Arts and culture| The beauty and precarity of glaciers in the age of climate change. This new exhibition, resulting from an all-female expedition that took place in September 2022 by members of Lumen Studios and Pak Khawateen Painting Club, will feature art works produced on that expedition including journals, videos, sound, photography and painting. Monday 18 September 2023 – Tuesday 9 January 2024 Opening hours: Monday – Friday, 10am – 4pm Closed for Christmas: Friday 22 December to Friday 5 January Glacial Movements and the Ghaib explores the history and politics of water bodies. It considers the flow of water, fluidity and how water interacts with the land. The project contemplates the precarity and beauty of vast natural formations such as glaciers and rivers. The September 2022 expedition focused on some of the largest glaciers in Pakistan, which are continuously shifting and changing shape. The glaciers are also a water source for rivers in south Asia, and form part of the ‘Third Pole,’ one of the largest ice reserves in the world. The collectives visited four of the glaciers in Hunza district, named Passu, Shishper, Battura and Gulkin. In addition to visiting the glaciers, the collectives explored local towns that are directly affected by glacial lake outbursts and rely on them for a water source. The collectives have been influenced by the work of James C Scott: The Art of Not Being Governed. An Anarchist History of Upland Southeast Asia, a text focused on Zomia, a region between the mountains of Cambodia and Afghanistan. This area was a place for refuge from repressive states. These communities migrated to the mountains to remain stateless, and resist falling into the trap of slavery, working to produce and toil on the land of agrarian states. In contrast to this, the mountains housed small egalitarian communities. The Glacial Movements and the Ghaib (Ghaib is the Urdu word for Unseen) project shows the precarity and beauty of living with glaciers. While these mountains are no longer spaces of refuge, they have developed into tourist destinations, which has brought exponential wealth with the price of climate change and global warming. The expedition was funded by the British Council’s ‘Pakistan/UK: New Perspectives’ programme which marked the 75th Anniversary of Pakistan in 2022. Versions of this exhibition have been shown at VM Gallery Karachi, Tagh’eer Lahore and COMSATS University, Islamabad in Pakistan. This is the first exhibition produced from the expedition within the United Kingdom and has been curated by Melanie King and Paul Russell. About Pak Khawateen Painting Club & Lumen Studios Lumen is an art collective, focused on themes of astronomy, light and ecology. Through art commissions, exhibitions, and seminars, we aim to raise a dialogue about how humanity understands existence. Pak Khawateen Painting Club is focused on the history and politics of water bodies, flow of water, fluidity, bodies blocking water and bodies moving along water. Artists Amna Hashmi / Saba Khan / Saulat Ajmal / Zohreen Murtaza / Louise Beer / Melanie King / Rebecca Huxley Related events, taking place in the Daphne Oram Exhibitors Talk Thursday 5 October, 3 – 5pm, free, but booking is recommended Participating exhibitors will be reflecting on their work currently on show in the Glacial Movements and the Ghaib exhibition, the research and expeditions that fed into and inspired this work and where it may lead them in the future. Including Q&A and refreshments. Exhibition Opening Thursday 5 October, 5 -7pm, free, but booking is recommended You are cordially invited to the launch of the Glacial Movements and the Ghaib exhibition. Join artists from the Pak Khawateen Painting Club & Lumen Studios collectives as they share their recent work shaped by expeditions to some of the largest glaciers in Pakistan. Refreshments included. This event is free but please book a place in advance as spaces are limited. Chai Tea Developer Workshop Saturday 21 October, 12am – 3pm, £10 / £3 students Make a photographic developer from chai tea for black & white film. This workshop is for adults and is suitable for those with previous photographic or darkroom experience. Booking to open soon. Extended Opening and Drinks Reception Saturday 21 October, 12 – 3pm, free, but booking is recommended To celebrate the opening of another fantastic Canterbury Festival, the Daphne Oram gallery will have extended opening hours from 12 – 4pm on Saturday 21 October, with a drinks reception in the Gallery from 3pm. |
Kellie Hogben
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Where is the Daphnie Oram building?
Hi Jill, the Daphne Oram Creative Arts Building is in the North West corner of North Holmes Road campus, between Ramsey and Johnson buildings, and next to Gate 1. Check out the Interactive Campus Map for further help.