JUNE PROGRAMME
Saturday 5 June
Swirl of Words / Swirl of Worlds, Poetry Reading at Peer
18 poets and translators who contributed to the Swirl of Words / Swirl of Worlds poetry book gathered on Hoxton Street to read their poems in their original language and in their English translations.
Thursday 17 June
Celebrating language & identity – Poetry Book Discussion, online event
Gareth Evans (Whitechapel Gallery Adjunct Moving Image Curator) will chair an informal conversation with Stephen Watts and four other poets and translators about ideas and themes that spring from the SOW poetry book, including language and identity, the challenges and reward of translation and the multiplicity of languages in our cities.
Friday 25 June
Zineb Sedira & Juan Cruz in conversation, moderated by Gilane Tawadros, online event
Zineb Sedira and Juan Cruz discuss their respective works shown in the exhibition. In each of the works the artists’ explore their cultural and linguistic heritage and childhood memories though generational family relationships and the inherent complexities of translation and communication. Chaired by Gilane Tawadros.
JULY PROGRAMME
Monday 5 July
European Poetry Festival 2021 X Peer at Hoxton Community Gardens
A collaborative poetry reading that brought together European and London-based poets to continue our celebration of Hackney’s multilingualism. Each pair of poets shared new works of reading and performance. Featuring: Stephen Watts; Karenjit Sandhu & SJ Fowler; Kristina Kuneva & Susie Campbell; Vanni Bianconi & Fabian Peake and Clover Peake & Vik Shirley.
Friday 9 July
Swirl of Words / Swirl of Worlds at Hundred Years Gallery
An evening of music and poetry inspired by the richness and variety of the Swirl of Words / Swirl of Worlds poetry collection. Readings by Stephen Watts’ were interspersed with improvisations by flautist Mikey Kirkpatrick and performances by Iraqi-Kurdish singer Nawroz Oramari. There were also readings from two Hackney based poets, Noel Grassy Macken, Abdul Azeez Nasser. The evening was set against the backdrop of a Mary Lemley’s, My Life in Hackney – Part Two.
Saturday 10 July
Punch Needle Embroidery Workshop with Divya Sharma at Peer
Led by artist Divya Sharma, and in keeping with the theme of the Swirl of Words/Swirl of Worlds exhibition, this workshop taught participants the basics in using this creative technique and also helped highlight links between language and working with fabric and threads. Participants came prepared with a word or phrase in their language and saw their artwork come to life!
Tuesday 13 July
Lucifer Over London book launch at Peer
An evening of readings to celebrate the launch of Lucifer Over London, a new anthology of narrative essays written by international prize-winning authors. The book provides a version of London as seen by the immigrants of recent migrations, of deportations to come and from those who create London even as they contradict it. Extracts were read by: Vanni Bianconi, Saleh Addonia, Zinovy Zinik, Chloe Aridjis, Xiaolu Guo and Simone Spoladore.
Thursday 22 July
Word/Image/Action Part.1 at Shoreditch Library, live streamed on our YouTube channel.
Panel discussion with publisher Clive Boutle, poet Beatriz Ezkieta, writer and art critic Gabriel Coxhead and poet and translator Stephen Watts. Taking as its starting point Susan Hiller’s film The Last Silent Movie (2007) the panel explored ideas around endangered and suppressed languages. Their discussion touched upon a range of issues including bilingualism, language retention and revitalisation, the importance of literature and cultural production, translation and how to improve awareness of language diversity in Europe and in the wider International context.
Wednesday 28 July
Calligraffiti workshop with artist Linett Kamala at Shoreditch Library
Artist, educator and carnivalist Linett Kamala ran a practical workshop where participants created their own calligraffiti style wall hanging reflective of their cultural heritage. As part of her on-going ‘Recipe for a Happy Mind’ project, inspiration came from the text based traditional Caribbean kitchen scroll which is filled with words of wisdom and love.
AUGUST PROGRAMME
Thursday 5 August
Word/Image/Action Part.2, online event
With half of the world's languages estimated to fall silent by the end of the century, what role can art play in activating awareness of this? In this discussion artists and writers whose work aims to subvert political control, and whose creativity connects audiences with their language cultures address this question. Including: poet and writer Chris McCabe; linguist, author and educator Mandana Seyfeddinipur; artist and Welsh language activist Ivor Davies and artist Jez Dolan who was involved in the translation of the Polari Bible.
Thursday 12 August
African Poetry & Mother Tongues with Victoria Adukwei Bulley, online event.
A screening of Victoria Adukwei Bulley’s Mother Tongues, a series of four films celebrating intergenerational poetry, translation and the work of contemporary black poets. The screenings were interspersed with Q&A sessions with Victoria and a series of readings by poets, including British Nigerian poet Theresa Lola and freelance journalist and musician Akachi Mbakwe, of their own work and of poems in the Swirl of Words / Swirl of Worlds poetry book. The event was chaired by poet, playwright and performer, Inua Ellams.
Saturday 14 August
Swirl of Words / Swirl of Worlds – Closing Celebration at Peer
To mark the end of Swirl of Words / Swirl of Worlds, Stephen Watts reads a series of his own poems from his latest publication, Republic Of Dogs/Republic Of Birds published by prototype. Huw Wahl’s artists’ essay film The Republics, 2020 (black and white, 16mm, 83”), was also available to view on Peer’s website for two weeks in August.
Swirl of Words / Swirl of Worlds bilingual readings
In this video, Dela Anderson, Effie Paleologou, Andro Semeiko, and Yuko Shiraishi read poems from the Swirl of Words / Swirl of Worlds poetry book in their own languages and in the English Translation.
Those featured in this film all have a connection to Peer. Dela Anderson, reading in Welsh, is a former Peer Gallery Trainee, Effie Paleologou, reading in Greek, is an artist who exhibited work as part of the SOW exhibition at Peer, Andro Semeiko, reading in Georgian, is an artist who has worked with Peer on a number of occasions exhibiting his work, completing a residency and launching his publication Emotionarama and Yuko Shiraishi, reading in Japanese, is an artist and friend of Peer who was commissioned to produce a semi-permanent public work for Regent’s Canal in Hackney in 2008.
