contested desires
A transnational cooperation project exploring our shared and contested Colonial heritage and its influence on contemporary culture.
From the Greeks, to the Romans, from the Ottomans to the seafaring nations of Western Europe we Europeans have exploited, imposed and foraged cultures and communities to build our Empires. This legacy is a blueprint which unfolds into a complex picture so often untold, unknown and contested.
At a time of increasing right wing populism, CONTESTED DESIRES aims to challenge the de-stabilising and divisive impact of political discourse where the diversity and expansion of our communities continues to be met with the power play of fear-mongering, discrimination and exclusion. The programme is a platform for artists, cultural professionals and communities to explore the complex and deep-rooted reverberations of colonisation, occupation and annexation that continue to shape our countries and identities today.
CONTESTED DESIRES is a capacity building programme for artists and producers engaging with communities and heritage spaces. With a focus on transnational exchange and learning, the programme offers unique opportunities for artists and communities to explore our shared heritage through research, workshops, residencies and exhibitions.
D6 is one of only a handful of UK organisations leading these international cultural projects, and the only one to be selected in the North East of England in this round. The CONTESTED DESIRES partnership includes: ECCOM, research and heritage training specialists based in Italy; La Bonne, a feminist arts organisation based in Spain; Xarkis, bridging traditional and contemporary practice through a nomadic contemporary festival across rural villages in Cyprus; LAC, a cross-artform residency and gallery space based in a former prison in Lagos, Portugal and Fresh Milk, an arts organisation in Barbados supporting artists and writers from across the Caribbean.
We have selected north-based artists Nicola Singh and Akeelah Bertram as the 2 UK artists who will participate in the project within a cohort of nine exceptional artists across the project. In the UK we will work with our partners the National Trust and organisations in Newcastle and Northumberland to deliver the project.
With a focus on transnational exchange and learning, the programme will offer unique opportunities for artists and communities to explore our shared heritage through research, workshops, residencies and exhibitions - digging deep to explore, reveal and question the links between our colonising ancestors and our culture now.
At a time of such uncertainty we are pleased to have been handed the baton by the European Commission to continue to grow our international collaborations, and we look forward to the journey ahead. Please join us where you can....
-Clymene Christoforou, Director, D6: Culture in Transit
Visit the CONTESTED DESIRES website here: www.contesteddesires.eu
From the Greeks, to the Romans, from the Ottomans to the seafaring nations of Western Europe we Europeans have exploited, imposed and foraged cultures and communities to build our Empires. This legacy is a blueprint which unfolds into a complex picture so often untold, unknown and contested.
At a time of increasing right wing populism, CONTESTED DESIRES aims to challenge the de-stabilising and divisive impact of political discourse where the diversity and expansion of our communities continues to be met with the power play of fear-mongering, discrimination and exclusion. The programme is a platform for artists, cultural professionals and communities to explore the complex and deep-rooted reverberations of colonisation, occupation and annexation that continue to shape our countries and identities today.
CONTESTED DESIRES is a capacity building programme for artists and producers engaging with communities and heritage spaces. With a focus on transnational exchange and learning, the programme offers unique opportunities for artists and communities to explore our shared heritage through research, workshops, residencies and exhibitions.
D6 is one of only a handful of UK organisations leading these international cultural projects, and the only one to be selected in the North East of England in this round. The CONTESTED DESIRES partnership includes: ECCOM, research and heritage training specialists based in Italy; La Bonne, a feminist arts organisation based in Spain; Xarkis, bridging traditional and contemporary practice through a nomadic contemporary festival across rural villages in Cyprus; LAC, a cross-artform residency and gallery space based in a former prison in Lagos, Portugal and Fresh Milk, an arts organisation in Barbados supporting artists and writers from across the Caribbean.
We have selected north-based artists Nicola Singh and Akeelah Bertram as the 2 UK artists who will participate in the project within a cohort of nine exceptional artists across the project. In the UK we will work with our partners the National Trust and organisations in Newcastle and Northumberland to deliver the project.
With a focus on transnational exchange and learning, the programme will offer unique opportunities for artists and communities to explore our shared heritage through research, workshops, residencies and exhibitions - digging deep to explore, reveal and question the links between our colonising ancestors and our culture now.
At a time of such uncertainty we are pleased to have been handed the baton by the European Commission to continue to grow our international collaborations, and we look forward to the journey ahead. Please join us where you can....
-Clymene Christoforou, Director, D6: Culture in Transit
Visit the CONTESTED DESIRES website here: www.contesteddesires.eu
Cyprus: CONTESTED DESIRES JOURNEYS TO THE XARKIS FESTIVAL |
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The nine artists selected in 2019 for the programme and partners come together for the final residency, joined with artists from all over the world, to take part in the Xarkis Festival in Cyprus. >>
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UK: Residencies at d6 and exhibitionArtists Marcio Carvalho, Dimitris Chimonas and Mónica Rikić presented new works in an exhibition at Newcastle's Lit & Phil Library following their residencies with D6 in 2021 and 2022. >>
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COLONIALISM AND GENDERBarcelona based partner La Bonne hosted a series of conversations centred around gender and colonialism, presenting first hand perspectives of feminism and its relationship to racism and colonialism. >>
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Digital commissions: LAC RESIdencyThese digital commissions by artists Akeelah Bertram, Anna Carreras and Stelios Kallinikou draw on their experiences from LAC residency, in Lagos, Portugal. >>
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crafting nations: UK capacity buildingThroughout the summer of 2020 D6 hosted 3 capacity building workshops for artists and partners, captured through podcasts and written reflections by poet and editor Degna Stone. >>
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PORTUGAL: artist residency and capacity buildingOur first capacity building workshop led by ECCOM, and the first artist residency of the project took place at LAC, in Lagos, Portugal. >>
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BARBADOS: curatorial exchangeOur curatorial exchange and selection of artists took place in Barbados, hosted by partner Fresh Milk. >>
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