Platforma Festival

Describing itself as a ‘multidisciplinary event of work by and about refugees’, Counterpoint showcases a diverse mix of media, topics and approaches to themes of migration.
 

Its name directly references the writing of cultural theorist Edward Said with the organisers wanting to explore and celebrate the notion that displaced peoples, with their awareness of different realities, ‘create a uniquely plural vision of society’. Celebrating this plurality is especially crucial in times of economic crisis, which historically witness an increase in hostility towards non-natives who are often blamed for unpalatable social realites they have no part in.

Part of the first Platforma Festival, run by umbrella arts and refugees network Platforma, Counterpoint brings together artists from a range of backgrounds whose work addresses themes of migration, displacement and cultural translation. The exhibition, at Club Row in East London between 29 Nov and 4 Dec 2011, is complemented by ‘Contrapuntal Perspectives’, a programme of talks, conferences and live performances that attest to the depth of work being produced. Spoken word, acoustic and music acts, such as Yiddish Twist Orchestra, are also on at nearby Rich Mix.

 

"You work hard and get very sick. Go to hospital"

The bustling opening night saw a live performance by writer and cross-disciplinary artist Caroline Bergvall, whose video work Ghost Cargo, also included in the show, documents a performance realised at the start of the 2011 Refugee Week in Leeds.

Featuring a plane flying unnanounced over the city skies while trailing a line of text, the work adresses the use of European airspace for CIA extraordinary rendition flights that 'have cast their shadows over the world below' in their- our- silent collusion with torture.

Some work invited an element of audience participation, like Ania Bas and Les Monaghan's Asylum Seeker game, emblazoned with the satirical slogan ‘the game that lasts a lifetime!’. Developed collaboratively out of a year-long residency the artist undertook with a group of asylum seekers, refugees and those with ‘no status’, the game explores the very real stresses and anxieties they face. Players attempt to move round a Monopoly-style board where everyday frustrations and setbacks (like “You work hard and get very sick. Go to hospital") must be conquered before reaching the top prize: official leave to remain.
 

 

Keep up to date

Other more traditional media were represented by works such as an installation of drawings by Behjat Omer Abdulla, who drew photographs of subjects asked to imagine they were sitting for an ID photo- an image that could determine the course of their life.

While the festival is only on for this week, its worth checking Platforma’s website regularly to keep up to date with work of and about refugees; the range of activities on offer demonstrates the positive cultural and economic and contribution they make to the UK.