Group art exhibition curated by Hamja Ahsan (www.hamjaahsan.com) and Steph Newell
20th February – 14th March
A diverse range of artists were invited to interpret the statement "A Cup of Tea Solves Everything" in this exciting multi-media exhibition. Tea as time, tea as etiquette, tea as mathematics, tea as war, tea as peace, tea as Empire and more…
Artists include: Lorna Robertson /Raksha Patel /Emma Scarpa /Mathilda Holmqvist /Vanessa Louise Jones /Sonalle /Carol Mancke /Sonia Paco-Rocchia /Gabo /Joanna Kerr /Adnan Mirza /Wendy Couchman /Melissa Stott /Kathy Taylor /Tea Appreciation Society /Helena Wee /Mirei Yazama /Rekha Sameer /Sue Lawes /Paul Taylor /Shafique LeFreaque /Ed Huxley /Fatima Hussein
EVENTS, WORKSHOPS & FILM PROGRAMME
Friday - February 20th - Opening Night:
6pm-9pm
Free Tea for all and welcome tour.
Film Screening: The River (1951) Dir: Jean Renoir
Set in Bengal during the colonial era. Features 38 tea encounters. The key influence that launched Satyajit Ray's foray into cinema.
Described by Martin Scorsese as "the most beautiful film ever made in colour." Starts 7pm.
Saturday – March 7th
10.30am – 12.30pm
2pm - 4pm
Qualified Art Therapist Sue Briffa leads 2 art therapy workshops around the exhibition. Materials provided.
Saturday – February 28th
2pm onwards
Tea and Politics, the collaboration of artists Missy Mitchell-Hynd and Naimh Moor, question society's relationship to politics through the creation of events. Influenced by the culture of coffee houses of the 17th century, they invite you to come and discuss the political events of the day over a relaxing cup of tea.
Friday – March 13th
7pm - 9pm
A night of short films, plays, animations, performance, songs, discussion and more… around the world of tea.
All events are FREE. No booking required. First come, first serve basis
Venue: DEPARTURE, 649 Commercial Road, Limehouse, London
E14 7LW
Travel directions: 1 minute walk from Limehouse DLR & National Rail/ Buses: 15, 115, 135
Opening hours: Tues – Fri 11am - 9pm, Saturday 10am - 5pm
For more details: www.otherasias.com / acupofteaart@gmail.com / Mobile Steph: 07841872101
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PAST EVENTS
'Perhaps, I'm afraid of losing 'Asia' all at once, if I speak of it. Or perhaps speaking of other cities, I have already lost it, little by little.' Calvino I. (1972)
We too are talking about this city as we may borrow it from Calvino, but through these imagined scenarios, we are all exhausting the city we would most like to speak about. We found ourselves talking about these bizarre, mysterious, invisible cities that nobody has ever seen. And yet, we could not avoid the feeling that by talking about these imaginary places, we are describing in bits the place we all really think of.
Asia, being not a geographical landmark or a continent in this particular instance, is seen more as a place, the other, a eutopos, memory, or even a longing… but in a way as Calvino puts it '…you could wander through it in thought, become lost, stop and enjoy the cool air, or run off.' Calvino, I. (1971).
21 - 25 November 2008
The show presents 14 young international artists exploring the theme of Asia in formation through video, photography, performance and traditional media.
Nolias Gallery
(at the Thomas a Becket)
320 Old Kent Road
Southwark
London SE1 5UE
www.NoliasGallery.com
Private view: Friday, 21st November 2008, 6-10pm (live performance 8pm)
Open: Saturday - Tuesday: 12pm-8pm
Closing: Tuesday, 25th November 2008, 6-10pm (live performances 8pm)
Other Asias film screening
Friday, 28th November: 7pm
(In separate venue)
DEPARTURE,
649 Commercial Road,
London E14 7LW
Nearest Station: Limehouse DLR and National Rail
All events are free. No booking required.
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Hamja Ahsan Solo Show at DEPARTURE
Family Time
Exhibition duration: 22nd August – 12th September 2008.
Hamja Ahsan presents his debut solo exhibition at the Departure since graduating from Central Saint Martins this year. Entitled ‘Family Time’ the show is curated around the theme of experiencing time through the family body. Originating from a Bengali, Islamic migrant background, Ahsan explores how other cultural systems have different modes of indexing time – work/ leisure, rural/urban time, religious/secular time, waiting, decay and ageing. A number of works grow out of Ahsan’s experiences of visiting his brother in prison – who is being unjustly held indefinitely on recent draconian anti-terrorist legislation ‘The US Extradition treaty’. These works examine how passing time within a total institution can reflect on the construction of the ‘everyday’ life of the metropolis.
Ahsan’s practice encompasses the entire span of media: drawing, sound art, painting, appropriated text work, photography, performance, video, curation and critical writing.
DEPARTURE
649 Commercial Road
E14 7LW
1 minute walk from Limehouse DLR.
Opening hours: Tues-Fri (11am-9pm)
Sat (10am-5pm)
Launch Event
Film Screening: The Clay Bird (2002)
Friday, 22nd August, 7pm
A beautiful, evocative film about a boy’s coming of age during the Liberation war of Bangladesh. In this setting a small family must come to grips with its culture, its faith, and the brutal political changes entering its small-town world. The film was shot almost entirely with non-professionals in local settings often using local sounds. The cinematography attempted to capture the seasons in rustic appeal and the festivals and holidays of Bangladesh. The film was choosen to tie in with themes and settings of my exhibition, much of which is shot in rural and urban Bengal.
Winner of the International Critics Prize at Cannes Film Festival, 2002.
Duration: 90 minutes
Film screening begins at 7pm
Offical Website
http://ctmasud.web.aplus.net/about/
Short film/Video art event curated by Hamja Ahsan
UNTIL THE END OF TIME…
12 September
5pm-7pm
Free, no bookings taken. Just turn up on the day.
Travel Info: DEPARTURE venue is 1 minute walk from Limehouse DLR. 649 Commercial Road, London E14 7LW
Itinerary….
Beautiful short films on Bangladeshi life by master cinematographer Masud Chowdhury Pitu – The Bull Fight and The Spectacular Naf (shot on the Burma-Bangladesh border)
MOAZZAM BEGG interviews GARETH PIERCE
(Ex-Guantanamo Bay surviror and human rights activist)
about artwork made in prison and feelings of motherhood.
Gareth Pierce is the legal representative of Hamja brother’s Talha currently held unjustly indefinitely on “anti-terrorist” leglisation. She is famous for her courageous representation on behalf of the Birmingham Six and Guildford Four and the Guantanamo Bay survivors. She was played by Emma Thompson in Neil Jordan’s film In the Name of the Father This was produced for the occasion of the Captivated prisoners art held at Islam expo and Together Gallery this year.
Features short film by SUNARA BEGUM
Ara’s Sojoun - featuring choreography.
http://www.sunarabegum.com
Video art by RIFFAT AHMED - star of Channel 4’s Debutantes
http://www.saatchi-gallery.co.uk/yourgallery/artist_profile/Riffat%20+Ahmed/87200.html
Also…
Installation by MARIANNA PULFORD and RUGINA MUKID
made during a long-term residency
http://www.mariannapulford.com
and
VERY LAST CHANCE TO SEE ‘Family Time’ – the debut solo exhibition of Hamja Ahsan.
http://www.hamjaahsan.com
It must be taken down the following day….