Abstract Elements Photographic Exhibition – Photogiraffe

A great night at Najma Hush’s, a.k.a. Photogiraffe, exhibition. As with her other shows she invited performers and created a spectacle to match the amazing artistic talent hanging on the wall!

As with her other work the photographs exhibited were thought provoking. The Abstract Elements collection was compiled by just 5 pictures, Some Kind of Blue was exhibited too, which I was excited about as this was the 1st in the present exhibitions and it made a full circle back to the start. I hadn’t seen these in real life, I had only just started back on my creative poetry path back in the Autumn, when she launched this exhibition and knew nothing of Najma or her talent.

Najma invited other performers to write material based on the same theme as her exhibition. This was the first one I have taken part in where I didn’t use the actual photos to write from. I used the elements themselves.

There was so much talent and a mix of storytelling, poetry, music, performance art and humour, mostly performers stuck to the brief and wrote thematic material exploring the 5 elements.

We were in the Warehouse Cafe in Digbeth, Birmingham, a friendly atmosphere & superb food! For a small charge we were all treated to a buffet of vegan / vegetarian cuisine, the food was good and the atmosphere relaxed.

 

Abstract Elements A beautiful video Najma has created showing her latest collection on the 5 elements. Read her own review of the exhibition here PhotogiraffeLive Opening

I had great fun performing my set with Tim Scarborough on percussion, people were positive with their feedback and many thought it was a well established collaboration. This was only the 2nd time we have performed together, although we have more in the pipeline. I am only performing twice next week (from choice, I need a bit of balance), both performances will be with Tim, one new set and one we have performed before (2nd time around).

 

 

Female Force – PhotoGiraffe Exhibition Launch Event

Saturday 12th April was a day of events. There was the Independent Book Fair at the Ikon Gallery, Birmingham. This event was organised by Writing West Midlands, who I was working for in Worcester the same day. I toyed with the idea of getting into the city early for an hour and leaving to journey across the county. I decided I would only have an hour and it wasn’t worth the early start and extra journey. I have read reviews and I know I wouldn’t have managed much in just an hour.

Then I found out that Najma Hush’s event was also in the morning. It was touch and go and I really appreciate her squeezing me in on the line up as I couldn’t confirm until the morning of her opening event. Now an hour of poetry was something that I was willing to make a journey for!

The Diverse Dancers exhibition was such a great event to be part of. I knew I would have a great morning and was sad that I couldn’t stay for the whole event as I had to travel back for my Assistant Writers job.

Female Force is the title given to a selection of photographs taken of statues by Najma Hush. These images been manipulated by the process of multi-layering, to modernise and re-present, a few and various neoclassical and classical sculptures, from the fresh perspective of a digital age. Currently exhibiting at Urban Coffee Co (Church Street Birmingham, from April 6th – May 3rd 2014).

With the exhibition open day held last Saturday 12th April, Hush hosted her very own launch event inviting Poets and Musicians to platform their own skills and celebrate her latest exhibition. You can see all the photographs of the beautiful people who came to support this event on the PhotoGiraffe official page. The theme was ‘Women’ and all performers prepared work to coincide with this exhibition. After all, these open exhibition events aren’t titled, ‘Exhibition for Exhibitionists’ for nothing you know.

Copyright Bernard Davis

I met new poets and had the chance to see some of them perform, it seemed like ages since I had made it into the city to see my Birmingham based poetry friends and reconnecting at this event was lovely! And I had a cupcake for breakfast! Well it would have been rude not to, I was in the Urban Coffee House, ‘where magic happens’ and it is filled with sweet treats.

I read some very personal material. The theme ‘Female Force’ gave us a platform that was safe to share such things and I wasn’t the only performing exposing the edge of realities. Strength and vulnerability meet somewhere on that circle.

It was really hard having to leave in the interval, I am glad I managed to catch Charlie Jordan and Julie Boden before I left.

Copyright Photogiraffe

 

 

I missed the second half and it sounds like it was a great day. I am linking Photo Giraffe’s review for you all to enjoy the full scale of this event.

OpeningDay

 

The First Day of 18

I have broken up from work for the Easter break and am looking forward to 18 glorious days in my writing skin.

There is already a lot of news to share.

Firstly, Mouth & Music which was a fabulous night that I am still on a high from, sent exciting news today.

Slap Magazine  (supporting local arts and performers) want to publish the photo Mary Davis took of Tim and I performing and much as it makes me want to get an instant body wrap, attach myself to a zumba DVD and pray for instant weight loss, I am still stoked with this news.

Secondly, I attended my first meeting tonight as an Assistant Writer for WWM Writing West Midlands. It was a buzzing atmosphere and great to be in a room with so many writers, many of whom I have already met; William Gallagher, Stephen, Roz Goddard, Hayley Frances, Ian MacLeod, Brenda-Read Brown, & Garrie Fletcher.

My writing diary is packed and my ideas file grew this evening.

1) Write the 14 lost missing NaPoWriMo poems (file issues last Sunday)

2) Write the new 52 prompt poems and catch up on a few gaps I have

3) Write a poem for our WWM Creative Writing group tomorrow – requested by Ian MacLeod

4) email Jonathan/ Hayley/

5) Catch up with Camp NaNoWriMo – some major words lost already (non- existent)  It is ironic that this year (my 3rd camp) I FINALLY get an active cabin and I am not there to see it.

6) Write Strong Women poems and as a result decide whether to do Najma Hush’s exhibition opening. I really want to go to this event but am due in a city more than 45 miles away at lunchtime. I would love to be able to stay until 1:30 when it finishes. I am in two minds, I have mentally checked all possible solutions.  Train, buses etc, need to check them properly tomorrow (later on today) but if I do go I will only have an hour there before I have to whizz back for my meeting.

 

I have a whole selection box of Spoken Word events over the next week too;

This evening – Poetry and Place – Ledbury Poetry Festival, to see

 

 It is the first of three events which see Ledbury Poetry Festival linking up with Worcester Literature Festival (WLF) with performance events at The Hive. I am involved in performing at Poetry and Pollination in May, organised by Ruth Stacey and headlined by Ruth and Sarah Leavesley (who have both performed at Ledbury in the past) – very much looking forward to this event. Tonight will also give me a chance to catch up with some poetry friends.

I have submissions to work on, including poems, on Thursday I have Poetry for Lunch (booked for the next 3), followed by the special ticket holders Hit the Ode and then on Friday I will be performing at The Ort – the first ‘Friday night’ one. On Saturday I hope to attend a camp Nano meet / write in, followed by a writing group run by Apples & Snakes, Poet’s Place. They started the most recent group meetings in January and I have been unable to attend any yet.

 

From a Week Off to a Week On (It)!

Last week I took a week off from performance events, open mics and any socialising generally. I worked for 4 days and wrote in the evenings (mainly , desperately need to catch up with NaNoWriMo)!  I then had a 3 day weekend which consisted of a day off with Mr G to visit a newly opened Home store *they had 25% off, to buy paint and materials to start decorating our place, a missed birthday party, a 60th/ 40th Wedding Anniversary Party, planting seeds, catching up with writing projects, and missing the WLF Poetry Walk.

I have slept a lot too.

This week is the last week of work before Easter, I don’t get any pay in the holidays so I took on some extra work. I have 3.5 days work, a rehearsal (in a few hours) for Mouth & Music Dualogue set before work,  I am working all week, bar Friday (thank goodness)!

I have Mouth & Music   Tuesday evening,  a meeting with the other writers who work for Writing West Midlands on Thursday and on Friday night (after a day in my writing skin) I am going to  for the first of three events which link the Worcester Literature Festival and the Ledbury Poetry Festival.

‘Four poets with assured and distinctive voices for whom ‘place’ is not just the geographical or natural environments that inform the poems but also the human histories that unfold there, the people who are part of the landscape and part of the poem.’

Angela France

Martin Malone

David Caddy

Fiona Sampson

After a busy week I have an even more action packed weekend (start of my 2 week Easter break). On Saturday Najma Hush (a.k.a PhotoGiraffe) is having her 2nd Exhibition opening in Birmingham. The Exhibition is already up. I planned to perform at her opening which is from 11 to 1:30 and will be amazing! I thoroughly enjoyed watching every at the Diverse Dancers Exhibition and have since met up with Najma several times at poetry events (which would make celebrating her photography even more exciting)!

It is also Birmingham’s Independent Book Fayre, great way of meeting small presses and networking – but I may as well forget that 11 – 5pm because I won’t have time to get to it, maybe next year. This event is also run by Writing West Midlands, who I will be working for on Saturday.

My issue with getting to the exhibition, is that I then need to travel across county to get to my Assistant Writing job for 1:30 and I KNOW if I make it to the Exhibition opening I am going to want to stay there.

After all that it is also a friend’s 40th Birthday Party, she is celebrating at a pub with a band on and is having a buffet also. Plus it gives me a chance to see friends I missed this weekend and have not seen in a long while.

On Sunday I am celebrating an anniversary with friends who are having a lunchtime function.

I also hope to write and submit 1 short story and several poems.  

Have a good week! Happy Writing!

Diverse Dancers: I

I am performing (alongside many other local talents) tomorrow at the opening of this Gallery event – writing the poems at the moment… it will be my 2nd gallery opening and I am looking forward to it!

Photogiraffe Live Art

Najma Hush’s, Diverse Dancers is the title given to a  large and ever expanding compilation of photographs, primarily concerned with the multiplicity of varying dance traditions, unique to a variety of different cultures and subcultures.

This collection has been produced with a keen interest in the grace of dancer’s movements and seeks to reveal the eloquence of each pose, jump, spin and lift.  As this project expands and develops, Hush seeks to come closer to interpreting and presenting the exceptional language of bodies that never lie.

Diverse Dancers Part I:
An Exhibition for Exhibitionists, with Art, Poetry and Music.

Presently, a small and miscellaneous selection from this collection is exhibiting at ORT Cafe, Birmingham, UK (19^th Feb-5^th Mar 2014).

Look out for the next post on Diverse Dancers, where you can view the photographs from the open exhibition night and get better acquainted with all the amazing performers who will come…

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