre-determined elements that have to be used in their films.
These were only announced on the day!
Who took part?
The challenge was open to:
Filmmakers and video artists from within Manchester's refugee and
asylum seeker communities.
Non-refugee filmmakers working in collaboration with Manchester's
refugee communities.
When & where?
Sat 10 May 2008, Urbis, Cathedral Gardens, Manchester M4 3BG.
For more information contact: Amy Cham, Digital Arts Manager, 0161 234 2979, amy@can.uk.com |
Artists'
Open Day 2008
Mon 19 May
Exodus aims to impact on the cultural landscape of Greater Manchester
through developing partnerships with Greater Manchester's creative
and cultural sectors, artists and groups amongst our refugee communities
and the wider Greater Manchester population.
Exodus artistic programmes engage with a variety of traditional
and contemporary art forms working with refugees, asylum-seekers
and other local communities to develop ideas for creative projects.
We work with both experienced and emerging artists.
Community Arts North West is currently planning the next 3 years
of its Exodus programme and is updating its freelance artist database.
We're interested in hearing from artists working in any discipline
- music, live performance, spoken word, MCing, literature, dance
(all genres), theatre, visual arts, crafts, film, digital arts.
We're interested in hearing from artists who aspire to develop
work of high artistic quality with communities, and who aspire
to engage effectively with communities through all stages of the
creative process. Artists should have an interest in, and some
understanding of, issues of migration and diaspora and be able
to engage with people at a grass roots level.
CAN specialises in cross-cultural arts production and seeks to
work with artists who are excited by the creative possibilities
of working collaboratively across art forms and exploring cross-cultural
dialogues.
The 2008-10 Exodus programme will have a strong profile on developing
work with women refugees and asylum seekers and women artists-in-exile.
We're interested in hearing from all artists but are especially
interested in hearing from women artists of all
disciplines.
CAN is passionate about supporting diverse communities and artists
in Greater Manchester to develop high-quality, meaningful participatory
arts projects. CAN has first-hand experience of culturally diverse
arts practice within a first, second and third generation migration
context.
For more info about future open days contact Adelle Robinson on info@can.uk.com or
ring her on 0161 234 2985 (Mon-Wed only). |
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Exodus
Shorts Film Festival 2007
18-23 June
EXODUS SHORTS IS A UNIQUE FILM FESTIVAL THAT SHOWCASES THE TALENT
OF REFUGEE FILMMAKERS AS WELL AS SHORT FILMS THAT GIVE A FRESH
AND DIVERSE PERSPECTIVE ON THE LIVES OF REFUGEES AND PEOPLE SEEKING
ASYLUM.
In 2007, Community Arts North West were delighted to present a
diverse programme in collaboration with Cornerhouse, Imperial War
Museum North and Urbis and included screenings, filmmaking
workshops, talks with invited guests and a filmmaker residency!
To find out more about it contact: Amy Cham, Digital Arts Manager,
0161 234 2979 amy@can.uk.com |
Exodus Shorts flyer
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Exodus
Picnic at Feast!
Sunday 3 June 2007
Platt Fields Park, Wilmslow Road, Manchester
Exodus was delighted work with Manchester
International Arts to bring this unique new addition to their
Feast! event. Feast! was a mass entertainment event for groups,
families and friends, that took place round the lakeside in Platt
Fields Park. Outdoor theatre, circus, strolling musicians, magic,
puppetry, games and activities, delicious food and good company
in a heady mix, spanning the weekend of 1-3 June. In 2006, 4,000
people brought hampers, decorated their own imaginative picnic
areas, mingled with other picnickers and created a magical experience.
See www.streetsahead.org.uk for
more information on Feast!
On the final day of the event, Sunday 3 June, the
Exodus Picnic presented an afternoon of world music and dance
from the brightest talents of Greater Manchester's diverse refugee
communities. This intimate and fun environment offered
delicious home cooked food from around the globe, and a programme
of performance workshops and activities in the Mosscare Marquee. Download
a copy of the programme here.
Download & print
a copy of the full colour flyer here.
Community Arts North West thanks Mosscare Housing
Ltd for their generous support of the Exodus picnic workshop area. www.mosscare.org.uk
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Exodus Picnic collage
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Afrocats
- Where is Home?
Friday 21 October 2005, Zion Arts Centre, 335 Stretford Road, Hulme.
Home was somewhere you left when you were 14. Home was the back
of a lorry for 14 days. Home is now here in the UK. Today you're
18 and a letter from the Home Office tells you to go back...home?
A 'home' that you may not even remember... Or a 'home' that doesn't
remember you...
Where is home? shares the real experiences of a new generation of refugees
and asylum seekers, exploring the human dimensions behind one of the most controversial
political issues of our time. Through beautifully powerful performance featuring
drama, Black dance, a live African band and spoken word, Where is home? connects
us all to our understanding of 'home' and the universal need to belong.
Where is Home? was premiered at the greenroom on 9 & 10
September 2005.
For more information contact Magdalen Bartlett on 07834
083437 or
email afrocats@hotmail.co.uk www.afrocats.co.uk
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Afrocats - 'Where is Home?'
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Digital Diaries
Exodus worked in partnership with The Basement Social Centre
and National Computing Centre to provide video training to refugees,
people seeking asylum and volunteers in this sector. Through the workshops
participants created a 30 minute film called 'Right to Stay' that by
telling the unique and moving stories of four asylum seekers facing
deportation, challenges popular misconceptions and prejudices about
the lives of refugees and asylum seekers. This film was included in
the 'Exodus Shorts' film programme shown at Cornerhouse. The film has
been distributed on DVD to schools, community centres and other short
film festivals.
For more info visit www.ourvideo.org/digitaldiaries/page.php?id=138&prefix=video |
Kurdish
Short Film Festival
3 September 2005,
greenroom, 54-56 Whitworth Street West, Manchester M1 5WW
World Theatre Company presented Zamahwand meaning
'celebration'.
The event saw the screening of 10 short films and will included drama, music
and food.
For more information contact Alan Amin, Kurdish Creative Film Centre (Formerly
World Theatre Company) kcfcfilm
@ yahoo.co.uk www.kurdishcreativefilm.com |
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Exodus
Shorts Residency: A Tale of Two Places
Filmmaker Residency Opportunity as part of Exodus Shorts Film
Festival 2007
Exodus Shorts is a unique film festival that showcases the talent
of refugee filmmakers as well as short films that give a fresh
and diverse perspective on the lives of refugees and people seeking
asylum.
As part of this film festival, Community Arts Northwest and
Urbis collaboratively hosted a 6 day residency for a local
refugee filmmaker/ video artist.
When?
18-23 June 2007
What were we looking for?
We were looking for a refugee filmmaker / video artist
to respond to the theme: A Tale of Two Places. The residency
offered the opportunity to explore new ideas in the context
of Exodus Shorts and National Refugee Week, and a chance to develop
their practice in two unique environments. There were also opportunities
to engage with the public and the local community through 2 school
workshops and other activities / events.
The residency included: Artist Fee - £300 / Materials
- £150 / Travel - £50 / Per Diem - £20
Studio/Office Space at Community Arts North West and Urbis
Application process:
For more information please contact:
Sarah Austin, Urbis, Cathedral Gardens, Manchester M4 3BG
Tel: 0161 605 8264, Email: s.austin@urbis.org.uk
OR www.urbis.org.uk
Exodus Shorts was funded by Northwest Vision and the National Lottery
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 International
Crew
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International
Crew
The International Crew was a Hip-Hop dance collective made up
of young people aged 13-25 from diverse youth communities including
refugee and non-refugee participants. The group was developed by
Community Arts North West in 2004 and was a highly energetic and
talented group of body poppers, street dancers and break dancers.
The group performed at over 7 events in 2005 including the 'In
the Mix' jam sessions at the greenroom, Exodus launch and Festival,
Wigan WOW Festival and East Feast Carnival.
For more information
contact Michelle on 0161
234 2980 or email michelle@can.uk.com |
Exodus Festival 2005
The Exodus Festival is a unique celebration of arts and culture
brought to you by Greater Manchester's diverse refugee communities.
It took place each year during National
Refugee Week
The event was free & open to everyone.
That year the event took place on Saturday 18 June at
Hulme Park, Stretford Road, Manchester.
The Festival included world music and dance performances, interactive workshops
(including African drumming, DJing, African dance), children's activities (circus
skills, face painting), delicious international food, crafts and stalls.
The Festival was broadcast from Zion Radio on ALL
FM 96.9FM throughout the day.
View
slideshow of highlights from Exodus Festival 2005 |
Hassan Darzi
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Exodus
Sparks 2007
Produced by Community Arts North West in partnership with North West Playwrights and Contact Theatre.
Date: Tuesday 20 November 2007
Venue: Space 2, Contact Theatre
A series of short plays by new refugee writers presented as script-in-hand
performances. These were personal takes on a range of experiences
and from perspectives which are not commonly told. The writers'
skills and development were guided by Sonia Hughes over a
considerable period and was a chance to take in this fresh
material almost straight from the minds of the writers themselves.
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Exodus Sparks image
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Exodus
Sparks 2006
As part of the Exodus Onstage Refugee Theatre Season, Exodus worked with
North West Playwrights to support refugee groups and individuals to develop
a short piece of theatre so they couuld share their stories and experiences
with others.
We provided help with shaping a piece of work, direction, translation,
production and actors etc.The work was showcased at the Exodus Sparks
event at Contact Theatre in November 2006.
People were invited to get involved if they were:
*A refugee writer, actor or director interested in developing work
for live events
*A group or an individual from a refugee community with an idea
or a story to tell
*An established refugee performance group who would like to share
their work
*A refugee poet or stand up artist who would like to perform
*A young person from any community who would like to develop
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Exodus
Live 2005
Tuesday 13 December, 7pm-12 midnight
Mint Lounge, 46-50 Oldham Street, Northern Quarter, Manchester
FREE ENTRY (donations welcome)
Over 18s only
A Night of Live World Music
Musicians from Zimbabwe, Congo, Pakistan, India, Liberia, Afghanistan & Angola
Showcasing and celebrating live world music by unsigned bands from
Greater Manchester's refugee communities. |
Asian Music Talent
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Bolton
Drama & Drumming Project
Exodus worked in partnership with activ8 at The Octagon Theatre,
Bolton to offer a theatre project to refugees and asylum seekers living
in Bolton.
Following on from a variety of taster sessions, the group met every
Tuesday evening from 5.30-7.30pm at The Octagon Theatre for drama and
drumming workshops.
The group developed a theatre production for the Exodus Onstage Theatre
Season to be performed on 1st December at The Octagon.
The project was funded by AGMA as part of the Exodus Greater Manchester
Outreach project and Bolton Community Housing.
Cookery & Dance
Workshop
This was an exciting 8 week project where women & girls
aged 15 and over came to share cooking skills and learn African dance
to live drumming.
Every Mon: 16 Jan - 6 Mar 2006 at City Centre Project, 52 Oldham Street,
Manchester M4 1LE
For more info call Magdalen on 07834 083437.
Wigan
Young People's Project
Exodus set up a music and dance project with young refugees
living in Wigan in partnership with the Rafiki group. The project was
funded by AGMA.
I've
Got Something To Show You
Esrafil Shiri was an Iranian asylum seeker who, on learning that his appeals
to stay in Britain were very unlikely to be successful, doused himself with
petrol in the offices of Refugee Action in Manchester and set light to himself.
Exodus worked with Manchester University In Place of War project and Manchester
Committee to Defend Asylum Seekers to develop a play to tell the story of Esrafil.
We set up 23 writing workshops which led to a rehearsed reading called 'I've
got something to show you' in June 2005. The 10 participants were a mix of
both refugees and UK nationals.
Exodus
Radio
Exodus worked in partnership with Zion Radio, Radio Regen
and ALL FM to create a radio broadcast as part of the Exodus Refugee
Festival. The project provided in-depth radio broadcasting training
for participants from refugee communities from Greater Manchester.
The outcome was that the trainees were able to run the radio broadcast
and create material about issues relevant to their lives. The 6 hour
broadcast of the Exodus Festival on 18 June 2005 featured live music
from the event plus interviews, debates and features. It was broadcast
on ALL FM 96.9FM.
International Women's Dance Group
Every Monday 6-8pm at Zion Arts Centre, 335 Stretford Road,
Hulme (buses 256, 263 or 114 from Piccadilly Gardens)
The International Women's Dance Group was open to all refugee and asylum
seeking women aged 19+ of any ability level. It was a chance to learn
each other's traditional dances and new dance styles. The sessions were
very relaxed and informal. The dance group was led by experienced dance
facilitator Magdalen Bartlett. For more info call Magdalen on 07834 083437.
Bosnian
Supplementary School Drama Group
The Bosnian Supplementary School children's group developed
a play which examined the reasons why they left Bosnia and the problems
they face in the UK. The group performed the play 'A Scent of Bosnia'
at the Exodus Festival in June 2005. The drama workshops were led by
Kerry Tuhill.
Wigan
One World (WOW) Festival
On 7 August 2005, three of Exodus' refugee arts groups performed at the Wigan
WOW Festival. Afrocats (African young women's dance group), International Crew
(young street dance group) and Britannia Rumba (Congolese band) all had the
opportunity to perform to a wider Greater Manchester audience.
Bolton
Mela
On 21 August 2005, Afrocats, Britannia Rumba and Heritage
Survival (Zimbabwean band) performed at the Bolton Mela, thanks to funding
from AGMA. This funding was also used to develop a Bolton-based project
in partnership with the Octagon Theatre, Bolton.
PARTNERSHIP ORGANISATIONS
CAN has worked in partnership
with a large number of organisations during the Exodus project including:
Cornerhouse
Imperial War Museum
North
In Place of War
greenroom
Kurdish Creative
Film Centre
Manchester
Refugee Support Network
Octagon Theatre Bolton
Radio Regen
Refugee Action
Salford Museum and Art Gallery
Urbis
Zion Arts
Zion Radio
Copyright © 2003 Community Arts North West. All rights reserved
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