Across the globe and across centuries, ordinary people living under conditions of oppression and censorship have adapted their creativity and culture in order to resist, protest and survive. Song has been used to build solidarity, textiles to pass forbidden messages, and dance to build courage. From the Occupied Territories of Palestine to Apartheid South Africa, from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe to Mexico and beyond, creative skills and determined ingenuity to resist and protest their oppression and overcome myriad injustices and persecutions.
The project has been working with local artists of different disciplines - Hassan Rahmani, Shaheen Ahmed, Sipho Eric Ndlovu, Farwa Moledina, Millicent Chapanda, Katy Bennet and ITZATNA Arts - to take inspiration from such examples of cultural resistance and creative protest across the following forms - kite making, maps, flags, dance, textiles, song, and food. Weaving their own practice with real life historical examples, the artists have guided Community Producers in exploring ways to collectively produce their own forms of creative resistance that respond to social justice issues directly impacting communities here and now. Following each phase of exploration and making, the Community Producers shared what they'd been working on through public events at Balsall Heath Second Saturdays, where they invited local people to join them in acts of creative protest and cultural resistance.
Alongside visual artworks, sound and film, the exhibition includes a ‘Reading Zone’ of books, articles, and other resources around the project’s themes, for people to spend time and dig a little deeper.
A Creative City Project generously supported by Birmingham City Council.
Website: thegapartsproject.co.uk
