Contested Desires

We are a transnational project exploring our shared and contested Colonial heritage and its influence on contemporary culture.

[Contested Desires @Contestedesires]

Until 21st May: our UK Exhibition, led by @D6culture 📍the Lit & Phil Library, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 1SE 📚 Bringing together new work by artists in residence Marcio Carvalho, Dimitris Chimonas and Mónica Rikić exploring our shared colonial heritage.

[Contested Desires @Contestedesires]

Have you checked out our murals yet? Click below for an insight into 'August Sorrow' by Stelios Kallinikou. Presenting ongoing exploration of the Akrotiri area, juxtaposed with new works produced during residency in the Algarve region of southern Portugal. https://t.co/6UjAQLJGcN

[Contested Desires @Contestedesires]

Launching 3 digital commissions today, created by artists Akeelah Bertram (UK), Anna Carreras (SP), and Stelios Kallinikou (CY). Drawing on the artists’ experiences in Lagos, we ask how dominant historical legacies & narratives have shaped our identity https://t.co/UjcGWKrFNU

[Contested Desires @Contestedesires]

“(Dearly) Beloved”, with @abarata11 responds to mass graves of enslaved Africans discovered in Lagos & Lisbon. It speaks to absent figures in our collective memory via a tribute, an act of memorialising, remembering, & connecting with a difficult past. Lac @D6culture and partners

[Contested Desires @Contestedesires]

“(Dearly) Beloved” in the making, with artist
@abarata11 preparing acrylic to sculpt at LAC - Laboratório Actividades Criativas. The artwork is a tribute, an act of memorializing, remembering and connecting with a difficult past. With @D6culture and partners

[Contested Desires @Contestedesires]

Presenting Akeelah Bertram @abarata11 with “(Dearly) Beloved". Responding to the mass graves of enslaved Africans discovered in Lagos and Lisbon, the sculpture speaks to absent figures in our collective memory to memorialise, remember & connect with a difficult past. @D6culture

[Contested Desires @Contestedesires]

Trailer, 2019. Video, sound & loop by Stelios Kallinikou. Unearthing narratives of spaces that lie beyond words; Acting as speculative scenarios through which intersections between territorial & ideological notions relating to 'landscape': space/place & time/ history are explored

[Contested Desires @Contestedesires]

Image features Bird II by Stelios Kallinikou, to be presented @ Lagos Cultural Centre in March via LAC Cultural Organisation. Stelios is interested in unearthing narratives of spaces which lie beyond words. In @Contestedesires he represents @xarkiscommunity & @XarkisFestival

[Contested Desires @Contestedesires]

This is Bird I by Stelios Kallinikou, to be presented @ Lagos Cultural Centre in March-April 5th. His works act as speculative scenarios, through which intersections between territorial & ideological notions relating to 'landscape', such as space/place & time/history are explored

[Contested Desires @Contestedesires]

Read/listen: https://t.co/yUIvQ2r8nu to our final conversation in the Crafting Nations series, focused on historical context & contemporary reflections from the island of Barbados. Artist, Annalee Davis (with founder of @FreshMilkBdos & partner on the CONTESTED DESIRES programme)

[Contested Desires @Contestedesires]

Delighted to share the 2nd instalment of Crafting Nations: The Need for Radical Common Sense. Click link for blog post ✊ Audio option available too 👂 @Degna @eccom_it @cridamilano @arestlessart @D6culture @XarkisFestival @LaBonne_CCDFB @FreshMilkBdos
https://t.co/wSqCEK60Ox

[Contested Desires @Contestedesires]

Delighted to launch Crafting Nations: The Need for Radical Change 💥 This is a critical reflection on the 1st of 3 online conversations under the title 'Crafting Nations', by UK based poet & poetry editor @Degna Stone, as part of #contesteddesires https://t.co/ORsC2giV8h



[Contested Desires @Contestedesires]

As part of the capacity building session in LAC, Lagos, artists & cultural producers were allocated in small groups, to engage in conversations on heritage items that are meaningful to them. 📸 @arestlessart facilitated with @eccom_it, hosted by LAC lagos. #ContestedDesires

[Contested Desires @Contestedesires]

A moment drawn from our previous capacity-building workshop, while discussing intersections between culture & heritage. Facilitated by @cridamilano & @arestlessart, hosted by LAC - Laboratório Actividades Criativas team in Lagos, Portugal 📸 @christinaskar

[Contested Desires @Contestedesires]

Cypriot partners & team of @xarkisfestival spent this period to generate an alternative Artists Residency programme led by the team itself 💫 Image captures a moment from object-based mapping research on colonial heritage, with @christinaskar, Chris Savva & Eva #xarkisfestival

[Contested Desires @Contestedesires]

From our capacity building sessions 🙌 ft. @CreativeBCuk Desi Pubs landmark project - with the stained glass window of Malcolm X visiting Smethwick in 1965 for 'The Red Lion' by Steven Cartwright, 2016. With @D6culture @eccom_it @XarkisFestival @LaBonne_CCDFB @FreshMilkBdos & LAC

[Contested Desires @Contestedesires]

“Heritage has to be both active & disruptive. From the institutional level to the local & scaled up into an international project of cultural solidarity”. Sadie Young, Director of @Timespan A taster from our capacity building workshop hosted by @D6culture facilitated by @eccom_it

[Contested Desires @Contestedesires]

Artist and video call selection | Now online here: https://t.co/sPgsYURXMk We are delighted to share with you the work of 6 film & video artists drawn from a global call. We hope you are sitting comfortably and enjoy watching this rich, powerful and beautiful programme!

[Contested Desires @Contestedesires]

Dear friends, we hope you are in good health & staying safe in these difficult times. We send a message of solidarity to those affected by COVID-19, as we work towards creative responses to the cancellation/postponement of some activities. More info here: https://t.co/NHwJmBDcaH

[Contested Desires @Contestedesires]

New article here: https://t.co/Sv6xCBMp1u ft. LAC_lagos who recently hosted us & are producing the 1st Artist Residency and a one of a kind exhibition. If you're in Lagos, stick around & view works made by @SteliosKallinikou (CY) @akeelahbertram (UK) & @carreras_anna (SP).