Friday 11 November 2005, 16.00–20.00
Saturday 12 November 2005, 11.00–18.00

‘The gift of travel has been enabling for me in the same way that it has been enabling for those writers in the British tradition, those in the African diasporan tradition, and those in the Caribbean tradition, many of whom have found it necessary to move in order that they might reaffirm for themselves the fact that dual and multiple affiliations feed our constantly fluid sense of self.‘ 
– Caryl Phillips

Through a series of departures and returns, artists have occasionally deployed the recurring motifs of the journey: exploration, discovery, revelation and transformation. This strategy has allowed them to critically navigate the global spaces of displacement and diaspora, and the high anxiety of belonging.

Focusing on the formation of new perspectives through an extensive range of artistic journeys, this symposium explores some of the current concerns facing artists working on and across the borders of art, moving image and time-based practice. Within this moment of extensive mobility and migration, artists come together to consider how being elsewhere might, like alchemy, transform the practice of art.

Produced by Arts Council England, the  Necessary Journeys arts initiative takes its cue from the bfi’s  Black World project, and explores the diverse ways in which art connects with film and the moving image. Participants include Ricardo Basbaum, Caryl Phillips, Harold Offeh, Jonzi D, Jen Harvie, Rene Gabri, Ayreen Anastas, Tirdad Zolghadr, Irit Rogoff, Jackie Kay, Keith Piper, susan pui san lok and Kodwo Eshun.

On Friday 11 November, 16.00–18.00, there will be a presentation by recipients of the Necessary Journeys Travel Bursary Award. The artists include Fernando Arias, Oreet Ashery, Dinu Li, Margareta Kern, Ralph Hoyte, Jiva Parthipan and Trevor Woolery. Admission is free and booking is recommended.

Necessary Journeys is brought to life as a fully-illustrated book, edited by Melanie Keen and Eileen Daly, published in November. New writing by Bernardine Evaristo, Kitty Hauser, Sukhdev Sandhu and Sarah Wood captures the spirit of Necessary Journeys through themes that range from adventure and exploration to archiving and storytelling. The book features pages by ten international artists and is prefaced by Caryl Phillips’ incisive essay ‘Necessary Journeys’. The book will be launched at the symposium.

Playing in the Light, a programme bringing together some of the very best black artists, choreographers, dancers and musicians working in the collaborative field of filmmaking, takes place at 15.00 on Sunday 13 November 2005 at Tate Modern in conjunction with the Necessary Journeys symposium.

Tate Modern  Starr Auditorium
£20 (£15 concessions), booking recommended
Price includes tea and coffee, a drinks reception, complimentary copy of the Necessary Journeys book and entry to the Henri Rousseau: Jungles in Paris exhibition

    

Timetable:

Friday 11 November 2005

16.00
Welcome by Stuart Comer and Melanie Keen

16.10
Presentations by recipients of the travel bursary (15 mins each):
Oreet Ashery
Fernando Arias
Ralph Hoyte
Margareta Kern
Dinu Li
Jiva Parthipan
Trevor Woolery

18.00
Q&A moderated by Melanie Keen (15 mins)

18.15–18.45
Tea and coffee

18.45–19.45
Keynote: Ricardo Basbaum. Introduced by Stuart Comer

19.45–20.30
Book launch and drinks reception

 

Saturday 12 November 2005

11.00
Welcome by Gary Thomas and Stuart Comer

11.15
Opening talk: Caryl Phillips

12.00–13.00
Panel one: Harold Offeh and Jonzi D. Chaired by Jen Harvie

13.00–14.00
Lunch

14.00–15.15
Residency artists’ presentations by Keith Piper, Jackie Kay and susan pui san lok with Q&A moderated by Karen Alexander

15.15–16.30
Panel two: Tirdad Zolghadr, Ayreen Anastas and Rene Gabri. Chaired by Irit Rogoff

16.30–16.45
Tea and coffee

17.15–18.00
Plenary discussion with Tirdad Zolghadr, Ayreen Anastas, Rene Gabri, Caryl Phillips, Harold Offeh, Jonzi D, Keith Piper, Jackie Kay and susan pui san lok. Chaired by Kodwo Eshun