31/12/2019

"Still, We’ll Rise Once Again…" - My text for Lucy Writers Platform


 Dear readers,

this last week of the year, I wrote this text for the brilliant website Lucy Writers Platform, named after Lucy Cavendish, the Cambridge College for women, looking to make a positive impact for women.

It's about 'Still I Rise', the exhibition that just ended at the #Arnolfini gallery, about feminist art and resistance in the 21st century.  

Very grateful for this space!

"Still, We’ll Rise Once Again…"

Link here:


Still, We’ll Rise Once Again…

Journalist, writer and lecturer Melissa Chemam reflects on the Arnolfini’s recent exhibition Still, I Rise, the cultural history of Bristol and her experience as the gallery’s writer in residence.

When I first entered the rooms of the Still I Rise: Feminisms, Gender and Resistance – Act 3 exhibition at the Arnolfini gallery in September, I felt incredibly empowered by the selection of artwork, and deeply hopeful. The themes of feminisms and resistance were mirroring the very essence of my life as a freelance journalist, a reporter and writer, and an activist and commentator of the political realities in Western Europe, North America, North, East and Central Africa. 
Being chosen as the Arnolfini’s writer-in-residence at this particular moment felt like a major achievement and step forward. I had first come to Bristol in February 2015 to write a book about its art and music scene. I wanted to shine a spotlight on the city’s politically aware artists, like The Pop GroupBanksyBlack RootsTrickySmith & MightyPortishedThe Wild Bunch and, of course, Massive Attack. The book, Massive Attack: Out of the Comfort Zone, finally came out in English in March 2019.
Working on this book was, for me, a way to rewrite part of British and European culture and address it with a different focus, a focus on art, music, creativity, engagement; a multicultural angle. Since Bristol had a special history as one of the key ports that lined England to North America, and therefore to colonisation, the Atlantic slave trade and mass migrations in the 20th century, it was important to underline how this history was later mirrored and expressed in its music scene; when reggae and punk exploded there in the 1970s, and much later when bands like Massive Attack came about. Massive Attack took that history as part of their discourse and changed Bristol for the better by bringing it to the forefront.
Having the opportunity to write more about contemporary art – particularly art with a feminist agenda – has allowed me to journey further into new territories, new routes of migration; it has allowed me to consider the rights both of women and diverse communities, and, most importantly, to highlight the power of art to express and instigate acts of resistance.

Still I Rise was thought of as an itinerant exhibition, in 2016, long before the #MeToo movement went viral. It was a visionary idea and its title was inspired by the famous poem of the same name by Maya Angelou. Angelou wrote ‘Still, I Rise’ in 1978 as an ode to the “indomitable spirit of Black people”, who she felt were capable of endless resistance and resilience. The contemporary exhibition first opened in Nottingham in 2018, and travelled to Sussex before finally reaching Bristol this autumn. The main body of ideas and work remained the same but each iteration has a special flavour and includes pieces which reflect the history of each city.
Several international artists were the highlight of the show: photographers like Judy Chicago, one of the first American self-declared feminist artists, and the African-American artist-cum-designer Xenobia Bailey; the Iraqi painter and sculptor, Hayv Kahraman, who is now based in California; and British multi-disciplinary artist Rachael House, to name a few. Aside from Hayv, whose art includes her experiences as a refugee, all these artists use their work to explore issues of gender, identity, freedom and power.
Rachael House’s To Be Normal Is Not a Healthy Aspiration, 2019, 
Ink on Hahnemühle Museum Etching paper.
Hayv’s painting, in particular, was deeply touching for me. The Kawliya Dancerepresents women from a Roma heritage in Iraq who are swept away in a dance ritual. The ritualistic dancing is supposed to wash away the pain and discrimination that their community has been fighting for decades, if not centuries. The beauty of the painting on wood, the liveliness of the movements, the symbolic power of female hair, are all so evocative, expressive and liberating for both the depicted women and the beholder. 
Hayv Kahraman’s The Kawliya Dance, 2013, oil on panel.
In the same room, Xenobia Bailey’s magical and spiritual tent, weaved to reconnect abducted African ancestors with their heirs in America, carries the same sense of bitter-sweetness; but it also offers hope and redemption. 
Zenobia Bailey’s Sistah Paradise’s Great Wall of Fire Revival Tent, 1993. Image courtesy of Flickr.
In the basement, historical and documentary photography was heavily represented, with work coming from Argentina (including photos by Eduardo Gil), India (with Pamela Singh), Iran, Botswana, South Africa, the United Kingdom, and more.
Issues of domestic violence, domestic work and marital inequality were also addressed through a series of posters from different countries and decades. They represent acts of resistance against the marginalisation of women in politics and wider society. Activists and protesters who defended the rights of individuals from the queer community, as well as disabled people, could be seen in archival material and photographs. These photographs also captured the numerous marches for peace, equality and environmental protection. All the work in this section confronted a world dominated by patriarchal systems and values, capitalistic greed and materialism, and the general, arbitrary lust for power.
Still I Rise: Feminisms, Gender and Resistance – Act 3. Image courtesy of the Arnolfini.
Bristol’s feminist history also came through with the work of the bisexual Swedish artist, Monica Sjöö, a painter, writer and radical ecological feminist who moved to Bristol in 1950s, where she lived until her death in 2005. She was an early exponent of the “Goddess movement” and became known for her painting ‘God Giving Birth’ (1968), which depicts a non-white woman in labour. It was censored multiple times for obscenity, with Sjöö being reported to the police for blasphemy in a later show. Her paintings and protest posters, which were once created for feminist marches in Bristol, show huge iconic female pagan figures dancing and bolstering another iconic stage of resistance.
Monica Sjöö with her work in 1973-4, courtesy of the Feminist Archive South.

During the past three months, I spent a lot of time in the gallery. I thought and wrote about the many women I had met over the years who endured terribly bleak environments: women from Kenya, Iraq, Somalia, Uganda, Haiti, Algeria, India, Mexico, on the Italian/French boarder, in Calais, or, closer to us, in Northern Ireland. I though about their lives, what they saw and lived through, and the kinds of acts of resistance, however large or small, they made.
Walking around the gallery and working as a writer in residence also brought me into contact with some insightful visitors, of all genders, who were interested in many of the issues around gender equality and socio-political resistance. One of them was the poet and activist Lawrence Hoo, whose recently published book Cargo has opened a new level of conversation in Bristol about the city’s past role in the slave trade. Another was Dawn, a radio producer of English, Afghan and Indian decent, who discussed the prejudices she has been subject to her whole life, so often has she been treated like a foreigner, a newcomer, while born and bred in England. I had the chance to meet and talk with the artist Angelica Mesiti, who represented Australia at the 2019 Venice Biennale and is known for her large-scale video works. We talked about the misogyny of the Parisian art scene (she is currently lecturing at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts), among other issues. 
I also had a powerful discussion with Tricky, one of Bristol’s most famous rappers and music producers, who I’d had the privilege of talking to years ago. Tricky has just released his autobiography, Hell is Round The Corner, in which he ponders the influence of his mother on his life, a mother who committed suicide when he was only four years old but who he clearly inherited a love of words from.

As the exhibition closed on 14th December, the fight for our rights to be equal – to be safe, protected, free and ourselves – only seemed more relevant than ever. 
In the UK, the Conservative Party won the election on 12th December. As soon as Parliament resumed, most MPs voted for a bill that would enable them to “get Brexit done” as quickly as possible, thus effectively endangering the rights of migrants and scrapping laws to protect the environment, freedom of movement and much more.
In light of the election result and as a French citizen whose parents came to Europe from North Africa; as a grandchild of freedom fighters, and as a journalist and lecturer, I fear for this country. I fear for my future in it, and for the future of children here and worldwide. 
Yet, my faith in the power of creativity and rebellion to awaken more of us to the urgency of these issues undeniably remains intact. Indeed, the rest of the world is boiling with revolt. And women are, once more, often leading the protest forward, urging us to believe and fight for a better future, as seen in the Black Lives Matter and #MeToo movements, Extinction Rebellion and many others.

Throughout my life, with everything I wanted to do, I was told I couldn’t do it. Whether it was by a neighbour, a teacher, a boss or even my friends: each time I was told I couldn’t do it. And when I did achieve what I set out to do, it was always met with scepticism or ignored altogether. And as a daughter of foreigners, as a foreigner living and working in the UK now, I was told countless times I wasn’t good enough; that I couldn’t study at the best universities or fulfil my professional ambitions. Yet I did. I kept on dreaming and continuing to work. I studied literature, then international politics. I became a journalist. I travelled five continents. I worked for international broadcasters. I used my journalistic writing to support refugee and foreigners’ rights. And I published my first book in two languages. I rose, to use Maya Angelou’s famous words. Like many of the women artists mentioned above, I kept dreaming; I kept fighting to do what I cared for most.
But while I did, how many other young women were deprived of these rights and denied their dreams? This is what pushed me on and what still encourages me to continue reporting and writing. My duty, like many of the artists in the Arnolfini exhibition, is to use my creative voice to enable others to grow and liberate themselves from whatever forms of oppression and socio-political restrictions they encounter. Witnessing the work of Judy Chicago, Xenobia Bailey, Hayv Kahraman and many more has fuelled my desire to continue to fight and resist, as well as encourage and empower those around me. The Arnolfini gallery continues in this mission too by exhibiting two exceptional artists next year: Paris-based Australian video artist Angelica Mesiti, and the Bristol-based Iranian photographer Amak Mahmoodian. The discussion on feminisms, genders and resistance through art will continue, and I will be there to see and write about it all. Still, we will rise once again.
To read more about Melissa Chemam’s experience of being an Arnolfini writer in residence, click here and the following links for her Instagram and Twitter. For more information on the Arnolfini’s upcoming events and exhibitions, including the work of Angelica Mesiti and Amak Mahmoodian, see here.
Feature image credit: Immolation IV by Judy Chicago. Courtesy of the artist, Salon 94, New York, and Jessica Silverman Gallery, San Francisco.

23/12/2019

Ms Lauryn Hill


Melancholic mood...
Universe, I just want to say, thank you for music...

New track featuring the mighty Lauryn Hill, sublime:
'Guarding The Gates' (From "Queen & Slim: The Soundtrack")




Lyrics:


Everybody, everybody wants to know
Where you going to
What you running from
What you going through
Where you coming from
What you going through
Where you coming from
Everybody, everybody wants to know
What you gonna do
Where you going to
'Cause they wanna come
Where I'm showing you
Yes, they wanna come
Where I'm showing you
All that you could be is a spectacle
Following after every single miracle
Watch them marvel at
All the joy you have
But they're too important to have all the joy you have
What a tragedy, you can laugh at me, you can laugh at me
But I'm in love
Yes, I'm in love
Don't you wish you had real love
Yes, I'm in love
Tryna fix myself for society
Tryna mix myself for society
But can you tell me where is love in anxiety?
Can you tell me where is love in anxiety?
What you say to me
I don't mind at all
What you say to me
I don't really care at all
'Cause I'm in love
Don't you wish you had real love?
I know you do
Yes, I'm in love
Watch them speculate
All the life you live
Watch them try to hate
All the love you give
All the love you give
Everybody, everybody wants to know
Where you going to
'Cause they wanna come
Or so they think, until they find the cost of it
'Till they found out, found out what you lost for it
And I'll do it all again
'Cause I found love
'Cause I found love
Don't you wish you had real love?
I know you do
Yes, I'm in love
Everybody, everybody wants to know
Where you going to
What you running from
What you going through
Where you coming from
What you going through
Where you're coming from
Everybody, everybody wants to know
What you gonna do
Where you going to
'Cause they wanna come
Where I'm showing you
Yes, they wanna come
Where I'm showing you
All that you could be is a spectacle
Following after every single miracle
Watch them marvel at
All the joy you have
But they're too important to have all the joy you have
What a tragedy, you can laugh at me, you can laugh at me
But I'm in love
Yes, I'm in love
Don't you wish you had real love?
I know you do
Yes, I'm in love
So what you say to me, I don't even mind at all
What you say to me, I don't even care at all
'Cause I'm in love
Don't you wish you had real love?
I know you do
Don't you wish you had real love?
These broken thoughts in my mind
Can't let them get down in there
Can't let them get down in there
These broken thoughts in my mind
Can't let them get down in there
Can't let them get down in there
'Cause I need real love
I need real love
I'm guarding, guarding the gates
Oh, I'm guarding my gates

Songwriters: Lauryn Hill



Guarding The Gates (From "Queen & Slim: The Soundtrack") · Ms. Lauryn Hill Guarding The Gates ℗ 2019 Sony Music Entertainment Released on: 2019-11-15

Barbès Baby


I just love this song, so much in there... Beat poetry, books, Lou Reed, etc.


Lana Del Rey - 'Brooklyn Baby' (Official Audio, 2014) 




I also wish I could write a personal version to respond to it, it with a Bristol/Paris twist, instead of New York :)  

Including the likes of Marguerite Duras, la Nouvelle Vague, Camus and Char... and a band covering the Velvet Underground...


21/12/2019

Is it the end of an era?


Winter solstice.
It's the end of the season, the end of the year, the end of the decade...

Is it the end of an era?

I listen to this song:

 'When The World Was At War We Kept Dancing'


Lana Del Rey 






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Lyrics

Girls, don't forget your pearls
And all of your horses
As you make your way across the pond
Girls, don't forget your curls
And all of your corsets
Memorize them in a little song
Shake it up, throw your hands up and get loose
Cut a rug, lean into the fucking youth
Choreo, we just want the fucking truth
(Told by the frightened)
Is it the end of an era?
Is it the end of America?
Is it the end of an era?
Is it the end of America?
No, oh
It's only the beginning
If we hold on to hope
We'll have a happy ending
When the world was at war before
We just kept dancing
When the world was at war before
We just kept dancing
Boys, don't forget your toys
And take all of your money
If you find you're in a foreign land
Boys, don't make too much noise
And don't try to be funny
Other people may not understand
Shake it up, throw your hands up and get loose
Cut a rug, lean into the fucking youth
Choreo, we just want the fucking truth
(Told by the frightened)
Is it the end of an era?
Is it the end of America?
Is it the end of an era?
Is it the end of America?
No, oh
It's only the beginning
If we hold on to hope
We'll have a happy ending
When the world was at war before
We just kept dancing
When the world was at war before
We just kept dancing
And we'll do it again
Oh my god, did it from loving you (we'll do it again)
Oh my god, did it from loving you (we'll do it again)
Did it from, did it from loving you, when the world was at war (we'll do it again)
Is it the end of an era?
Is it the end of America?
Is it the end of an era?
Is it the end of America?
When the world was at war before
We just kept dancing
When the world was at war before
We just kept dancing
And we'll do it again
And we'll do it again
 
Songwriters: Dean Reid / Elizabeth Grant / Rick Nowels





20/12/2019

Focus on Hayv Kahraman


As part of 'Still I Rise', the feminist exhibition at the Arnolfini gallery, I've fallen in love with a few wonderful female artists.

Here is one:

Hayv Kahraman was born in Baghdad, Iraq 1981, now lives and works in Los Angeles.

In her biography, she describes: "A vocabulary of narrative, memory and dynamics of non-fixity found in diasporic cultures are the essence of her visual language and the product of her experience as an Iraqi refugee/come émigré. The body as object and subject have a central role in her painting practice as she compositely embodies the artist herself and a collective."

Here is an amazingly inspiring interview:

Hayv Kahraman and "The Land of the Waqwaq"





Hayv Kahraman was in residence at Shangri La Museum, Honolulu, Hawaii, from March 16-31, 2019. 
During her residency, she was joined by her mother, Sizar Barzendji. In this interview, Kahraman and her mother discuss the inspiration behind her work created while in residence at Shangri La. 
Her exhibition, "To the Land of the Waqwaq," will be on view at the museum from March 29, 2019 - August 4, 3019. A concurrent exhibition of additional work by Kahraman, "Superfluous Bodies," is on view at the Honolulu Museum of Art.


And a more biographical interview:



Hayv Kahraman - at Art Dubai




The Third Line Gallery artist’s practice pulls on her personal experiences of migration to Europe (and then the United States), and reflects on the placelessness and experiences of the diaspora. The body as object and subject have a central role in her work with female figures featuring heavily in her paintings, reflecting on controversial issues of gender and the female identity.  

Art Dubai Portraits is a film series that provides a short perspective into the lives and workspaces of artists that are connected to the fair through its programming or participating galleries. The Art Dubai Portraits are produced in collaboration with Forward James Filmmakers.


-

Yola, back in 2008, with Massive Attack


As she triumphed worldwide this year with her first solo album, I thought about this song, this tour, that Bristol-born Yola did with the ultimate Bristol band!

Extract from Massive Attack's performance at Glastonbury Festival in 2008:
'All I Want', featuring Yolanda Quartey, also known as Yola.


Massive Attack - 'All I Want' 




The song was written in 2008 as part of a project temporarily named 'The Weather Underground', an album that Massive Attack never released in the end, replaced by the fifth album, Heligoland.



19/12/2019

Filmmakers for XR Act at Star Wars Premiere in London



British Filmmakers supporting Extinction Rebellion blocked the walk to the red carpet at the Star Wars London Premiere...

  • A group of filmmakers from Extinction Rebellion UK - calling themselves Film Strike for Climate - occupied the red carpet at the Star Wars Premiere in London this evening
  • They are calling for Hollywood’s film industry to use their immense influence and join Extinction Rebellion in Telling the Truth about the Climate and Ecological Emergency
  • The action lasted only a few moments before activists were peacefully removed from the area

8 filmmakers from the Extinction Rebellion UK group, Film Strike for Climate, occupied the red carpet at the Star Wars European Premiere in London’s Leicester Square this evening, as some of Hollywood’s biggest stars arrive. 

Dressed as Rebel Alliance characters, they lay down on the carpet and called for Hollywood’s film industry to join Extinction Rebellion in their quest to tackle the greatest threat facing our planet: the Climate and Ecological Emergency.



People from across the UK took part in this dramatic plea to Hollywood to declare a Climate and Ecological Emergency and to use its enormous influence to Tell the Truth to their viewers. Several activists also held banners with the words ‘Culture Change not Climate Change,’ ‘Help us Hollywood, you’re our only hope’ and ‘Imagine Green New Worlds’. The group did not intend to shut down the premiere, but to make sure their message was heard.

The protest urged Hollywood to engage audiences in the immediate threats we face by helping Extinction Rebellion to Tell the Truth about the crisis. Organisers want industry leaders and stars of the silver screen to use the power of cinema to show a clear vision of a better and more just world, lighting the way to help guide society through the oncoming crises and man-made disasters. 

Alfie Warren-Knight, founder of #FilmStrikeforClimate, said: “At the world government summit in Dubai, Harrison Ford said ‘We are faced with, I believe, the greatest moral crisis of our time’. The film industry must use its influence and story-telling powers to help people around the world understand the urgency of the situation and to spark wide-spread public discussion about the climate and ecological emergency before it’s too late. It has shown in the past how it can mobilise around other important issues in society such as the #MeToo movement. The industry must show a brighter future is still possible, and inspire people to rise up against the ‘Evil Empire’ of ecocidal business-as-usual. We need radical culture and system change to prevent climate and ecological breakdown, and must join forces to improve our chances of a liveable future.”

Films can play a vital role in facilitating public discussion and changing attitudes and behaviours, as shown by films such as: Philadelphia, Biko, Blood Diamonds, Gorillas in the Mist, Blackfish and Supersize Me. Cultural figures are increasingly using their influence to draw attention to the climate emergency. Actor Mark Rylance resigned from the Royal Shakespeare Company over its BP sponsorship, and actress Jane Fonda has been arrested multiple times as part of climate strikes in the USA, but industry bodies are yet to make similar commitments.  



Ashley Joiner, Director of ‘Are You Proud’ - the LGBT rights history documentary - said: “Films have the power to transport us to new worlds, to educate us and open our eyes to new possibilities - that’s what Star Wars is all about! The responsibility is on us as artists to create work that educates on the realities and empowers audiences to make change. I fully support #filmstrikeforclimate and encourage the industry to do so too!”

Tom Richards, a respected wildlife film producer, said: “Like the rebels of the Star Wars movies, we are engaged in a struggle against the destructive and dark forces that are already killing countless people in the Global South and threatening civilizational collapse in the near future. We have no time to waste. So we have travelled here today to encourage the industry to become opinion-leaders and role models in climate justice and planetary protection. A better world is possible: one with cleaner air, wildlife saved from extinction, food security and more closely-knit supportive communities. Cinema can light the path to that future with its inspirational storytelling. Help us Hollywood! You’re our only hope!”

-

More about Film Strike for Climate:

Film Strike for Climate is a campaign launched by members of Extinction Rebellion Filmmakers community and Greta Thunberg’s Youth Strike for Climate movement. 

This action is their second direct action as part of this campaign. The first one was a mass leafleting action, coupled with performances - a Star Wars themed orchestra outside the BBC Natural History Unit and beatboxers at the Bottleyard Film Studios. Call to action leaflets highlighting the parallels of the struggle of the climate and the Star Wars narrative were delivered to around 80 key film locations around the UK.

Film Strike for Climate also hosted a rogue roaming film festival - The Rebel Futures Film Festival - during Extinction Rebellion’s last mass Rebellion in October. Sue Clayton, director of The Stanstead 15, hosted a Radical Filmmaking Workshop. Director Ashley Joiner presented his LGBT rights activist history film outside the Home Office.
Its demands to all global film institutions are to:
  1. Declare a Climate and Ecological Emergency.
  2. Join and show solidarity with Greta Thunberg’s Youth Strike for Climate movement at all future Global Climate Strikes.
  3. Help tell the truth, envision brighter futures and inspire positive climate and ecological action through its storytelling and globally influential networks.

About Extinction Rebellion

Time has almost entirely run out to address the ecological crisis which is upon us, including the 6th mass species extinction, global pollution, and abrupt, runaway climate change. Societal collapse and mass death are seen as inevitable by scientists and other credible voices, with human extinction also a possibility, if rapid action is not taken.

Extinction Rebellion believes it is a citizen’s duty to rebel, using peaceful civil disobedience, when faced with criminal inactivity by their Government.

Extinction Rebellion’s key demands are:

  1. Government must tell the truth by declaring a climate and ecological emergency, working with other institutions to communicate the urgency for change.
  2. Government must act now to halt biodiversity loss and reduce greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2025.
  3. Government must create and be led by the decisions of a Citizens’ Assembly on climate and ecological justice.