Issue 105 / November 2019

PREVIEWS
Warm Worlds And Otherwise (Anna Bunting-Branch)
EXHBITION
YOU FEEL ME
FACT – 01/11-23/02
The rigid power structures that govern our world have profound impacts on our
everyday experiences, such as the way we relate to technology, politics and each
other. FACT’s new exhibition seeks to challenge the traditional ideas around those
who hold this power by compelling us to question who ultimately benefits from it.
Presented by FACT curator-in-residence Helen Starr, you feel me_ will transform FACT’s
galleries into alternative worlds. Interactive artworks will suspend in the air, float in a hazy
mist and explode onto walls. The immersive exhibition includes a range of different artworks
that reaches beyond FACT’s usual digital remit: there will be ceramics, virtual reality, artificial
intelligence and game design in play. The result is the creation of a mystical space, free from
division and bias and a sanctuary for healing.
ANNA BUNTING-BRANCH’s Warm Worlds And Otherwise contains a mix of artworks,
centred upon the piece META, which uses experimental animation and digital technology to
transport viewers between environments, including unknown planets and a restaurant orbiting
in space. MEGAN BROADMEADOW’s Why Can’t We Do This IRL? is a virtual reality experience
that is based on the video game Red Dead Redemption 2. The two-part artwork will challenge
a viral video from the game in which a player uses his in-game avatar to kill a suffragette.
Blending the boundaries between the game world and the ‘real’ world, the work exists as an
act of justice. The video game character is placed on trial to be judged ‘in real life’, with the
‘verdict’ set for December when the artwork will be installed in FACT’s galleries in its final form.
When looked at through the prism of restorative justice, it is hoped that you feel me_ will
make it easier for the viewer to imagine a world without division. By challenging the systems of
power that are all around us, and allowing otherwise marginalised voices to flourish, maybe we
can disrupt the world in a way that creates a fairer system for all.
fact.co.uk
LECTURE + CABARET
WHO CALLS THE
SHOTS?
Museum of Liverpool and The Bluecoat – 30/11
Theatre maker and associate director for Graeae Theatre Company, NICKIE MILES-
WILDIN, is the keynote speaker and host of the annual Edward Rushton Lecture,
which takes place at the Museum of Liverpool at the end of the month. Titled
Disabled Women In Arts And Culture: Who’s Calling The Shots?, Miles-Wildin’s
address looks at the representation of disabled women in the arts sector – and is part of a
two-pronged event from DaDaFest as part of RISE Liverpool, a season of exhibitions, events
and happenings featuring extraordinary female artists, thinkers and leaders in Liverpool.
This annual free event is inspired by the strength and revolutionary ideology of human rights
campaigner Edward Rushton, who was born in November over 260 years ago. Following the
lecture that bears his name, a lively panel discussion will interrogate the theme further. Chaired
by DR ERIN PRITCHARD, lecturer at Liverpool Hope University in the Department of Disability
and Education, the panel of artists – JACKIE HAGAN, CHERYL MARTIN and TAMMY REYNOLDS
– will look at how stereotypical portrayals of disabled women affect our perception of disabled
women in reality.
The second part of the day’s activity sees the action move over to The Bluecoat for Raw.,
where attendees are invited to “dress to impress… yourself”. A wild night of raucous, irreverent
and inclusive cabaret centred on disabled women’s voices in the North West, Raw. is hosted by
Liverpool legend MIDGITTE BARDOT, and boasts an incredible line-up of performers, including:
CHERYL MARTIN, IVY PROFEMME, Jackie Hagan and MARILYN MISANDRY.
Both events are part of DaDaFest’s ongoing programme of activity that uses the arts to
educate, challenge attitudes and remove the barriers that restrict life choices for disabled and d/
Deaf people to live independently and equally in society. Head to dadafest.co.uk to book tickets
for both events, which have limited capacities.
DaDaFest
EVENT DISCOVERY PARTNER
ticketquarter.co.uk
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