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Where does your mind go when you think of the word “Outside” or “Art” or “Experience”. The Middlesbrough Art Weekender invites you to think outside the box and to connect with the artists of Middlesbrough redefining these words. #Ad
Such as the Northern Queer art collective Bordello Collective use their experiences and identities to create immersive events, pieces and spaces teaching the importance of taking up space and how powerful art can be when building and uniting communities. Their works of spoken word, live music, poetry and theatrical rituals have been featured at the Glastonbury Festival, AND Festival, Guild 2012, DiVerse, Manchester Pride and Edinburgh Fringe Festival they have curated a compelling journey, educating and inspiring everyone they meet.
Or transmedia artist, Stephanie Dinkins, who utilizes AI to speak up and explore with great detail matters on race, gender, ageing and future histories. Her powerful work encourages and implores institutions to create diverse environments for people of colour to be seen, heard and given a platform to be within the fields of AI, an exclusionary space, that neglects the existence of marginalized communities. Inspired by her grandmother, Bernice Curry, Dinkins continuously characterizes and beautifully embodies the saying “you cannot be what you do not see”, as her work lets Black women especially feel seen and define for themselves where they would like to exist and how in a world not built for them in mind. Here, in the arts, the power is given to the artist and Stephanie reminds us of that. The strength of explanation given to its creator, a voice for the voiceless, a platform for those displaced, the emphasis and importance of representation. Such themes are further explored throughout the weekend, as we collectively listen and learn.
As the summer begins to cool, and leaves begin to fall, we remind ourselves how important it is to take care of ourselves in the Autumn and Winter months. Entwining yourself in environments that encourage you to thrive, help you heal and remove the worries and fears of the outside world. The North-East is a land booming with culture and industrial history, woven into every artist’s piece of work at MAW, here we celebrate each unique and wonderful ingredient that goes into making us who we are.
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This weekend is your time, it’s friends time, family time, a moment and a future memory to be one with the North, with free entry. Listening to the gentle dashes of ink on paper or the strokes of paint on walls, words bouncing off lips and construction pieced together for you to interpret using the voice of your soul. From the 30th of September to the 3rd of October, head over to the Middlesbrough Art Weekender to find your moment and create your memories as you explore the art trail or discover the city through interactive workshops and shows.
For more information check out the Middlesbrough Art Weekender website and use the #MiddlesbroughArtWeekender to share your journey!!
So the only question that remains is “what will you learn at MAW?”
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