Black Gold Arts opens with a Symposium about Decolonising Theatre.
Join a panel of academics, artists and activists to discuss decolonising theatre.
Panel: Topher Campbell, Vicki Amedume, Cheryl Martin, Amanda Huxtable and Keisha Thompson, *
About the Symposium
1pm: Film maker and theatre maker Topher Campbell will open the symposium with a lecture ‘PERFORMANCE WITHOUT WALLS’. Radical Theatre for the 21st Century, A Keynote exploring radical artistic practice and Black possibilities.
“Now isn’t the time for asking permission. Instead we need make work by occupying any space we can find, to challenge the status quo”. Followed by a Q and A.
2pm: ‘Provocations’, short presentation by a panel chaired by Cheryl Martin, followed by Q and A.
Short break.
3pm: ‘Break Out’, each of our panelist host a breakout room discussion with the audience to address themes and new ideas followed by concluding thoughts / round up of the afternoon.
3.45pm: End of event.
*Selina Thompson was originally part of the symposium panel but is no longer able to appear.
This event is part of Black Gold Arts Festival 2020.
Note: You will receive a zoom link before the start of the event. Please check your email inbox, including spam/junk email for this link. Please be aware that artists are still creating and developing the works that will be shown at the festival. In the unlikely event that the link to the performance, panel or screening you have booked changes we will send you an updated ticket with the new details.
This event will have a BSL interpreter and live captioning.
Image Credit: Still from FETISH by Topher Campbell.
About the Panel
About Topher Campbell
Topher Campbell is Director/Co-Founder rukus! Federation Ltd. He the first openly black gay man to be awarded an honorary doctorate in the UK (University of Sussex 2017.)
His films have appeared in festivals worldwide. His latest film, ENCOUNTERS, is a VisualAIDS, New York, commission exploring HIV.
About Vicki Amedume
Vicki Amedume initially trained as a research scientist, before entering the circus world. She performed and created aerial and circus based work in the UK and worldwide and founded contemporary circus company Upswing. She guest lectures at Kings College London, Central School of Speech and Drama, School of Circus and Dance of Stockholm University, The National Centre for Circus Arts and Circomedia. Vicki is a 2016/17 Clore Fellow, 2019/20 Fellow of The British Council Intersect programme and Chair of the The Baring Foundation Arts Committee.
About Cheryl Martin
Cheryl, Co-Artistic Director of Manchester’s Black Gold Arts Festival, has worked as a poet, playwright and director, and was a former Associate Director, New Writing/New Work at Contact and Director-in-Residence at Edinburgh’s Traverse. Her new solo show One Woman won an Unlimited Wellcome Collection Partnership Award, and is also being shown as part of Black Gold Arts Festival.
About Keisha Thompson
Keisha Thompson is a Manchester based writer, performance artist and producer.She is the chair of radical arts funding body, Future’s Venture Foundation, is a fellow of the MOBO x London Theatre Consortium Fellowship and is a member of Greater Manchester Cultural and Heritage Group. She is currently working with commissioners Eclipse Theatre, York Theatre Royal and Pilot Theatre to stage new play, The Bell Curves. She is also working with Fuel Theatre and Alan Lane (Slung Low) to create new children’s show, Izzy, BOSSS & Fractal.
