About this Event
Free - Open to all
OBX Connects is a series of talks and informal meet-ups at the OB Cafe for anyone working with or curious about creative technology and community working. Whether you're an artist, maker, technologist, engineer, dancer, musician, activist, or just interested in how tech intersects with creativity, come along and connect with others pushing boundaries in their fields in Hastings.
Tickets are free but we request everyone to book in advance.
🎤 Talks for this session
Introduction by Refugee Buddy Project - Mike Delpeache
Mike will be opening the evening with a short introduction to share more about Hastings Commons and the Refugee Buddy Project's collaboration on 'Commoning the Programme 2' and to provide a reflection on the brief put together by the cohort of refugees and asylum seekers who took part in the project.
Contemporary Refugee Filmmaking - Dr Agnes Woolley
As numbers of refugees have risen sharply over the last twenty-five years, so too has our ability to document this phenomenon visually, on phones, portable and wearable cameras, and through online platforms. Images now play a central role in how we understand refugee movements and border crossings. We are used to seeing certain kinds of scenes: people travelling in groups, waiting at borders, crowded into boats, or living in camps. In this talk, Agnes looks at how recent films about forced migration respond to these visual patterns; sometimes reinforcing them, sometimes challenging them, and sometimes offering entirely new ways of seeing. This growing body of work spans many forms, from mainstream and independent cinema to desktop documentaries, artist moving image, and virtual reality.
Image credit: Ambience (Dir. Wisam al-Jafari, 2019)
Counterpoints Arts Digital Production: Changing the Conversation One Post at a Time - Tom Green
Tom Green, Senior Producer at Counterpoints Arts, explains their strategy for creating content and working with partners in order to bring more diverse and nuanced representations of migration and displacement to wide online audiences. Counterpoints Arts is a leading national and international organisation in the field of arts, migration and cultural change. Their mission is to support and create transformative art by, with, and about migrants and refugees – so their stories shape our culture and help change how we see displacement. This work takes place at the intersection of climate, racial justice, mental health and displacement and we produce a range of programmes including Refugee Week, Counterpoints Film Productions and Platforma festival.
ASK THE TREES: Olena Lavrova and Rebecca E Marshall
Rebecca and Olena will talk about ASK THE TREES, tracing its journey from the formation of a commissioning team through to its creative outcomes. These include eight collaborative film-poems made with 24 workshop participants, and a self-guided film-poem walk through Alexandra Park, inviting audiences to stand at the foot of the trees that star in the films. Following the talk, you’re warmly invited to the launch of ASK THE TREES on Saturday 29th and Sunday 30th March.
Image credit: Andrew Grainger
Find out more about Mike Delpeache
Mike Delpeache is Head of HR and Operations at the Refugee Buddy Project. He works closely with the CEO and a small team to deliver vital work that fosters community cohesion through interconnected strategies that bring together refugees, migrants, and local communities. Approaches include, using creative activities, exhibitions, workshops and performances to encourage dialogue and supporting the building of friendship networks that reduce isolation and foster mutual understanding.
Find out more here.
Find out more about Dr Agnes Wolley
Agnes Woolley is Associate Professor in World Literatures at the University of Southampton. Her new book Stateless Cinema: Refugee Filmmaking in the Digital Era will be published by Bloomsbury next year.
Find out more here.
Find out more about Tom Green
Tom Green is a Senior Producer working primarily to support artists and organisations including through our Platforma network. He produces the biennial Platforma festival and also helps oversee our international work. Previously he has worked for organisations including the Refugee Council, where he first began work on Platforma and the Writers’ Guild, where he was first involved in supporting artists. Tom’s background is in creative writing and his work has been performed in theatres and on BBC Radio 4.
Find out more here.
Find out more about Rebecca E Marshall
Rebecca E Marshall is an artist-filmmaker and director of Dear Future Films, a forward-thinking studio based in Hastings. Her work spans poetic documentary and experimental film, rooted in people, place and lived experience. Alongside her filmmaking, she founded and led The Electric Palace Cinema for over twenty years, creating a vibrant hub for filmmakers and film lovers. As a speaker and teacher, she brings a playful, thoughtful approach to creative filmmaking, supporting others to experiment, slow down and develop confident, distinctive voices.
Find out more here.
Find out more about Olena Lavrova
Olena Lavrova is a human who explores aspects of life and love by living with an open heart. Fields of scholar and practical expertise - audit and accounting, psychology, photography, interpreting, volunteer coordination, yoga and meditation.
Event Venue & Nearby Stays
Observer Building, 53 Cambridge Road, Hastings, United Kingdom
GBP 0.00
