RE:GENERATE - a festival exploring drug policy and racial justice - will take place in London for one weekend only

RE:GENERATE is a Black-centred UK arts festival focused on the intersections of drug policy, racial justice, and liberation, taking place in London from 2nd - 4th November 2018. The weekend will feature engaging workshops, thought-provoking panel discussions, an art exhibition, and performances that investigate and highlight the impact of drug policy upon the Black community in the UK. Activities will build community and raise consciousness around this issue so that we can conceptualise and develop drug policies that work for everyone.

RE:GENERATE is produced by Imani Robinson and Camille Barton, in partnership with Release - the UK’s centre of expertise on drugs and drugs law. The festival is hosted by Ugly Duck as part of their Art & (H)aktivism season, which explores how art and creativity can be used to advocate for social change.

Robinson and Barton said:

“The war on drugs is the main mechanism used to criminalise, incarcerate and kill people of colour in the UK. Drug policy is a racial justice issue. RE:GENERATE provides a space to imagine new possibilities beyond the war on drugs, and to envision the healing of the harms that it has caused.

The festival takes a holistic approach to this topic by addressing important intersections such as sex work, transgender rights, mental health, and healing. It is a space to talk, connect, rest, make art, learn, and reflect on the impact that drug policy has had - and continues to have - in the UK.”

All exhibitions and events on Saturday and Sunday are open to the public for free, and will take place in an atmospheric warehouse space: Ugly Duck, at 47-49 Tanner Street. The venue is located between London Bridge and Bermondsey tube stations.

Join the Facebook event!

 

THE OPENING HOURS

 

Art exhibitions will be on display every day of the event during the following hours:

FRIDAY: 6PM – 10PM (Ticket holders/invited guests only - register for a free ticket here)

SATURDAY: 12PM – 9PM (Free and open to the public)

SUNDAY: 12PM – 6PM (Free and open to the public)

 

THE ARTISTS

 

Jacob V Joyce is a non-binary interdisciplinary artist that disrupts commercial and community spaces with queer and anti-colonial, creative interventions.

Instagram: @jacobvjoyce // Website: www.jacobvjoyce.com

Jacob V Joyce

 

Sandra Falase: “I sow my roots as an artist across disciplines as a painter and set designer. I’m fascinated by the intersections of cross-dimensional work; how two separate pieces of work engage with another to inform a larger, almost modular piece of work. Expanding beyond the canvas, I’m exploring how I can translate my artistic style into the physicality of a space.

To date, I have experimented with techniques that reinforce ideas surrounding visual perception and distortion, in order to convey themes of emotional extremes and binaries. I am keen on further exploring the psyche, our perception of space and multisensory design.”

Previous work: The People Art Resistance Exhibition - Afropunk Brixton Takeover

Upcoming work: I’m Home Exhibition - Installation Design

Instagram: @sandras_archive // Webfolio: Sandra Falase

Sandra Falase

 

Benjy aims to recreate a vivid universe of culture, identity and narrative. His practice has evolved laterally through different creative disciplines, often translating ideas with ink, traditional and digital mixed media. The unorthodox mix explores how inspiration manifests through different mediums, as ideas inform each other through people and their culture.

Instagram: @benjy_nug // Website: www.benjysantamaria.com

Benjy

 

Khaleb Brooks is a multi-media artist exploring the conflation of memory and history and more importantly is interested in reviving what has been forgotten. Khaleb Brooks received a Master’s of Science in Violence, Conflict and Development from SOAS University of London and currently works as an artist globally. 

Instagram: @khalebbrooks // Website: www.khalebbrooks.com

Khaleb Brooks

 

ACTIVITY SCHEDULE

 

Friday

Friday's events are only for invited guests and registered ticket holders. Register for a free ticket here.

 

7PM – 7.30PM: DJ set by Rabz

Rabz is a filmmaker, member of sorryyoufeeluncomfortable collective and a member of the BBZ London family. Rabz's DJ sets usually include an eclectic mix of bass-heavy, afro-diasporic electronic music, including Afro - house, Gqom, Ballroom, Jersey, Grime and Funky House, but her music collection also includes Spiritual Jazz, Soul, Hip Hop and Ambient Global sounds. Catch Rabz on her monthly radio show on Balamii.

DJ Rabz

7.30PM – 8PM:

Performance by JJ Akinlade

JJ Akinlade is a Writer, Poet, Performer, Facilitator and Arts Activist, who creates in many forms. An upbringing in South London and a taste for World travel, have inspired his love of drawing together a complex array of stories and perspectives. Much of his work is about encouraging critical reflection on our Human conditions and the contextual environments within which they develop. Whether with words, visual images or growing edible gardens, he sets out to motivate radical change in the ways in which we, as empowered, co-directing collectives can organise ourselves around sustainable principles of cooperative mutual aid.

JJ Aklinade

Performance by Belinda Zhawi

Belinda Zhawi is a Zimbabwean born writer & educator currently based in London. Belinda was the 2016/17 Institute of Contemporary Arts Associate Poet. She’s co-founder & host of, poetry social & press, BORN::FREE. Belinda is the author of Small Inheritances (ignition press, 2018).

Belinda Zhawi

 

8PM – 9PM: Performance by Ahnansé/Steam Down

Ahnansé is a multi-instrumentalist, composer, and producer - born in London from Caribbean heritage. Ahnansé set up Steam Down, one of South London's most spoken about music events - where some of the city’s finest musicians come to let loose.

Ahnansé

9PM – 10PM: DJ set by Rabz

 

Saturday

 

12PM – 1PM: Workshop: Drug policy 101 for Black community

A workshop with Imani Robinson and Carson Arthur.

 

1.30PM – 2.30PM: In conversation: Drug policy is a racial justice issue

A conversation with RE:GENERATE's organisers Camille Barton, Imani Robinson, and Release's executive director Niamh Eastwood.

 

3PM – 4PM: In conversation: Drug policy, mental health, and the prison industrial complex

Carson Arthur and Samara Linton will be in conversation about the ways that drug policy, the mental health system, and prisons are connected. This session will give an overview of what is happening in the system so we can start envision paths beyond it.

 

4.30PM – 5.30PM: Symposium curated and hosted by Kuchenga Shenje: Addiction and the collective trauma of trans women

A tête-à-tête with Natasha Stavropoulos and KUCHENGA.

 

6PM – 9PM: Listening Party x Drink&Draw

Come join us in a lovely evening as Project Mission Gallery and KIN Collective cohost a Listening Party Drink & Draw session free and open to all. The point of the evening will be to hold space for rest and recuperation, and offer an opportunity for people to check out the exhibition, spend time in the space, and engage creatively with one another in a healing and lighthearted way. For the listening party we will have a curated list of sweet tunes to carry us through the evening and be open for participant music additions throughout the night. Enjoy a beer or a cup of medicinal tea. Come catch a vibe.

 

Sunday

 

12PM – 1PM: Workshop: “Resilience & Renewal”

A dance and meditation workshop to heal trauma and support social justice work (with Camille Barton of the Collective Liberation Project).

 

1.30PM – 3PM: Workshop: Radical Self-Care and Self-Love (with Kim Loliya)

We’re often told by the media and healthcare professionals that we should love ourselves and do self-care, but that’s not easy in a Eurocentric society that glamorises and rewards hard work. This interactive workshop will offer an opportunity to share stories and difficulties, as well as find inspiration and empowerment to love and care for ourselves beyond capitalist tropes, in a way feels good for who we are and where we are. 

Kim Loliya

Kim Loliya is a coach, bodyworker and consultant specialising in women's sexuality and empowerment. Kim's practitioner work at The Pleasure Institute includes working with trauma, pelvic pain, orgasm difficulties, scar tissue, relationship difficulties and much more. Through body-based, practical tools, Kim creates a gentle healing space for women, non-binary people and couples and offers new avenues for intimacy, joy and healing. Outside of her clinic, Kim works as a facilitator and curator in the U.K and internationally and is the co-creator of sex+, a sex positive magazine that shares real stories and rewrites narratives about sex. 

 

3PM – 4PM: In conversation: People of the global majority and Psychedelics: Colonialism and the healing potential of plant medicine

A conversation with Camille Barton, Tehseen Noorani, and Akua Ofosuhene.

 

4.30PM – 5.30PM: Gathering: Death Café for Black Folks (with Janine Francois)

Death café is a space for Black people to talk about death, dying, grief and remembrance of our ancestors. We believe it is important to have collective spaces for difficult conversations in order to heal and be present with the many things we face in life.

 

OTHER OFFERINGS

 

• Medicinal tea bar by Ibile Botanicals
• Zine library provided by Decolonize Fest
• Vox pops by Saph Mac
• Rest & do less area
• More offerings to come!

 

For more information on the event, join the Facebook event page or follow the Twitter account.

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