April 2009
Hania Creative Laboratory
Between April 25th and May 9th we are working with young people and historians in Hania, Crete. The participating schools are the 5th Gymnasium school of Nea Hora, and the Gymnasium school of Kandanos. The workshops take as a starting point the rich multicultural heritage of the Old Town, working with the young people to interpret their surroundings and explore hidden histories.
Together we are creating an exhibition will provide a glimpse into the fabric of this city. This laboratory is organised by Etz Hayyim Synagogue with artists from Laundry, and the location of the workshops and exhibition is Studio Poli-texnio, run by artist Spiros Andpoulakis. The groups were given a guide to the city by Vassilis Varouxaki from the Archeological Department of Hania. Materials from the project will be collated and put online (in a month or two), which will provide an alternative view to and guide to Hania, and an insight into the process of the creative laboratory.
Hania Interviews in progress
During the Laboratory, young people from Hania and Kandanos had the opportunity to interview writer Saba Altinsay about her family history in relation to Crete. She was born in Turkey in 1961 and her short and long stories have been published in Turkey and Germany. Kritimou (My Crete) - her first novel - has recently been translated into Greek. It indicates the life of a Muslim Cretan family Yarmakamakis, between 1896 until the very day of the Exchange in 1923. It is the true story of Altinsay’s family. The author also made a presentation about her work at the Synagogue to an adult audience. Interviews by Manolis Heretakis and Gianna Peneva (Nea Hora), and Eftihis Sfinarolakis, Georgina Lesi, Klaudia Nikolli, Elina Kournidaki (Gymnasio of Kandanos).
Online forum
- Fear of the other, is it prejudice or is it racist?
- What makes us intolerant?
- Is there any universal ground for tolerance?
- What are the legitimate criteria of intolerance?
- What are the typical borderlines of tolerance and intolerance in your society?
We invite you to join our invited speakers:
PATÓ ATTILA
BEVERLEY HARVEY
GREGOR D. MIRWA
KLAUS POCHER
for a LIVE ONLINE DISCUSSION EVENT
at www.culturalanimation.com/discuss
MONDAY 6th APRIL, 21.00 -23.00 (CEST)
so that will be 20.00-22.00 if you are in England
or 22.00-24.00 if you are in Bulgaria or Romania.
Updates
New photo galleries posted in March news from Open Labs at Walsall Youth Arts and Bosnia House in Birmingham. In Walsall, we had a surprise visit by comedian and broadcaster Mark Steel, who was performing that night in town. See if you can spot him.
Filming in Blakenhall.
A group from the east side of Birmingham travelled all the way to Blakenhall, in Wolverhampton, to film along the Dudley road. This vibrant multicultural area was once the parliamentary seat of Enoch Powell, who made an infamous speech in 1968 (known as ‘The Rivers of Blood’ speech) - which predicted that mass immigration would lead to violence on our streets.
