Poetics of Freedom by Tania Camara
15 October 2020
Poetics of Freedom by Tania Camara
How do you speak the silence, the well-kept secrets of society?
Inspired by some of the poetry and speeches of Amilcar Cabral, Patrice Lumumba and Thomas Sankara, inter-disciplinary performance artist Tania Camara asks what it means to speak, and speak out, about racism and neo-colonialism. Poetics of freedom was conceived as a series of performance interventions combining voice and movement, in the exact location of the 5th Pan-African Congress 75 years ago.
However due to the restrictions relating to Covid-19, this project has been reconfigured as an eight minute audio-only performance, a poetic conversation on the personal and social implications of race and heritage. To be streamed online from Thursday 15th October and accessible afterwards.
Developed with the artistic support of Keisha Thompson, Poetics of Freedom has been developed and presented in conjunction with performers Valentina Vettore, Grace Hill and Conor Hilton, from the Manchester School of Theatre. It is curated by Neil Mackenzie and supported by Manchester School of Theatre, Manchester Metropolitan University, hÅb/Word of Warning and Contact Theatre.
Listen to the audio performance using the player below or on the PAC@75 YouTube channel.
Video
Biographies
Tania Camara – Director
Manchester-based solo performance artist, Tania Camara works across devised theatre, dance, live art and voice work. A graduate of the University of Amsterdam with an MA, she uses her cultural heritage, past experiences, research + the interdisciplinary structure of Batuku (incl. singing, dancing, drums + spoken word). Tania’s current practice focuses on personal accounts of memory, collective and ancestral, to uncover her racial and cultural identity; the concept of self and other; belonging and the black performing body. If you want to know more about Tania’s work watch this video of her show Oreo that was live-streamed with the support of STUN + Word of Warning.
Keisha Thompson – Dramaturge
Manchester based writer, performance artist and producer. Earlier this year, she finished touring award-winning solo show, Man on the Moon. Her debut book, Lunar, features her poetry and the show script. Whilst Moonwhile is a poetic mini album featuring music from the show. She has supported artists such as Kae Tempest, Hollie McNish, The Last Poets and Saul Williams. Her work has been presented at venues high profile venues and platforms such as Tate Modern, Blue Dot Festival and the British Council Showcase in Edinburgh.
Manchester School of Theatre
Manchester School of Theatre is a leading Drama School and part of the Manchester Metropolitan University. A member of the Federation of Drama Schools, it was founded in 1970 and now sits under the umbrella of the Manchester School of Art, offering undergraduate degree programmes in Acting and Drama and Contemporary Performance, and a post graduate degree in Contemporary Performance. It recently relocated into the new Arts and Humanities Building facing onto All Saints Park, and has strong industry and academic links locally, nationally and internationally.
Neil Mackenzie
Neil Mackenzie is joint programme leader of Drama and Contemporary Performance in the Manchester School of Theatre, and specialises in international experimental theatre practice. He is a theatre maker, curator and researcher, and the artistic director of the Flare International Festival of New Theatre. He regularly works with the leading theatres in Manchester and theatre festivals internationally, and his teaching focuses on theatre making and professional development.
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