BEAF ARTS SUMMER PROGRAMME 2024

15-22 June 2024

Beaf arts summer programme 2024

BOSCOMBE ARTS DEPOT (B.A.D.), 616-622 CHRISTCHURCH RD, BOSCOMBE, BH1 4BP

From 15th – 22nd June, we brought brand new exhibitions, performances, music and activities to Boscombe, highlighting National Refugee Week and National Windrush Day. We transformed the high street as we celebrated Caribbean carnival culture with a new flag commission produced by artist Kemba Earle, whose designs were also mirrored also in our colourful Arts Pavilion on Boscombe precinct.

The Art Pavilion provided a space for free daily creative workshops open to all, with activities beginning on Saturday 15th. Culminating on National Windrush Day (Saturday 22nd), we completed the week with a day of free music, dance, performance, and workshops, as well as Caribbean food provided by local vendors.

Our exhibition ‘Journeys of Resilience’, created in collaboration with our diasporic communities in Boscombe, was held in Boscombe Arts Depot (B.A.D.). The exhibition included works produced by descendants of the Windrush generation as well as participants of our weekly Seeking Refugee Project. 

This project was made possible by funding from the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, Bournemouth Coastal Lottery, and Bournemouth Coastal Bid.

 

Kemba Earle lead image

2024 Programme Highlights

BEAF Art Pavilion

Sat 15 – Sat 22 June, 11am-4pm, Boscombe Precinct

Our 2nd Art Pavilion created a welcoming and colourful space on the precinct where we ran workshops and events every day. We delivered over 20 events with 100’s of participants, including music workshops with Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra; mask making and puppetry with our artists Mahtab Grimshaw and Carmel De’Lisser, cyanotype printing with our Seeking Refuge Project and creative writing with our Outsiders Project.

Our Pavilion events culminated on National Windrush Day, seeing over 1,500 visitors dropping by to take part in workshops, listen to great music from Four Corners and Dockinwaves and enjoy the brilliant food from Uncle Glenn’s and Jerk Hut.

‘Journeys of Resilience’ Exhibition

Sat 15 June – Sat 22 June, 11am-6pm, B.A.D.

We opened the doors of B.A.D. for our exhibition ‘Journeys of Resilience’, welcoming over 2,500 people across the 9 days, with 3 new commissions, plus saw sell out performances in our theatre and lounge cinema.

Journeys of Resilience included work produced by African diaspora artists, descendants of the Windrush generation, and participants of our weekly Seeking Refugee Project. With film screenings, Simon Says/Dadda by Beverley Bennett and I Carry It With Me Everywhere by Arwa Aburawa and Turab Shah, in addition to Barbara Majek’s installation Yam, on Sunday. Postcards created during workshops held in local schools, led by Afro-Caribbean artists Sharon James and Karina West, were also be included in the gallery space, as well as an educational reading corner in which visitors can learn more about the Windrush Story and contribute to the exhibition with their own thoughts on migration and home.

Barbara Majek, Yam, on Sunday, Deptford X Festival 2022. Photo by Nelta Kasparian(2)
Kemba Earle flag 4

Flags of the Caribbean, by Kemba Earle

Mon 20 June – August 2024, Boscombe Precinct

We brought a brand new flag commission to Boscombe high street. Produced by artist Kemba Earle, “Flags of the Caribbean” celebrated Caribbean carnival culture, and can be found on Boscombe precinct and in the Sovereign Centre until Autumn 2024.

Kemba is an illustrator and graphic designer with Caribbean and British heritage. Working with bold colours and conceptual imagery, Kemba is interested in celebrating diversity. The visuals within ‘Flags of the Caribbean’ depict Caribbean-British culture through music, food, hairstyles, and carnival.

Stats and facts

Exhibition visitors

New Commissions

Free workshops

Programme gallery

Explore our full programme

Opening Celebration Journeys of Resilience

Fri 14 June, 6pm-8pm

B.A.D. | Free event

Please RSVP to attend the Opening Celebration of our BEAF Arts Summer Programme 2024 and to see the exhibition ‘Journeys of Resilience’. There will be music and drinks.

BSO Neil image - Art Pavilion
BSO Family music workshop with Neil

Sat 15 June, 11am-1pm

Art Pavilion | Free event

Dive into the world of music with Neil Valentine, Associate Musician at the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra. This isn’t just a performance, it’s a hands-on experience where you and your family can discover, play, and have fun with music. Neil is passionate about music making and believes everybody is musical and that anyone can make music with anyone else.

All ages are welcome with parental supervision.

No need to book, this is a free drop-in workshop. 

DIY Paper Puppets with Mahtab Grimshaw

Sat 15 June, 11am-1pm & 2pm-4pm

Art Pavilion | Free event

Make your own paper puppets and theatre using recycled and found materials. Artist Mahtab Grimshaw will introduce storytelling to help you build your own story and bring your characters to life!

Mahtab is a British/Iranian multidisciplinary artist with a 1st class (B.A.) degree in Puppetry Theatre from the Division of Fine Arts, University of Tehran, followed by a 1st class (M.A.) degree in Drama & Literature. Her puppet making skill has been adapted to making static female figures and sculptures after immigration and motherhood.

All ages welcome with parental supervision.

No need to book, this is a free drop-in workshop.

Disneyland In Dagenham by Scott Lavene

Sat 15 June, 7.30pm-9pm

B.A.D. Theatre | Pay What You Can £10-£15

Join born storyteller Scott Lavene on his UK tour supporting his upcoming album, Disneyland In Dagenham

In the 1980s, the Walt Disney Company were considering building their first European theme park, not on the outskirts of Paris, but in Dagenham, Essex. Monologuing in warm deadpan over a wandering acoustic guitar, Lavene encapsulates his conflicted feelings about the county he was raised in.

Tickets PWYC: Free / £10 / £15

Clay Sculpting with Beth Brickman

Sun 16 June, 11am-1pm & 2pm-4pm

Art Pavilion | Free event

Join Beth Brickman for a fun clay workshop. Beth will guide you through the different stages so you can create your own bowl, plate, or piece of decorative cutlery to take home. The making of these items mirrors the Refugee Week’s theme of ‘Our Home’, and sharing food together. Beth is a freelance brand designer and community arts workshop leader. She works with business owners and artists to help them build their own brands and delivers creative arts workshops to communities in Bournemouth.

All ages welcome with parental supervision.

No need to book, this is a free drop-in workshop.

Community Monday- Community Movers
Monday Movers with Community Mondays

Mon 18 June, 11am-12pm

Art Pavilion | Free event

Rachel Wilkinson invites you to move your body, feel your feet, and take some time to move to the music. You are welcome to do as much or as little as you like. Stand up, sit, or lie down; everyone is welcome. There is no expectation or judgment, a safe space to move, breathe, release, and restore.

Rachel Wilkinson is the founder of CYC (Create Your Community), an organisation that supports people in supporting themselves through collective empowerment. Rachael runs Community Movers weekly at The Old School House.

No experience is required. Just come as you are and wear comfy clothes.

All ages welcome with parental supervision.

No need to book, this is a free drop-in workshop.  

Tile Painting Workshop with Community Mondays

Mon 18 June, 2pm-4pm

Art Pavilion | Free event

Join the Community Mondays group, Beth Brickman and Zoe Keeping from The Dignity Centre to paint a ceramic tile. As part of Refugee Week, members at The Dignity Centre will be creating a ceramic tile mosaic to bring colour to the Centre’s walls. Each tile will be hand painted, as members share what the word “home” means to them. They now invite the wider community to decorate tiles with messages of solidarity and support for asylum seekers and refugees. These tiles will show members that they are safe and welcome in Bournemouth. The Dignity Centre in Bournemouth offers a safe place for people seeking asylum to support each other.

All ages welcome with parental supervision.

No need to book, this is a free drop-in workshop. 

TOP - Writing Workshop
Creative Writing with The Outsiders project

Tues 18 June, 11am-1pm

Art Pavilion | Free event

Join members of the Outsiders Project for drop-in creative writing activities. The Outsiders Project run weekly creative writing workshops throughout the year with marginalised communities in Boscombe. They help to develop skills, confidence and self-belief.

Everyone welcome.

No need to book, this is a free drop-in workshop.

Board games day
Board games day

Tues 18 June, 11am-1pm & 2pm-4pm

Art Pavilion | Free event

A day of backgammon, chess and ludo for all as part of our on-going Seeking Refuge Project. Everyone is welcome to join in. Come along, learn how to play or teach others and meet new people. ​​Seeking Refuge workshops are on-going projects that give people seeking asylum, refugees, and vulnerable migrants a space to come together and work creatively, as well as meeting new people.

All ages welcome with partental supervision.

No need to book, this is a free drop in activity.

The Lock-In by The Outsiders Project

Tues 18 June, 7pm-8.30pm

B.A.D. Theatre | Pay What You Can £7.50-£10

The Lock-In was first created during the pandemic as a way for our writers to safely gather and share what they had been working on independently. The Lock-Ins have now become an important part of the work we do, and have grown to a place where we are proud to welcome audiences. The pieces you’ll see are seeds of ideas that form part of much more ambitious work: One-person shows; Novels; Poetry collections; Albums. Anything is possible. Expect new writing, spoken word, music, and uncensored stories from unheard voices.

Tickets PWYC: Free / £7.50 / £10

Community collage with Carmel
Community Collage with Carmel

Weds 19 June, 11am-1pm

Art Pavilion | Free event

Join Carmel De’Lisser to produce a large collaged sun together inspired by Jamaican warmth, storytelling and gathering. You will each create spokes of the sun using recycled material to form the communal collage. Carmel is a proud Boscombe resident, self taught artist, and holistic creative workshop facilitator. Using materials to invite a sense of play and curiosity, helping others find joy in the act of creating without fear or judgement. No experience necessary, everyone is welcome to join in.

All ages welcome with parental supervision.

No need to book, this is a free drop-in workshop.

We Dare to Dream Cinema Screening

Weds 19 June, 6.30pm-8pm

B.A.D. Cinema | Pay What You Can

We Dare to Dream is the story of refugee athletes from Iran, Syria, South Sudan and Cameroon who swim, run and fight their way to opportunity and safety in host nations across the world. Spanning a breadth of backgrounds, personal stories and Olympic sports, the film reveals their lives and hopes as they train to compete on the world stage, showing the fire and the drive of young people forced to leave their families, homes and countries of birth to build new lives out of nothing.

Directed by Academy Award®-nominated Waad al-Kateab (For Sama), executive produced by Angelina Jolie and John Legend, and produced by Academy Award® winner Joanna Natasegara.

'Our Home' cyanotype workshop with Seeking Refuge

Thurs 20 June, 11am-1pm & 2pm-4pm

Art Pavilion | Free event

Let’s come together on World Refugee Day as we explore this year’s theme of ‘ Our Home’. Join the participants of our Seeking Refuge Thursday Threads group to create cyanotype prints – a camera-less technique, in an accessible community workshop.

Refugee Week is the world’s largest arts & culture festival celebrating the contributions, creativity and resilience of refugees and people seeking sanctuary. Established in 1998 in the UK, this annual festival aligns with World Refugee Day, celebrated globally on June 20th. In 2024, join us from June 17th to 23rd for a community-powered week!’ – Refugee Week UK.

From the places we gather to share meals to our collective home, planet earth: everyone is invited to celebrate what our Our Home means to them.

No experience necessary and everyone is welcome to join in.

No need to book, this is a free drop in workshop.

Food from Julia's WOrld Kitchen

Thurs 20 June, 2pm onwards

Art Pavilion | Free event

Meet Julia’s World Kitchen, a Bournemouth supper club and delivery service showcasing a rotating array of delicious home-cooked recipes, lovingly crafted by migrant women who have recently made the UK their home. The women will kindly be handing out free samples for all to try!

Zakham: Migrations and Wounds, by KAINAAT

Thurs 20 June, 6.30pm-7.30pm

B.A.D. Theatre | Pay What You Can

Kainaat proudly presents its Refugee Week show ‘Zakham’. Loosely translating to ‘wound’ in Farsi, Arabic, Hindi, and Urdu, the artists bring you embodied narratives on wounding. Colonialism has wounded our relationship to Queerness, Religion, Homeland, and Love. Zakham draws on poetry, puppetry, dance, and theatrics to tell stories of the pain and displacement that centre the colonial wounds of South Asia and the Middle East. Come and join artists Aanka, Hassan, Anne, and Mahtab as they speak of their interconnected inheritance of border imperialism and life as a foreigner.

Cast- Aanka Batta, Hassan Farooq, Anne Charbel and Mahtab Grimshaw. Shams Direction – Aanka Batta and Anne Charbel, A KAINAAT production.

CREATIVE WORKSHOPS WITH ACCESS BEAF

Fri 21 June, 11am-1pm & 2pm-4pm

Art Pavilion | Free event

Join the Access BEAF residents for a day of creative activities for all age groups. Expect playful animal mask making and postcards for younger ones, and the option to join them for a chat about their work whilst making zines together. Our Access BEAF 2024 Programme is for artists from the global majority to come together, develop their work, extend their skills and experiences and work towards a final exhibition this year.

Everyone welcome.

No need to book. This is a free drop in workshop.

Whose Land Is This? by Jessica Ashman

Fri 21 June, 6pm-6.30pm

B.A.D. Theatre | Free / Pay What You Can

A 30 minute audio visual performance, combining poetry, music and animation. Inspired by the writing of Claire Ratinon’s text ‘Unearthed’, ‘Green Unpleasant Land’ by Corrine Fowler and Ingrid Pollard’s seminal work ‘Cost Of The English Landscape’, Whose Land Is This? dives into Ashman’s feelings of discomfort and disconnection whilst visiting rural landscapes of the UK as a Black woman. Whose Land Is This? explores the unspoken histories of Black peoples connection to the “Great” British countryside, as well as interrogating the ownership of rural UK land and how this space can be reclaimed.

Jessica Ashman is a multi-disciplinary artist working in animation moving image, music (under the name Spirit Sigh) performance and installation.

National Windrush Day with BEAF Arts

Sat 22 June, 12.30pm-7pm

Art Pavilion | Free event

For National Windrush Day and as part of our BEAF Arts Summer Programme 2024, we are partnering with Africa Comes to Bournemouth! Join us to celebrate British Caribbean communities and to acknowledge and learn about the contributions the Windrush generation and their descendants have made to British society. Expect to see and hear; dancing, live drumming, music, art and more in the BEAF Art Pavilion throughout the day. Along with Caribbean food & drink from Uncle Glenn’s, Jerk Hut and World of Juice Bar.

Line up:

12.30pm – African Drumming Live Workshop

3pm – Dance Performances

3.30pm – African Drumming Live Workshop

4pm- FOUR CORNERS COLLECTIF & Dance Performances

6pm Dockinwave

All free and no need to book!

BEAF Arts would like to thank the generosity of all those who have made this project happen and who have supported us to create this incredible showcase of creativity. 

This project was made possible by the funding from Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, Bournemouth Coastal Bid, and Bournemouth Coastal Lottery.

The Seeking Refuge Project has received support from Alice Ellen Cooper Dean Charitable Foundation, Community Action Network, Dorset Community Foundation, Henry Smith Charity, JP Morgan, Lottery Community Fund, People’s Health Trust, Recreate Dorset, Valentine Charitable Trust.

Boscombe Summer flags is an ongoing BEAF placemaking project to enliven Boscombe high-street, first commissioned in 2021 and funded by Bournemouth Coastal BID and supported by Boscombe Sovereign Centre.

Thank you to all our community partners and supporters that made this programme possible including; Africa Comes to Bournemouth, Boscombe Library, The Old School House, The Dignity Centre, Refugee Week UK, Counterpoints Arts and Corpus Christi Primary School and St Peters School.

 

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