Some things want to run V/DA | Sonic Séance: The Gathering

A vent; a push; a rage of reason. A call for empowerment from the ancestors. A space for care. This is our language to describe our experiences; we stand together, we lose ourselves in resonance, in rapture.

Responding to Sonic Séance, a V/DA performance, Sonic Séance: The Gathering is an exhibition bringing together the artistic practices of choreographer, director and performer Mele Broomes; film-maker and visual artist Jen Martin; actress, singer/songwriter and composer Patricia Panther; researcher and visual artist Ashanti Harris; musician, DJ, artist Letitia Pleiades; as well as invited artists Nene Camara & Angel Ng, Shaheeda Sinckler, Divine Tasinda, Bea Webster, Claricia Parinussa, and Raman Mundair. Their communal work aims to integrate resistance into the condition of being controlled, governed, pre-identified and spoken for.

Looking at the past, present and future, subverting elements used to shape and manipulate for the imperialist gaze, this exhibition is an expression of anger, solidarity and euphoria against the dominance of cultural imperialism. Encompassing live performance, audio, video and text works, Sonic Séance: The Gathering is an immersive, warm and inviting space, and a continuously moving experience. The video works perform as capsules of thought and imagination, channelling voices and spirit interlocutors. Live and pre-recorded music scores expand themes of spirituality, female empowerment, witchcraft, afro-futurism, ancestral heritage, body work and ritual practices.

The exhibition will provide a dance floor to move, stretch and dance, and a gathering space to chill, read and hang out throughout the month.

V/DA is a multi-disciplinary collective founded by Mele Broomes in 2011. V/DA curates and produces dance, live performance, video work and practical workshops in collaboration with various dance artists.

Events:

Reading Group: White Fragility by Robin D’Angelo, Sun 30 June
Angel Ng and Nene Camara: Body to Body, Tue 2 July
Workshop: Sonic Séance choreographic repertoire with Mele Broomes, Thu 4 July
Reading Group: White Fragility by Robin D’Angelo, Sun 7 July
Methods as a British Sign Language performer and Deaf actor, Tue 9 July
Workshop: Mother/Love with Raman Mundair, Thu 11 July
Reading Séance: Your Silence Will Not Protect You – A Collection of Writings by Audre Lorde,
Sun 14 July
Performance with Mele Broomes, Divine Tasinda, Bea Webster and Claricia Parinussa, Tue 16 July
Body Awareness Workshop with Patricia Panther, Thu 18 July
Reading Séance: Your Silence Will Not Protect You – A Collection of Writings by Audre Lorde,
Sun 21 July
Sound and Spoken Word with Shaheeda Sinckler, Tue 23 July
V/DA Performance and Closing Party, Sat 27 July

More information on V/DA can be found on www.variousdanceartists.co.uk/exhibition-events