Events
Alberta Whittle, ‘Lagareh - The Last Born’ | Ayr Town Hall
Part of Alberta Whittle, ‘Lagareh - The Last Born’ | Scotland + Venice Screening Tour
RESISTANCE | CHIDERA DAVID CHUKWUJEKWU AND RAMAN MUNDAIR IN CONVERSATION
LUX Scotland and Scotland+Venice are delighted to host the final screening of ‘Lagareh – The Last Born’ as part of this Scotland wide tour at Ayr Town Hall, in partnership with South Ayrshire Council Galleries and Museums. This new work was commissioned by Scotland + Venice and Forma for the 59th International Art Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia.
‘Lagareh’ – which translates from the Mandinka language as ‘The Last Born’ – is a work anchored around theories of abolition, rebellion, ancestral knowledge and love. Shot in Scotland, England, Barbados, Sierra Leone and Italy, the film melds a collection of scenes that give focus to the strength of contemporary Black womxn, whose individual acts of resistance are bound together through the artist’s conceptual storytelling. The artist situates Black love in proximity with historical sites of trauma, re-inscribed with rage, hope and exhaustion. Gestures, rituals and moments of intimacy are poignantly underpinned by a deep reflection on grief, loss and mourning, a resolute reminder of the trauma inflicted upon the Black body and of white privilege and power.
The screening will be followed by a conversation between Chidera David Chukwujekwu and Raman Mundair. The concept of ‘resistance’ will provide an interpretive frame for this discussion, to weave connections between the artist’s practice, anti-racist and pro-black advocacy, and Scotland’s historic connections to the Transatlantic slave trade.
Content warning: this film and discussion will contain references to grief, racism, chattel slavery, and police brutality.
Booking + Access
This event is free to attend, but ticketed through Eventbrite.
The film is captioned and the discussion will be live captioned.
A small access fund is available to support audience attendance, which may be used for transport, or the cost of childcare, carers or support workers. For further information please email email hidden; JavaScript is required
Ayr Town Hall is situated in the heart of the historic seaside town. The category ‘A’ listed building dating back to 1827 dominates the Town centre skyline with its 277ft steeple. Situated on the main bus route and only a short walk to the beach, it is convenient and easily accessible to all. There is a loop system for those with hearing impairment in the Town Hall and wheelchair access is available.
The film screening will take place on the upper floor of the building, which can be accessed via stairs or a lift.
Image credit: Alberta Whittle, Lagareh – The Last Born, (film still – single channel video), 2022, © Alberta Whittle. Courtesy the artist, Scotland + Venice, and Forma.
Image description: A Black womxn wearing a red dress and beaded necklace stands in the centre of the image, holding the gaze of the viewer. Gripped in her right fist is a machete, which glints in the sunshine. The palm of her left hand is open as it steadies the tool. Behind her there are green foliage, and red and pale yellow flowers, which grow over a stone wall. The sky is blue, with three white clouds.
Alberta Whittle
Alberta Whittle (she/her) b. 1980 Bridgetown, Barbados. She lives and works in Glasgow. Alberta has been based in Scotland since moving here to study firstly at Edinburgh College of Art and later on the Master of Fine Arts programme at The Glasgow School of Art. She is currently a PhD candidate at the University of Edinburgh and Research Associate at The University of Johannesburg.
Alberta was awarded a Turner Bursary, the Frieze Artist Award and a Henry Moore Foundation Artist Award in 2020. She was the Margaret Tait Award winner for 2018/19. Her work has been acquired by major public collections including the National Galleries of Scotland, Glasgow Museums Collections and the Contemporary Art Research Collection at Edinburgh College of Art, as well as by other private collections.
Selected solo exhibitions and presentations include: The British Art Show 9 (2021 – 22), Jupiter Artland, Edinburgh (2021), Liverpool Biennale (2021), Art Night London (2021), Glasgow International (2021), Grand Union, Birmingham (2020) and Dundee Contemporary Arts, Dundee (2019). Selected group exhibitions include: Life Between Islands Caribbean: British Art 1950s to Now, Tate Britain (2021 – 22), and those held at Hessel Museum of Art, New York (2021), Fotografiska, New York (2021), Kunstal Trondheim, Norway (2021), Gothenburg Biennale (2021), The Lisson Gallery, London (2021), MIMA Middlesborough (2021), Remai Modern, Saskatoon, Canada (2021), Eastside Projects, Birmingham (2020), Edinburgh Printmakers, Edinburgh (2019) and the 13th Havana Biennial, Cuba (2019).
The full presentation of‘deep dive (pause) uncoiling memory’ at La Biennale di Venezia will return to Scotland and be exhibited with other works by Alberta at the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, Edinburgh, opening in spring 2023.
Chidera David Chukwujekwu
Chidera (he/him) began working as a freelance photographer in Glasgow with much of his work focusing on conveying emotion and atmosphere through photographs. This saw him work closely with a number of creatives, musicians and fashion brands, eventually leading to beginning a small Glasgow based print magazine with a friend which aimed to exhibit exciting and upcoming creatives around Glasgow and Scotland. In his more personal work, Chidera maintained a sub-focus on Black subjects, Black stories and Black male-hood within his photography practice. This led him into considering art as a form of activism, or a source of self-discovery. Exploring this theme further, he began working with videos, working as a Director or Cinematographer on several visuals for exhibition.
Following this, he began working as Head of Communications for Intercultural Youth Scotland (IYS); an anti-racism charity that provides positive destination support for young Black people and People of Colour (BPOC) through a combination of Employability, Mental health support, Education, Advocacy and the Creative Arts. In this position, he has had a chance to steer the direction of several organisational deliveries including collaborative arts projects, festivals, performance opportunities and creative internships for young BPOC in Scotland.
Raman Mundair
Raman Mundair is an Indian born, director, writer, artist, activist, filmmaker and playwright. She is not neuro-typical and identifies as disabled, Queer and a British Asian intersectional feminist. She is based in Shetland and Glasgow. She is the award winning author of Lovers, Liars, Conjurers and Thieves, A Choreographer’s Cartography, The Algebra of Freedom (a play) and is the editor of Incoming: Some Shetland Voices.
Raman is an ALL3Media Scholarship winner and a graduate of the National Film and Television School. She has been invited by BBC writers room to be part of their Scottish Drama Writers Programme 2021 initiative and has been commissioned to develop an original drama with Synchronicity Films. She was shortlisted as a writer and director for Sharp Shorts. As an artist, she was commissioned to make three new experimental artist films which debuted on the Tramway TV initiative, and has been commissioned by and shown work at Tramway and CCA, Glasgow. commissioned three new experimental artist films which debuted on the Tramway TV initiative. She was a dramaturg and mentor for Scottish Youth Theatre on the Stories 2020 project. She is a Margaret Tait Award 2021/2022 longlist nominee, and her film A Girl Called Elvis received the First Features award from Short Circuits. Raman was longlisted for theRolex Mentor and Protégé Arts Initiative Award and is a winner of the Robert Louis Stevenson Award and a Leverhulme Fellowship. She is a Royal Literature Society Fellow.
South Ayrshire Council Museums and Galleries
South Ayrshire Council Museums and Galleries care for and manage the collections of South Ayrshire Council, which were acquired by the former Burghs of Troon, Ayr, Girvan, Prestwick and Maybole, Belleisle House and the Tam o’ Shanter Museum in Ayr. The collection consists of fine art, social, industrial & civic history, natural history, geology & paleontological collections. The Museums and Galleries team-work to make these collections as accessible as possible, incorporating them into the programme of changing exhibitions at both Rozelle House, Ayr, and the McKechnie Institute, Girvan, and other council and partner venues. south-ayrshire.gov.uk/
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Partners
Part of Alberta Whittle, ‘Lagareh - The Last Born’ | Scotland + Venice Screening Tour
LUX Scotland and Scotland + Venice tour of Alberta Whittle’s ‘Lagareh – The Last Born’ to six venues across Scotland.