Stories and songs from London’s East End communities and beyond. This online event celebrates the launch of East Voices Digital Series.
Since June, Daedalus Theatre Company, in partnership with Numbi Arts, Bishwo Shahitto Kendro and Rua Arts, has hosted workshops and collaborated with East Londoners and a host of guest artists, to gather stories and music. We’re excited to now launch a series of storytelling videos hosted on the East Archive.
Shamim Azad, one of the lead artists in our East storytelling project and a long-term Daedalus collaborator, has been recognised for her work with the local community during Covid, and we’re feeling very proud indeed! Here’s how The National Lottery describes the project:
The exhibition – titled, The National Lottery’s 2020 Portraits of the People – honours 13 of these artistic champions for making a significant difference to lifting people’s spirits this year, using some of the £30m raised by National Lottery players every week for good causes. The digital exhibition can be visited on the websites and social media of: The National Portrait Gallery, London, The National Museum of Wales, Cardiff, The MAC in Belfast, IKON Gallery in Birmingham, Summerhall in Edinburgh, Tŷ Pawb, Wrexham, Ruthin Craft Centre in Ruthin, Wales, The Photographers’ Gallery in London and the British Film Institute (BFI), and the portraits will also be on display at BFI Southbank in London.
Click here or on the screengrab below for the full portrait and article on the National Lottery blog:
Big congratulations, Shamim, from all your Daedalus colleagues!
A couple of weeks ago, Sef, Shamim and Paul had their first planning session and rehearsal since the Spring lockdown. It was great to get started on the work we’ll be doing as a result of our crowdfunding campaign. It was great too be in the same room for the first time in many months…So we’d like, once again, to take this opportunity to thank our donors: thank you!
Once the project is fully underway we’ll be working online. Any further social distancing or lockdown measures won’t then be a problem. In fact, that’s the whole point of this project! But… the second lockdown has kind of caught us before we were quite ready for that. We are persevering, nonetheless, and hope to to share the first story with you soon.
There’s a lot more to look forward to. We’re very excited to be working with theatre-maker and BSL intepreter Laura Goulden. Poet Stephen Watts popped in to discuss a possible collaboration. And we’ll be putting out a call for community members to join us and be coached online in storytelling. So do please watch this space!
Our crowdfunding campaign raised £4850, thanks to you! So East Online is on! Information on events will be posted here and to our mailing list. Those of you who opted for rewards will get them soon.
Happy storytelling!
East 3 (Shamim Azad, Sef Townsend, Paul Burgess) will be sharing stories and songs in the Family Zone as part of our East Storytelling project with BSK. 1pm, 4pm and 5:30pm. Plus there’s so much else happening, of course! Its a huge event, and we know it’s going be a great day!
More info here: www.towerhamlets.gov.uk/mela
Hope to see you there! Weavers Fields in Bethnal Green.
Our collaboration with Bangladeshi literature group Bishwo Shahitto Kendro continues. The leaders of our East Storytelling Project will be performing as East 3 at this year’s Boishaki Mela in Weavers Fields, Bethnal Green on Sunday 30 June, and Great Day Out in Victoria Park on 3rd August – details to come.
East 3 are internationally renowned storytellers Shamim Azad and Sef Townsend, supported by musician and theatre-maker Paul Burgess, pictured below at last year’s Mela.
In other news, with several London venues and a Latitude Festival performance behind us, we’re now tour-booking for our gig-theatre/art/protest piece Gerrard Winstanley’s True and Rightous Mobile Incitement Unit. (You can call it Mobile Incitement for short, by the way.) We’re mainly looking 2020 but dates later this year are possible too. Get in touch if you want us!
Shamim Azad, Sef Townsend and Paul Burgess from East will be sharing stories, poems, songs and some instrumental music in the East storytelling tent at the Great Day Out event in Victoria Park tomorrow. It’s mainly aimed at families with kids 5+ but everyone’s welcome to come by.
Details from the Tower Hamlets Council’s website are here. It’d be lovely to see you!
The photos above come from the last time the “East Three” performed together, which was at Boi-Lit 2016 Children’s Day,at Rich Mix. They’re by Shoayeeb Chamak from BSK.