Delivering arts activities by artists connected to refugee and migrant backgrounds or related themes in 9 libraries across Oldham, Manchester and Bolton, in partnership with the libraries and Community Arts North West. To mark these ‘Libraries of Sanctuary’, we have incorporated strategies of creative community inclusion with the added theme of climate change for the ‘Climate Connections’ sub-project in Oldham. The Sanctuary, Climate and Libraries project is in two overlapping parts:
LIBRARIES OF SANCTUARY
– see the dedicated CAN’s Libraries Of Sanctuary web-pages, and also their report for Manchester City Council on this project.
CLIMATE CONNECTIONS
– see the home-page for this rich and critically important sub-project.
After an initial pilot workshop in February 2020 at Bolton’s High Street Library, in 2021 The Sanctuary, Climate and Libraries project delivered:
- Production of an online workshop resource for digital climate media art
- Climate Connections launch workshop – Maya Chowdhry (writing & digital), Klaus-Dieter Michel (digital interactive), Rabia Begum (writing & visual), Kooj Chuhan (digital interactive); Oldham Central Library 27 March (online)
- Event presentation of climate arts work & final competition winners, Oldham Central Library 19 May (online)
- Climate Connections digital arts – Kooj Chuhan with Oldham Lifelong Learning, 12 workshops May-July
- Climate Connections music & writing – Sarah Yaseen with Fatima Womens Association, 4 workshops May-Aug
- Seyed Ali Jaberi and the Hamdel Ensemble in concert, Manchester Central Library 17 July
- Music – Michael Cretu & Mina Salama, visual art – Kani Kamil; workshops at Chadderton 11 Sept
- Britannia Rumba in concert, Bolton Central Library 18 Sept
- THREE ARTISTS CLIMATE MICRO-COMMISSIONS by musician Emmanuela Yogolelo video art from visit to DRC Aug 2021; photographer Murad Chowdhury using own & found stills from Bangladesh; visual & writing artist Rabia Begum creating workshop & installation exhibited 2 weeks in Oldham Central Library.
- VOICES FOR ACTION climate arts festival Oldham Central Library 25 Sept incl Livestream: visual poetry – Rabia Begum, Lubna Ali, Fatimah Fagihassan / Climate Fresk – Climate Hub Hamburg / Screening compilation film art from workshops & competition / David Bailey Lifelong Learning / Sarah Yaseen presentation with Fatima Womens Association / Rania Enan presenting Arabischer Frauenbund / Sylvia Linneberg (Hamburg)and Vickie Varley (Oldham) libraries presentation / Music & Storytelling performances – Sarah Yaseen, Emmanuela Yogolelo, Tshepe Tshepala / DEBATE with musician Emmanuela Yogolelo, photographer Murad Chowdhury, Adam Peirce – Climate Emergency, Climate Hub Hamburg, Sai Murray – Racial Justice Network, visual & writing artist R Begum.
- Storytelling – Apu Chowdhury, visual writing – Rabia Begum, workshops at Northmoor Library 2 Oct
- Sub Sahara singing percussion – Serge Tebu & Emmanuela Yogolelo, visual – Gloria Saya, Wythenshawe Library 16 Oct
- Ethiopian dance – Masresha Wondmu, Persian Percussion – Arian Sadr, Art of protest – Mei Yuk Wong, workshops at Longsight Library 23 Oct
- W African Percussion Dance – Imani Jendai & Serge Tebu, visual – Gloria Saya, workshops at Beswick Library 30 Oct
- EXHIBITIONS – climate video art compilation 2 weeks each Oldham, Hamburg, Bremen Libraries & 7 weeks Manchester Central Library
