Henna Asikainen, Future Pasts; image credits Celia Medina, Matt Denham and Saya Rose Media
Future Pasts exhibition
Where: Gallery North, Northumbria University, Sandyford Building, NE1 8QE (map)
When: 16 June to 7 July
For Refugee Week 2023 the exhibition will open on:
Monday 19 to Friday 23 June, 12-4pm
Saturday 24 June, 10-2pm
Following this the exhibition will open on:
Thursday 29 June, 12-2pm and 3-4pm *exhibition tour 1-2pm*
Friday 30 June, 12-4pm
Thursday 6 July, 12-4pm
Friday 7 July, 12-4pm – closing day
Future Pasts is Henna Asikainen’s extraordinary project with people new to the North East. Together, they have discovered local landscapes along Hadrian’s Wall in a series of community walks, documenting them with photos, poetry and a performative protest. D6 brings these together in a celebratory exhibition, drawing threads between migration, occupation and landscape from Roman times to today.
This is D6’s latest commission with Henna, working with people and families with lived experience of migration and displacement and building on previous projects that explore nature, community and belonging.
Stories of connection along Hadrian’s Wall
The exhibition includes a meadow created from flowers and plants collected during the walks representing the ecological heritage of the area, alongside a film that captures aerial footage of the performative protest, which took place at the wall one snowy winter’s day.
We invite visitors to immerse themselves in the rich and layered series of work on display, to reflect on Hadrian’s Wall as a metaphor that resonates with migration and belonging, and nationalism and borders. It is also a chance to celebrate the connections made through shared journeys, the long history of migration that has formed the UK, and the beauty and fragility of our local landscapes and ecosystems.
How to find Gallery North and accessibility
Gallery North is a ten minute walk from Haymarket bus and metro stations, and a 20 minute walk from Newcastle Central station. The gallery is fully wheelchair accessible. More information here.
When: 16 June to 7 July
For Refugee Week 2023 the exhibition will open on:
Monday 19 to Friday 23 June, 12-4pm
Saturday 24 June, 10-2pm
Following this the exhibition will open on:
Thursday 29 June, 12-2pm and 3-4pm *exhibition tour 1-2pm*
Friday 30 June, 12-4pm
Thursday 6 July, 12-4pm
Friday 7 July, 12-4pm – closing day
Future Pasts is Henna Asikainen’s extraordinary project with people new to the North East. Together, they have discovered local landscapes along Hadrian’s Wall in a series of community walks, documenting them with photos, poetry and a performative protest. D6 brings these together in a celebratory exhibition, drawing threads between migration, occupation and landscape from Roman times to today.
This is D6’s latest commission with Henna, working with people and families with lived experience of migration and displacement and building on previous projects that explore nature, community and belonging.
Stories of connection along Hadrian’s Wall
The exhibition includes a meadow created from flowers and plants collected during the walks representing the ecological heritage of the area, alongside a film that captures aerial footage of the performative protest, which took place at the wall one snowy winter’s day.
We invite visitors to immerse themselves in the rich and layered series of work on display, to reflect on Hadrian’s Wall as a metaphor that resonates with migration and belonging, and nationalism and borders. It is also a chance to celebrate the connections made through shared journeys, the long history of migration that has formed the UK, and the beauty and fragility of our local landscapes and ecosystems.
How to find Gallery North and accessibility
Gallery North is a ten minute walk from Haymarket bus and metro stations, and a 20 minute walk from Newcastle Central station. The gallery is fully wheelchair accessible. More information here.
artist's talk
Join us for an evening of conversation with Henna Asikainen to celebrate Future Pasts. This will be a chance to learn more about Henna’s research, working methods and how they relate to wider thinking around socially engaged practice. We are delighted that Henna will be joined by Maggie O’Neill, Professor in Sociology at University College Cork and Visiting Professor Northumbria University, who over many years has worked with artists and community groups to conduct arts based research, working together to create change.
When: Wednesday 5 July, 5.30-7pm
Where: Gallery North, Northumbria University, Sandyford Building, NE1 8QE (map).
BOOK YOUR PLACE HERE.
When: Wednesday 5 July, 5.30-7pm
Where: Gallery North, Northumbria University, Sandyford Building, NE1 8QE (map).
BOOK YOUR PLACE HERE.
exhibition programme
Exhibition tour, Thursday 29 June, 1-2pm
Join D6 at Gallery North for an exhibition tour - meet at the gallery at 1pm.
Delicate Shuttle at the Memory Studies Conference, 3 to 7 July
For Delicate Shuttle (produced by D6 in 2018), Henna created an installation of thousands of white poplar leaves that weave together a tapestry of fragmented and foraged experiences, created through an exploratory process of foraging walks in the natural landscape with people with lived experience of migration and displacement. This will be reinstalled at Newcastle Contemporary Arts as part of the Memory Studies Conference hosted by Newcastle University.
Refugee Week, 19 to 25 June
Refugee Week is a UK-wide festival celebrating the creativity and resilience of refugees and people seeking sanctuary. To celebrate Refugee Week, Henna’s exhibition will have extended opening on 19 to 24 June.
Mini Green Festival, Saturday 10 June, 11am-5pm
As part of Great BIG Green Week, the North East Climate Justice Coalition has organised a Mini Green Festival that will take place at the Star and Shadow Cinema and the park across the road. D6 and Henna will have a stall where members of the public will be invited to share their thoughts in response to the themes of Future Past and hang them from the branches of a beautiful Red Oak sapling.
Join D6 at Gallery North for an exhibition tour - meet at the gallery at 1pm.
Delicate Shuttle at the Memory Studies Conference, 3 to 7 July
For Delicate Shuttle (produced by D6 in 2018), Henna created an installation of thousands of white poplar leaves that weave together a tapestry of fragmented and foraged experiences, created through an exploratory process of foraging walks in the natural landscape with people with lived experience of migration and displacement. This will be reinstalled at Newcastle Contemporary Arts as part of the Memory Studies Conference hosted by Newcastle University.
Refugee Week, 19 to 25 June
Refugee Week is a UK-wide festival celebrating the creativity and resilience of refugees and people seeking sanctuary. To celebrate Refugee Week, Henna’s exhibition will have extended opening on 19 to 24 June.
Mini Green Festival, Saturday 10 June, 11am-5pm
As part of Great BIG Green Week, the North East Climate Justice Coalition has organised a Mini Green Festival that will take place at the Star and Shadow Cinema and the park across the road. D6 and Henna will have a stall where members of the public will be invited to share their thoughts in response to the themes of Future Past and hang them from the branches of a beautiful Red Oak sapling.
Partners and thanks
Future Pasts has been a three-year long visual arts commission produced by D6 and delivered in partnership with National Trust. Special thanks to the National Trust for their partnership and generosity in the co-production of Future Pasts.
The programme has been supported by: National Lottery Heritage Fund; Arts Council National Lottery Project Grants; Newcastle Cultural Investment Fund; Newcastle University.
With kind generosity from: CPRE Northumberland; Northumberland National Park Authority; Northern Print; North East Solidarity and Teaching; Multilingual Conversation Group; Vindolanda Charitable Trust.
The exhibition programme has been developed with: Gallery North (Northumbria University) and the North East Climate Justice Coalitions's Mini Green Festival.
Special thanks to Ali Iravani and the community of participants who journeyed with us.
The programme has been supported by: National Lottery Heritage Fund; Arts Council National Lottery Project Grants; Newcastle Cultural Investment Fund; Newcastle University.
With kind generosity from: CPRE Northumberland; Northumberland National Park Authority; Northern Print; North East Solidarity and Teaching; Multilingual Conversation Group; Vindolanda Charitable Trust.
The exhibition programme has been developed with: Gallery North (Northumbria University) and the North East Climate Justice Coalitions's Mini Green Festival.
Special thanks to Ali Iravani and the community of participants who journeyed with us.