We hope you had a great half term and are ready for this final push to ensure you achieve to the best of your abilities. I certainly had a busy week, catching up on exhibitions I hadn't got a chance to see and doing some work I haven't had time to fully commit too. So overall a very productive half term, full of fun and culture. This week I have continue to visit Museums with a quick trip into Manchester to see the newly reopened Manchester Museum. Full of great new more and ancient artefacts, it makes you feel humble to realise all this history and culture surrounds us every day. So, by being open and engaged, I've seen ancient Mummies, great paintings, sculptures that adorn buildings, I've learnt about the cultures that make Greater Manchester what it is and I have produced and sold some artwork, I am proud of. The break has been an exciting time to become re inspired. We hope it was the same for you too. Enjoy the blog, that reflects some of these things I have done.
ARTIST: AZRAA MOTALA
In the new South Asain Rooms at The Manchester Museum, hangs Manchester Muse (Left) by Azraa Motala, it's a huge painting of a young woman in tradition clothing which covers her more casual tracksuit and trainers reflecting the diversity and duality of being a female of Muslim Faith in Manchester today. It's a great painting, so I did some more research and thought I would share the work today.
"Azraa Motala creates work that seeks to untangle culturally inherited expectations and the overlapping aspects of her own identity as a young British-Asian Muslim woman, exploring the way in which women from the diaspora have been represented in both the past and the present day, particularly through their dress."
Her work is usually large scale, reflecting classic portraits that would usually adorn gallery walls. It's really inspiring to see a young women challenge the norms of the art world and for people who are not usually represented in galleries to be seen. Many of these points are explored further in the video below. Motala is from Preston and studied at UCLAN. there is lots of upcoming work for you to see, but I would recommend seeing this great painting in the first instance.
ARTIST: MICHELLE OLIVIER
Michelle Olivier is another artist on show at Manchester Museum. Her collages explore the ideas and issues of how mixed-race people and relationships are represented, and art which is inspired by the natural world.
I loved the collage below, a contemporary take on the classic technique.
Like Motalla, Olivier uses western art traditions and subverts their meanings and reflects how different cultures have always been part of the narrative, but often overlooked or ignored by institutions. By using familiar imagery it plays with the narrative and elevates it to the same level.
A good technique for you all to reflect upon and use.
VISIT: MANCHESTER MUSEUM
Manchester Museum Opened last week having been closed for two years. It's great to have such a great resources available again. I popped in this week and saw the new spaces and exhibitions. A really interesing Golden Mummies exhibition and great new permanent collections that reflect the diversity of the city.
Free to get in, I would highly recommend the flourless Manchester Tart in the Café. Almost worth a visit just for that alone.
CONCERT: MARVIN GAYE LIVE 1980
This is a great performance with all the hits. Excellent, I would highly recommend it, full of brilliant musicians and fashion.
An electrifying performance.
ALBUM: GORILLAZ CRACKER ISLAND
Cracker Island is the Gorillaz eighth studio album by collaborators, Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett. The single released so far have been good, however I am featuring it as a creative project, with the concept of the band being cartoon characters and the videos being artworks in them selves. It's always really interesting. Albarn finds the most interesting musicians to collaborate with so you get some fantastic performances from all involves. Jamie Hewllett's visuals are subversive and as always quite amusing.
Their website, is full of great artwork and design ideas so worth an explore.
TV: SIMON SCHAMA MEETS
‘freedom of expression is the foundation for humanity.’
In episode 1, Schama talks to Ai Weiwei, who is arguably the world’s most famous dissident artist, celebrated for his prolific and profound output of sculpture, installation, architecture, photography and film-making, which is never afraid to take on systems of power and oppression. Ai Weiwei also describes his own journey as a voice for the downtrodden.
EVENT: BRITISH MUSLIM WOMEN IN CULTURAL & CREATIVE INDUSTRIES
An opportunity to attend a special symposium on Muslim women creatives with Dr Saskia Warren and Raabia Hussain. In this talk Dr Saskia Warren, an author and a Senior Lecturer in Human Geography will discuss some key findings from her new book, British Muslim Women in the Cultural and Creative Industries (2022, EUP). Research commissioned by the Equality and Human Rights Commission highlights that only a minority of UK-based surveys have asked questions which might contribute to an understanding of religious discrimination and even fewer ask about religious discrimination openly.
Drawing on examples, she will explore how religion/faith interrelate with other indexes of difference, reshaping work-lives and the changing morphology of society, culture, and public life.
Raabia Hussain, an award-winning adventure filmmaker, Activist from Manchester, will share her experience as a filmmaker.
As an international humanitarian activist Raabia will share how she inspires and helps people especially from the ethnic minority, to represent themselves in front of and behind the camera.