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Gaelic Lab -Call for ParticipantsWe are currently looking for people who can commit to 5 workshops and a final performance on the 21st of June. There will be refreshments available at all workshops. Traditionally a céilidh brought together communities, who gathered in a home in their village, singing, dancing, playing music and telling stories often until daybreak! The Gaelic Laboratory aims to re-imagine the traditions of the céilidh in a 21st century Scottish context, welcoming a range of cultural diverse organisations into the project. Gaelic has a strong storytelling tradition also shared by many other languages currently spoken in Scotland. The Gaelic Laboratory aims to explore Gaelic storytelling through spoken word and invite people from Black, Asian, and Minority Ethnic (BAME) and Gaelic communities to participate in a series of workshops encouraging a unique merging of dialects, languages, stories, as well as the personal and shared histories of the participants who will take part. Throughout June, The Gaelic Laboratory will host 5 workshops at the Briggait in Glasgow. In collaboration with Ankur Productions and sponsored by Ideas Tap , The Gaelic Laboratory will use traditional Gaelic stories as a starting point to explore the concept of 'ceilidh', meaning 'a visit', 'a meeting' or 'a gathering', and in the process we will discover and explore a rich variety of stories from a plethora of cultures living in Scotland today. Through the workshops, using music, drama, spoken word, dance and song, we will create unique pieces of storytelling that will be performed at a céilidh at the Garnethill Multicultural Centre on the 21st of June. If you are interested in taking part in this project or have any questions at all please email Sarah (Project Coordinator) on sarah.macdonald@ankurproductions.org.uk. We are looking to confirm numbers week beginning 21st May so please contact me as soon as possible. Follow us on twitter at @GaelicLab. As well as @AnkurArts #GaelicLab
Ankur DebatesAnkur is programming a series of debate exploring culture and politics. On Friday 18th May at the Tron Theatre we ask What sort of revolution do you want in Glasgow? The debate draws together a range of presentations. On Friday night we’ll have a diverse range of speakers looking at architecture, cycling, child detention and Politics. Following the presentations it’s time for the audience to join the debate. The format works with the audience breaking into small facilitated groups, examining the question and then coming together to look at how we can start our own revolutions. Presenters include: Dr Jonathan Charley (lecturer Architecture), Robin McAlpine (Director, Jimmy Reid Foundation), Amal Azzudin (Glasgow Girl), Alan Munro (organiser of Pedal on Parliament). The event will be chaired by Shabina Alsam, Ankur’s Artistic Director and you can pick up your revolutionary materials from the Radical Book Fair. Book your tickets here http://www.tron.co.uk and come join the revolution.
Springtime - a wee bit about the Scottish participants Amal Azzeudin "In 2005, I founded the ‘Glasgow Girls’ campaign as one of my school friends was subjected to a dawn raid and detained by the Home Office. I recently graduated from Glasgow University with a BA Community Development degree. Whilst studying for the degree, I completed my placement at The British Red Cross – Refugee Unit where I helped plan and deliver a life skills project to newly arrived young Asylum Seekers and Refugees. I also completed another placement at the West of Scotland Regional Equality Council where I worked with BME communities to raise awareness of and how to join civic structures." Faizah Shaheen "I express my work through the themes of unity, Identity and faith. The artist is in search of beauty and artistic expression to explore issues and create awareness. I aim to reveal concepts with a moral message using art as a tool. Inspire and be inspired. She believes that ‘Life is an Art’." Mahir Hayatleh "However, I am optimistic that this Arab Spring will be the best thing ever happen to me and my generation." Somaya Naas "I have been and I am very supportive of the Arab revolutions, I have followed the news and developments of the Arab Spring. I helped organise demonstrations, meetings and fund raising events to raise awareness of what is going on in the Arab world." Springtime For More info see: For tweets updates follow #Springtime @AnkurArts
We are looking for volunteers for our Debate as part of MayfestoVolunteers Ankur is looking for a team of volunteers to help facilitate a new debate series. Volunteers will be interested in working with people, con?dent communicators and throughout the year, Ankur Debates will invite a diverse range of speakers to discuss a series of questions. The ?rst debate is part of the Mayfesto programme on Friday 18th May at Tron Theatre Glasgow. The question is What kind of revolution does Glasgow want? The format of the debates involves a series of presentations followed by the audience breaking up into groups to discuss the issue. These small group discussions are facilitated by volunteers. Volunteers should be interested in working with people and con?dent communicators. Training will be provided and Ankur will cover local travel expenses by public transport. Availability Volunteers need to be available on Friday 18th May: Training - 5.00 – 6.30pm.
If you are interested in volunteering please send a paragraph about yourself and why you are interested to karen.shaw@ankurproductions.org.uk by 14th May.
Shabina Aslam on Developing an Ankur Ha HaA ha-ha is a ditch protecting a hidden garden from wild beasts, we chose this name for the project because it brings a smile up when you say it…ha-ha. As well as extending the gardening metaphor suggested by Ankur which is a Hindi word for seedling……We’ve got six artists sitting in the ha-ha at the moment, all very exciting, diverse and talented young people with loads of good ideas and ambition for the Arts in Scotland. I’m really looking forward to Saturday night when we get to see their work all together at the Citz with Kalonde MCing. Lets see what happens! We’re hoping to take some of this forward and would like our audiences to tell us which ones. So, don’t hold back, let us know what you think…. Ankur HaHa Sratch Night: New writing, photography, video and dance capture a diverse range of experiences. Using a scratch night format there will be the opportunity for dialogue and feedback, to inform new work for a culturally diverse Scotland. Artists sharing their ideas will be: For booking info: For tweets updates follow #AnkurHaha @AnkurArts
#FlashbackFriday -Tim Reid some reflections on 'Playback'Plackback was staged in the cavernous back room at The Briggait, the recently re-developed old fishmarket what is now home to many arts organisations, including Ankur The space wasn't a theatre, and so the production faced huge challenges. Firstly to make it fit for an audience, and after that for the creative team to find a way to use the space, to light everything, to make sure the audience could hear and to project video all over the shop! One issue which caused a lot of late nights was the lack of any way to blackout the space. Both myself and Lizzie Powell - the Lighting Designer - put in a lot of after-hours work because until the sun set we couldn't see what we were doing. The vast nature of the space led to the decision to create a promenade show - which also helped the audience keep warm, as it was October, and a cold cold room. The visual aesthetic of the show, which informed the style of the video, was that of a graphic novel... Looking back I'm proud of Playback on many levels. Some effects weren't as successful as I'd have liked - resolution limitations meant for some jaggy edges, and not all the tricksy effects like hitting handheld targets worked reliably. But I was delighted with the ability to send images to many areas within this huge venue. It was a slog to programme and involved a lot of very late nights, but I had amazing support from the production team, the creative team and Ankur. I made a friend and hopefully future collaborator in the form of Director Paddy Cuneen, and was left with the utmost admiration for Ankur's (previous) Artistic Director Lalitha Rajan as she tirelessly drew everything together for this ambitious show... Playback was a challenging and enjoyable project with a great team working on it. You can read the rest of Tim Reid's blog here: Tim Reid is a video designer who believes video is a creative tool which - like lighting and sound - can add atmosphere and wonder to a live performance. Tim has designed video effects and playback systems for shows from experimental small scale works up to full scale Theatre, Opera and Ballet productions. Tim's work has been seen in places as diverse as Sydney Opera House and the Shetland Isles, just not on the same night.
is released on the 3rd Friday of every month. They are blog pieces written by artists, practitioners, community groups, and participants who have previously worked with Ankur Productions. Have you worked with Ankur before? Wanna write a piece for #Flashback Friday to tell us what you're doing now? Get in touch with Rhea at rhea.lewis@ankurproductions.org.uk
#FlashbackFriday -Tim Reid some reflections on 'Playback'Plackback was staged in the cavernous back room at The Briggait, the recently re-developed old fishmarket what is now home to many arts organisations, including Ankur The space wasn't a theatre, and so the production faced huge challenges. Firstly to make it fit for an audience, and after that for the creative team to find a way to use the space, to light everything, to make sure the audience could hear and to project video all over the shop! One issue which caused a lot of late nights was the lack of any way to blackout the space. Both myself and Lizzie Powell - the Lighting Designer - put in a lot of after-hours work because until the sun set we couldn't see what we were doing. The vast nature of the space led to the decision to create a promenade show - which also helped the audience keep warm, as it was October, and a cold cold room. The visual aesthetic of the show, which informed the style of the video, was that of a graphic novel... Looking back I'm proud of Playback on many levels. Some effects weren't as successful as I'd have liked - resolution limitations meant for some jaggy edges, and not all the tricksy effects like hitting handheld targets worked reliably. But I was delighted with the ability to send images to many areas within this huge venue. It was a slog to programme and involved a lot of very late nights, but I had amazing support from the production team, the creative team and Ankur. I made a friend and hopefully future collaborator in the form of Director Paddy Cuneen, and was left with the utmost admiration for Ankur's (previous) Artistic Director Lalitha Rajan as she tirelessly drew everything together for this ambitious show... Playback was a challenging and enjoyable project with a great team working on it. You can read the rest of Tim Reid's blog here: Tim Reid is a video designer who believes video is a creative tool which - like lighting and sound - can add atmosphere and wonder to a live performance. Tim has designed video effects and playback systems for shows from experimental small scale works up to full scale Theatre, Opera and Ballet productions. Tim's work has been seen in places as diverse as Sydney Opera House and the Shetland Isles, just not on the same night.
is released on the 3rd Friday of every month. They are blog pieces written by artists, practitioners, community groups, and participants who have previously worked with Ankur Productions. Have you worked with Ankur before? Wanna write a piece for #Flashback Friday to tell us what you're doing now? Get in touch with Rhea at rhea.lewis@ankurproductions.org.uk
Nuktaa Shah, An Ankur HahaCulture is a very organic entity. It changes, evolves, shapes and takes a distinct identity. Cultural evolution is an area of interest for me. Part reason is personal experiences and rest of it comes from the fact that I belong to Indo-Pak Sub-continent. I believe to understand how I relate to the work I am developing right now, it is very important to understand these both factors. I have lived in different countries during different times in my life and I got an opportunity to closely observe distinct cultural features as well as the gray areas where cultural boundaries blur and people embrace people. The fact that I am a South Asian by ethnic origin makes this subject a special area of interest for me, as ‘migration’ to other countries is a very common phenomenon in South Asians. Migration, no matter for whatever reason, leads to new ‘mixtures of cultures’ experienced by Diaspora living in different countries. Interestingly, these communities do have trends very similar to people living in homeland yet they are visibly different in certain aspects. This project is a small effort to put things in perspective and capture certain aspects of South Asian Diaspora in Scotland. Ankur HaHa Sratch Night: New writing, photography, video and dance capture a diverse range of experiences. Using a scratch night format there will be the opportunity for dialogue and feedback, to inform new work for a culturally diverse Scotland. Artists sharing their ideas will be: For booking info: For tweets updates follow #AnkurHaha @AnkurArts
Poet Iyad, leads our Springtime ProjectWhere my poetry began I’m Iyad Hayatleh; a Palestinian refugee poet born in a Palestinian refugee camp in Syria in 1960. Poetry overwhelmed our home as my grandfather and my father were both poets as well, so I grew up amongst books and poems. I started writing poetry early and with the progress of my writing experience I published some of my work in Arabic magazines, giving readings in Syria, Lebanon and Yemen. What made the poet in me was the plight of my people, the homelessness, the oppression, the poverty, the hope, and the determination. All these things have ignited my feelings, my thoughts and my words, and shaped me as a poet. Leap into the unknown Moving to Glasgow with my family in 2000 was the biggest leap towards the unknown in my life, but it was an opportunity to unleash my suppressed voice and restart my poetry path from a wider angle as I got involved in Scottish Pen and Artists in Exile Glasgow, taking part in many translation and poetry workshops nationwide. I also had my first collection "Beyond all measure" published by Survivor’s Press, and will be publishing my second collaborative book with Tessa Ransford very soon. Springtime With Ankur productions I’ve led two poetry workshops in Glasgow schools in 2008, and I’ll be leading a group of six Scottish Arabs working with six artists from Egypt to write a new play over the internet and perform it using live theatre, Skype, music, video and singing. The project will challenge ideas about refugees, migrants in Glasgow and in Western Europe and create a local to global perspective on the Arab Spring. The performance will take place at the Tron Theatre, Saturday 19th May 2012. It’s set to be an innovative and exciting project that I look forward to. For tickets: http://www.tron.co.uk/event/springtime/
Satya Dunning, an Ankur Ha HaRitual for the self for the Service of Beyond? What if the piece I am developing is in fact a ritual for self? It had been my premise to research and develop for the residency a ritual piece around the theme of grief involving the audience. The ensuing process and research clarified I actually wanted to address the theme of mindfulness. So I became my own research, for a couple of days, I applied mindfulness in my daily life, observing what I’m thinking and feeling. I tasked myself to apply the same principle to moving: moving freely, spontaneously with mindfulness, unconcerned with aesthetics and strongly influenced by Authentic Movement. In my practical research, I have began to understand that before doing a community ritual involving the audience, I need to acknowledge the self, take care of the part before the whole. I call it a ritual because it is an act I choose to do every morning, if not regularly. I light a candle and imagine a circle I enter. I move sometimes for 20, 30 minutes or a whole hour. And like most rituals, I encounter a transformation in myself: I go from being fearful, doubtful to grounded, peaceful, connected to my body, and this feels pleasurable. I am ready for the day. It seems through movement, I become embodied and better able to make sense of the world. As I continue this practice of moving, I am noticing among the emerging movements, some, which produce an experience of well being in me. I call them my well being signature. As 28 April is approaching, I am becoming more curious to develop a moving sequence with these particular movements. I am influenced by the Buddhist practice of dedicating a thought, an action to the benefit of a greater cause So the questions, which arise, are: And so as these questions emerge, I like to think of my well being signature as a ritual for self in service of something beyond me. Ankur HaHa Sratch Night: New writing, photography, video and dance capture a diverse range of experiences. Using a scratch night format there will be the opportunity for dialogue and feedback, to inform new work for a culturally diverse Scotland. Artists sharing their ideas will be: For booking info: For tweets updates follow #AnkurHaha @AnkurArts
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