Four creatives with experience on both sides of this, discussed their experiences of writing about social and political change and the effectiveness of this.
As part of Celebrating Syria Festival 2017, We held a panel discussion on Thursday 20th July with four creatives with experience on both sides of this, who discussed their experiences of writing about social and political change and the effectiveness of this. Afterwards there was an interesting Q&A and discussion session with the audience.
Panellists:
Ben Power
Ben is a theatre maker, director and lecturer in performance, based in Manchester. His recent work, Spring Reign – a play about the conflict in Syria, produced in partnership with Rethink Rebuild Society, toured theatres across the country in Spring 2017. Ben’s work is often socially conscious and created with political intent.
Ruth Daniel
Ruth is an award-winning cultural producer, activist and social entrepreneur. She is co-director of the organisation In Place of War which works with creativity in sites of conflict to empower young people by sharing tools that enable them to create their own opportunity in challenging contexts.
Dr Beccy Kennedy
Dr Beccu is a Senior Lecturer in Art History at Manchester School of Art and Route Leader for the MA Visual Culture. Her research areas include: diasporic and postcolonial art, contemporary political art practices in Asia. Beccy has curated two exhibitions for Asia Triennial Manchester and is co-editor of the book, ‘Triennial City: Localising Asian Art’.
Chair:
Charlotte Keatley
Charlotte is a writer: her award-winning, landmark play ‘My Mother Said I Never Should’ is translated into 31 languages, the most performed play ever written by a woman. She writes for theatre, radio & film, as journalist & broadcaster for BBC, has run creative workshops from Sarajevo to Burnley. Her recent play for the RSC dramatised the Georgian civil war and the civilian experience of rebuilding a country.