Anna Mudeka's Kure Kure Faraway revised to Kure Kure Rise Again

Praise for Kure Kure Faraway (toured in 2019)

'Anna’s personality, her ability to make the universal connection amongst all humans was very moving' Audience Member

'...moving and thought provoking. Every member of the audience was intimately engaged and carried along by Anna’s story and her powerful solo performance. A well balanced combination of a historical story of immigration alongside the experience of living in modern day Britain.' 

Stuart Hobday, The Exchange, Twickenham

We are thrilled to present an online event on January 28th 2021, a presentation of work in progress for theatre professionals and community organisers in the UK and Zimbabwe. Register your place here https://www.eventbrite.com/e/anna-mudekas-kure-kure-rise-again-online-live-event-tickets-136504644065

#BetweenSpaces Arts Council Funding Awarded to Arts La'Olam: Working with 16 Artists during Lockdown

 

Arts La’Olam announce an inspirational cultural programme in the time of social distancing

#betweenspaces

Eight new online projects for elders, disability groups, mental health service users and cultural art lovers

Arts La’Olam are excited to announce the start of a programme of events, commissions and participatory online workshops that bring families and people of all ages together in a spirit of creative celebration, addressing social isolation and creating legacy artworks that commemorate these curious and crucial times. Thanks to a generous grant from Arts Council England, the Arts La’Olam mission to bring global arts and music into community settings is repositioning to the digital environment. Eight dedicated projects with artists working in new and innovative ways, will bring the life-enhancing energy of the arts into our homes. #betweenspaces seeks to close the gaps we may be feeling acutely right now and honour the potential for creativity within our reduced surroundings.

Helen McDonald’s Telephone Jazz Singalong for Elders

Hannah Aria’s Creative Change, Everyday Household Art Workshops

The Mind Festival Presented in Partnership with Suffolk Pride

Video Link Music Workshops with Fiston Lusambo

Kaddish; Ana Silvera Song Commission feat. Sefo Kanuteh

Anna Mudeka and The African Choir of Norfolk; Moving Online

Mariachi Las Adelitas: In Solidarity Music Video

Tim Germain Bench Project with East Bergholt Equality and Diversity Group

For more information visit #betweenspaces

ART EAT!!!

ART EAT IS A SERIES OF COMMUNITY ART PROJECTS AND A TWO-DAY FREE VISUAL ART & STREET FOOD FESTIVAL CELEBRATING CREATIVITY AND COMMUNITY ALONG IPSWICH WATERFRONT ON THE 21ST & 22ND OF SEPTEMBER 2019, HOPE YOU CAN COME AND ENJOY ALL THINGS DELICIOUS, BEAUTIFUL AND INSPIRING ON THE AMAZING IPSWICH WATERFRONT.


Big visions are taking shape as creative producers Iona Hodgson (We Create Projects Ltd) and Daisy Lees (Arts La’Olam) go ahead with plans for ART EAT 2019.

We’ve created six murals on Ipswich Waterfront ! 

The festival will bring together a diverse array of artistic and culinary talent in an inclusive, vibrant and delicious exploration of creativity and flavour for all the family.

 ART EAT will see the waterfront bustling with people of all ages enjoying live music, DJs, art installations, street food, art workshops, exhibitions, and free activities for all generations.

Please visit www.arteatfestival.com

 This project was developed in partnership with local venues, community groups and charities with the residents of Ipswich at the heart of the event, it was an opportunity for local people to come together and enjoy the Waterfront as well as to attract visitors who want to discover what’s making the town so unique. It was two days of festivities involving as many local businesses and residents as possible.

The organisers are currently seeking involvement and sponsorship from local patrons and businesses who would like to harness the many opportunities the festival will offer in 2021.

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ART EAT FESTIVAL and associated community projects would not be possible without support from local and national organisations.

ANNA MUDEKA'S KURE KURE TOUR: NEW DATES ANNOUNCED!

Very excited to let you know we have received another award from #ArtsCouncilEngland to add 10 additional dates to this #ACESUPPORTED tour! Please share the link and book your tickets at a venue near you! Have a brilliantly joyous day! x

Anna Mudeka's Kure Kure / Faraway Tour!

With thanks to Arts Council England Funding we are producing Anna’s one-woman show Kure Kure/Faraway…..

Kure Kure / Faraway

A Tale of Ancestors, Identity, Atavism, Migration and DNA

On Tour Nationally; Summer & Autumn 2019

Zimbabwean born multi-instrumentalist, dancer and actress, Anna Mudeka, brings her tour de force one woman show, Kure Kure/ Faraway, to audiences across the UK over summer and autumn 2019.

Kure Kure/ Faraway chronicles the mass exodus of Anna’s ancestors, the Bantu tribe, across central Africa and frames it in her personal struggle of balancing a quest for global adventure while remaining true to the traditions of her dynastic forebears. It’s a story of identity, assimilation, and challenges faced by migrants, as relevant in ancient times as they are today.

Told through the music, dance and mesmerising ululation of the Shona people, accomplished mbira player Anna sets the scene for an epic odyssey traversing legends of the African diaspora, evoking ancestral and modern identities. From the fabled great march of the Bantu Tribe across the Tanganika and Baka regions to Zimbabwe some 5000 years ago, Kure Kure/Faraway, explores seismic shifts in the regions’ cultural history. 

Homage is paid to the spiritual deity and she-warrior Nehanda who united the Ndebele and Shona tribes to rise up in the first Chimurenga war against western colonialists in the late 1890’s and whose execution has defined Zimbabwean nationalism ever since. Anna conjures the sensory influence of her grandmother in a deeply personal soundscape, contrasting this with the emotional jolt of moving to a new country and finding herself alone, vulnerable, excited and empowered.

“I am a proud Bantu, Munhu, Ubuntu - human being. My identity, my history, my ancestral beliefs, my DNA has made me who I am. I am everything and everyone who has lived before me!”

Kure Kure/Faraway is a multi-dimensional show that employs Anna’s traditional skills as a highly talented mbira (thumb piano) player, drummer, singer and dancer set alongside multi-media imagery and video. Many of the shows are accompanied by interactive and immersive workshops, perfect for all ages and abilities to learn clapping rhythms, shakers & drumming, dance moves and so experience a true taste of Zimbabwean culture. An invitation to remember ancestors, their wisdom and their stories, these workshops offer an insight into the uplifting and soulful spiritualism of a Bira Shona celebration.

Kure Kure/Faraway is an original theatre work devised by Anna Mudeka and a team of associate artists. Directed by David Farmer, produced by Arts La’Olam and co-commissioned by Norwich Arts Centre, this tour has been funded by Arts Council England. For a taste of Kure Kure/Faraway, click here

For press enquiries please contact: iona@la-olam.com 07719281078

Kure Kure / Faraway Tour Dates 2019

JUNE

Wednesday 5 June show 7pm

Norwich Arts Centre 01603 660352

https://norwichartscentre.co.uk/

Saturday 15 June Presentation 2.15pm

St Antony's College, Oxford University

margaret.ling@geo2.poptel.org.uk 

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/creativity-and-innovation-tickets-53087788003

Thursday 20 June show 7.30pm

Wells Maltings, Wells-next-the-Sea 01328 710885 

https://www.wellsmaltings.org.uk/

Saturday 22 June show 7.30pm

The Cut, Halesworth 0300 303 3211

newcut.org/

Friday 28 June show 7pm

Rosemary Branch Theatre, Islington, London

www.rosemarybranchtheatre.co.uk

Saturday 29 June workshop 2pm, show 7pm

Tom Thumb Theatre, Margate

www.tomthumbtheatre.co.uk

SEPTEMBER

Friday 6 September show 7.30pm

The Auden Theatre, Holt 01263 713444

https://audentheatre.co.uk/

Friday 20 September show 7.45pm

Northern Stage, Newcastle Upon Tyne 0191 230 5151

https://www.northernstage.co.uk/

Saturday 21 September show 7.45pm

Sir John Mills Theatre, Ipswich 01473 211498

https://easternangles.co.uk/

Sunday 22 September Interactive Performance 1pm

Art Eat Festival, Ipswich Waterfront 07990 802776

https://www.arteatfestival.com/

Saturday 28 September workshop 2pm show 7.30pm

MAC Birmingham 0121 446 3232

https://macbirmingham.co.uk/

OCTOBER

Saturday 5 October w/s 2pm, show 7pm

Westcliff St George’s Church, Southend on Sea 01702 436659

Saturday 12 October show 7pm

Zion Arts Centre, Manchester 0161 226 1912

https://www.z-arts.org/

Friday 18 October show 7pm

The Curve, Slough

www.thecurveslough.com

Saturday 19 October workshop 3.30pm show 7pm

Cloverhill Community Centre, Norwich 01842 751975

https://leapinghare.org/leaping-hare-box-office/

Sunday 20 October workshop 2pm

Colston Hall, Bristol

www.afrikaeye.org.uk

Sunday 20 October show 7pm

Zion Bristol 0117 923 1212

zionbristol.co.uk/

Tuesday 22 October workshop 2pm show 7pm

Coast Arts Festival, Cromer Community Centre

coastarts.co.uk

Thursday 24 October workshop 2pm show 7pm

Firstsite Gallery, Colchester 07900921916

https://firstsite.uk/

Friday 25 October workshop 2pm show 7pm

St George's Guildhall Kingslynn 01553 764864

www.kingslynnfestival.org.uk

NOVEMBER

Friday 1 November show 7pm

The Exchange Twickenham, London 020 8240 2399

https://exchangetwickenham.co.uk/

Saturday 2 November show 7pm

Carnegie Hall, Thetford TBC 01842 751975 

https://leapinghare.org/leaping-hare-box-office/

Thursday 21 November workshop 2pm show 7pm

Diss Corn Hall 01379 652241

https://www.thecornhall.co.uk/

Friday 22 November show 7pm

Seagull Theatre, Lowestoft 01502 589726

http://www.theseagull.co.uk/ 

Global Rhythm Festival, Ipswich

Global Rhythm Festival will not be held in Christchurch Park this year, but on Saturday 13th of July, the Cornhill, in the centre of Ipswich, will see a variety of fabulous music, awesome dance performances, and delicious food from around the world. 

Four local organisations; Peppery Productions, Global Village, Missile Sound and Arts La’Olam will be inviting local, regional and national artists to present, bringing us excellent music from around this beautiful world.

Ipswich Borough Council is generously supporting this event.

Times TBC, Saturday 13th July, Cornhill Ipswich,

Princess Sophia Duleep Singh : Mural Design Workshops

SUFFRAGETTE PRINCESS SOPHIA DULEEP SINGH MURAL

Thanks to funding from Women's Vote Centenary Grant Scheme, Arts La'Olam is working with Artful Skecha and Guru Nanak Gurdwara Ipswich this Saturday 15th December and next Saturday 22nd December 11-3pm.

Women and children from all communities are welcome, please bring a donation for the temple, a Langar lunch will be provided.

There will be an optional Punjabi class available during the workshop, and some Punjabi language will form part of the workshop.

We will be developing ideas for a mural honouring Princess Sophia Duleep Singh (8 August 1876 – 22 August 1948), a prominent suffragette who lived in Thetford, East Anglia.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dAH0MLNfK1U

This project celebrates East Anglia's connection to the Punjab and to the Women’s Centenary, 100 years of votes for women.

Ipswich Borough Council has granted permission for us to use a site on Ipswich Waterfront where the finished mural will be painted.

The group will benefit from art workshops where they will be encouraged to explore and enjoy creativity and talk about Princess Sophia Duleep Singh contribution to women's votes and women's voices in communities and civic life.

The finished mural design should be hand-painted, beautiful, of an excellent standard and at least 3mx6m, it will be painted in the Spring, in a prominent location near Ipswich Waterfront.

Another Artist Call Out !!!! Mural Design Workshops in Prison

Artist call-out for paid opportunity to deliver mural design workshops in prison, and lead volunteers in painting finished mural.

Mural Painting / Street Art: Mural design workshops in prison and an urban mural commission for Stop Loan Sharks Community Fund. 

Timeframe: February-March 2019

Location: Ipswich, Suffolk.

Please send daisy@la-olam.com  your CV & examples of work by 20th December 2018

Competitive rates of pay offered including expenses.

Women's Centenary - Celebrating Princess Sophia Duleep Singh

An Indian Princess, daughter of the Maharaja, Princess Sophia Duleep Singh, lived in Thetford one hundred years ago and she was a prominent Suffragette, leading demonstrations in London and contributing to the movement which gained Women’s Right to Vote.

Essex Cultural Diversity Project have asked Arts La’Olam to invite South Asian women in Ipswich to talk for an hour together about Community and Change, as part of the Women’s Centenary Celebrations across the UK https://celebratingvotesforwomen.campaign.gov.uk/

This Roundtable Discussion is part of a wider project exploring the story of Suffragette Princess Sophia Duleep Singh (daughter of Maharajah Duleep Singh who lived in Norfolk after he was exiled from the Punjab) and her legacy in Votes for Women and women in politics. More about Princess Sophia can be found here. 

The project involves a series of roundtable discussions across Essex & Suffolk. Points from the conversations raised will feed into a women’s conference in Chelmsford in October https://essexcdp.com/event/sophiasassembly/

There is also a potential visit to the House of Commons in November, to which all of which the participants will be invited.

An invitation please feel free to share

ANA SILVERA TOUR DATES

Ana Silvera Tour Dates 2017

We had a wonderful concert by Ana and Jasper in Ipswich last night, catch them if you can at future locations! 

09 Dec - Spring Bank, Derbyshire -  New Mills, High Peak SK22 4BH - Tickets & Info
10 Dec - Cafe #9, Sheffield - 9 Nether Edge Rd, S7 1RU - Tickets & Info  
11 Dec - St Peters by the Waterfront, Ipswich - College Street, IP1 1XF - Tickets & Info 
12 Dec - Kitchen Garden Cafe, Birmingham - 17 York Rd, B14 7SA - Tickets & Info 
13 Dec - Albion Beatnik Bookstore, Oxford - 34 Walton St, OX2 6AA - Tickets & Info

14 Dec - Grapevine @ Guildhall, Norwich - Guildhall Hill , NR2 1JS - Tickets & Info 
15 Dec - Cafe Kino, Bristol - 108 Stokes Croft, BS1 3RU - Tickets & Info
16 Dec - The Stables, Milton Keynes - Stockwell Lane, Wavendon, MK17 8LU - Tickets & Info 

17 Dec - Green Note, London - 106 Parkway, London NW1 7AN - Tickets & Info  

* all UK dates with double bassist Jasper Høiby 

With kind support from Arts Council England 

Watch our #StorySeekers Colchester Film...

THE STORY SEEKERS ARE COMING TO TOWN.....

Two leading professional African artists in the UK, Griot Chinyere and Abass Dodoo are coming to Colchester and Ipswich to host a new project: Story Seekers. 

Thanks to Arts Council England and Ipswich Borough Council funding, these inspiring artists will lead a six-week completely free arts activity where everyone is welcome - all ages, all abilities, all levels of English speaking - to come and tell their own stories and experience Nigerian and Ghanian heritage storytelling, percussion and drumming. 

Griot Chinyere is from a long line of storytellers and shamans. She is continuing and exemplifying her family traditions and skills, she is a leading storyteller and the storytelling festival founder of Nne Agwu Afrakan: The First Afrakan Storytelling Festival in Britain. Abass Dodoo comes from The Family of Royal Master Ghanaian Drummers and he is a world-wide touring drummer who founded and is director of One Drum; the most famous West African drumming troupe in Britain.

Ipswich workshops will be on Monday mornings at The Smokehouse, 6 South Street from 10-12 noon starting on the 22nd of May until the 26th of June. 

Colchester workshops will be held at Firstsite, Lewis Gardens, every Wednesday evening from 7pm-9pm starting on the 24th of May until the 28th of June. Those honouring the festival of Ramadan are welcome to break their fast with us. 

Sociable and Interactive Storytelling and Percussion Workshops in Ipswich and Colchester:

Every Monday 10am -12 noon The Smokehouse, 6 South Street, Ipswich   Please book in advance: text or call 07990 802776

Every Wednesday 7-9 pm Firstsite, Lewis Gardens, High Street, Colchester  Please book in advance: text or call 07990 802776

Performances at Community and Creative Events During the Summer:

Broom Hill Library, Ipswich    Bank Holiday Monday    29th May    1pm
 

Ipswich County Library Multicultural Day     Sat 24th June        10.30am
 

New Wolsey Studio Theatre, Georges St, Ipswich (tickets £5 - 01473 295900)    Sat 24th June 2pm  

Big Sunday, Lewis Gardens, Colchester    Sun 2nd July      12 noon
 

Global Rhythms Festival, Christchurch Mansion Sat 8th July   12.30 noon

Festival of Rice and Spice, Firstsite, Colchester  Sun 9th July  12 noon

Info and Advance Bookings (essential for workshops): 07990 802776 

With special thanks to our partners and encouragers, your every moment of support is recognised and highly appreciated; Colchester Arts Centre, Firstsite, African Families in the UK, East Anglian Indian Association, Refugee Action Colchester, Karibu, Ipswich and Suffolk Racial Equality Council, Ipswich Community Media, Peppery Productions, New Wolsey Theatre, Ipswich YMCA, Suffolk Libraries, Signals Media Arts, Ipswich Borough Council, P.H.O.E.B.E.

And many thanks to the funders who have enabled us to create a top-quality arts activity with incredible artists, completely free for the benefit of local individuals and communities; Arts Council England, Ipswich Borough Council, Suffolk County Council, Colchester Borough Council. 

www.la-olam.com

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