Zines (a workshop with assorted guests. Online and in person event. 13th June 2023)
June 7, 2023
Our Letter to UoB Senior Management
June 10, 2023Defending Art and Culture in Brighton: An emergency panel discussion and conversation (19th June 2023)
The City of Brighton and Hove is renowned for its breathtaking contributions to art and culture. The many artistic and cultural groups, events and their interplay with the universities and other organisations help make Brighton a unique city to live in. The recent closure of the CCA at Brighton University, the proposed 130 compulsory redundancies that look set to decimate the humanities at the University of Brighton, as well as more general issues around cuts, funding, and a cost-of-living crisis seriously threaten the artistic achievements of this city as a whole. For this very reason we are organising an emergency panel discussion and conversation aimed at bringing together an array of artists, art groups and organisations, independent researchers and anyone who contributes to, or benefits from, the cultural make-up of this city.
The Panel will include:
Helen Dixon is a British Nicaraguan queer feminist writer and artist, and published poet. She/they co-founded the feminist collective Grupo Venancia in Nicaragua, contributed to the development of the Guanuca Cultural Centre, and was a member of several feminist movement spaces as well as the contemporary arts group Estrago with Raul Quintanilla and others. Since coming to Brighton Helen co-founded the Devils Dyke Network and is currently a Phd candidate and research fellow in Arts and Humanities at the University of Brighton.
Carolynn Bain: Founder of Afrori Books. Afrori Books now has the biggest selection of books by black authors in the UK. Giving a platform to over 2000 black authors through their shop and social media channels. Between December 2022 and January 2023, they presented the groundbreaking exhibition, Voices of Afrori at the CCA, and are currently running the Brighton Book Festival in the same venue from the 20th to the 25th June.
Cath James: Artistic Director at South East Dance. Originally from Australia, Cath’s background is in dance, having been a dancer at Rambert Dance Company and Siobhan Davies amongst others, as well as an international dance teacher, before moving into producing and management. She has curated, written about and choreographed dance during her 40 year career.
Lucy Day is the Executive Director at Phoenix Art Space, an arts charity based in the centre of Brighton housing 100+ artists’ studios, three exhibition spaces and a very active community engagement programme. Prior to this Lucy programmed a central London gallery as part of the independent curatorial partnership Day+Gluckman for over a decade. She is a mentor, arts consultant and Founder Director of A Woman’s Place Projects, a contemporary arts organisation which takes equality as its starting point, exploring it creatively through exhibitions, projects and events. She is Chair of Devonshire Collective /VOLT Gallery in Eastbourne, which recently became an Arts Council England National Portfolio Organisation, an alumna of the Clore Leadership Programme (Clore50 2017) and a former Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts.
Hugo Beynon: Hugo Beynon (pronounced Buy-none) works at a music university. Before covid he worked as a music journalist reviewing live shows and festivals alongside his music degree studies in London. He’s played bass and drums in various projects based in London and Brighton, and as a keen music researcher is looking to sit a postgrad degree in September in Popular Music Research, focusing on music education and accessibility.
John Marchant: John Marchant’s Gallery (The John Marchant Gallery) can be found in Ship Street Brighton. John Marchant is a gallerist, curator and art director currently living in Brighton, UK. Having worked for many years with internationally renowned artists such as Nan Goldin and Gary Hume, Marchant now represents celebrated and emerging contemporary artists as well as the Jamie Reid Archive.
The panel will be hosted by Bradley Tuck. Bradley Tuck is a researcher, writer, filmmaker, performer and the Founder of Exploding Appendix. Exploding Appendix run salons every three weeks on a Tuesday from January to June and from September to December exploring the history and future of avant-garde art and radical counterculture. Alongside this they produce films (The Cake Tasting Society) and recently made a dance show for Brighton Fringe (Disrupted Rhythms).
We would also like to punctuate the event with statements from individuals and groups in Brighton. If you have something that you would like to share at the event, or you have any questions, please message me at explodingappendix@gmail.com. The session can also be joined via Zoom. Message us for more information.
The event will take place at The Southern Belle, 3 Waterloo Street, Hove, BN3 1AQ from 7pm until late on Monday 19th June 2023. Doors open at 6:30. The event will be free, but in the interest of gauging number we would ask that you register on our Eventbrite page here.
To read our letter to University of Brighton senior management click here.
