Locus Portsmouth 2009/2010
This book is published by ArtRefuge on the occasion of LOCUS, marking the year-long project at Friendship House and exhibition at Pallant House Gallery, Chichester, 1st - 26th September 2010 www.locusproject.blogspot.com ISBN 978-1-869827-08-3
Locus locus | lōkəs |
noun ( pl. loci ) [L., place. Cf. Allow, Couch, Lieu, Local.] 1. A place; a locality. 2. (Math.) The line traced by a point that varies its position according to some determinate law; the surface described by a point or line that moves according to a given law. [1913 Webster] 3. An art project developed by Ania Bas and Les Monaghan with asylum seekers, refugees and local people based in Portsmouth between 2009- 2010. The project is commissioned by ArtRefuge. ORIGIN early 18th cent.: from Latin, ‘place.’
Introduction Building on a legacy of art projects developed by Pallant House Gallery and the Friendship Centre, ArtRefuge, was established in 2004 to develop a sustainable means of funding and managing art projects in Portsmouth. Previously called APASR (Arts Projects for Asylum Seekers and Refugees), ArtRefuge includes Pallant House Gallery, Guinness Hermitage, the Friendship Centre and Portsmouth City Council as well as the ASAP (Asylum Seekers Activity Project), artists and asylum seekers. Its strength lies in a sharing of skills and mission which has enabled the funding and delivery of two significant projects, Identity in 2006 and LOCUS in 2010. Since 2009 ArtRefuge has grown to include Refugee Action and the British Red Cross. In 2003 Pallant House Gallery, led by artist Louise Bristow and myself, developed a project, Significant Objects. The project was funded through Diversity South East, which was organised by the MLA and funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund. Significant Objects was designed to tie in with the Gallery’s Alien Nation exhibition, an exhibition featuring art produced by émigré artists who had escaped from Nazi Germany to Britain during the 1930’s, artists such as Lucien Freud and Frank Auerbach. In our search for organisations and individuals to work with we were extremely fortunate to come across the Friendship Centre in Portsmouth and through them, Sally Jones, who runs ASAP (Asylum Seekers Activity Project), a regular Friday afternoon drop-in that provides a safe environment for asylum seekers and refugees to socialise, play games and get advice.
ASAP and Sally have been an ongoing key partner in ArtRefuge, providing training for the artists involved in ArtRefuge and a base for the workshops to take place. Louise and I still remember Sally’s words on our first meeting, of her experience of meeting a well intentioned arts worker who wished to work with asylum seekers, who on her first and introductory session sat at a table for a whole afternoon unable to engage and encourage participation from a single asylum seeker. It is something not to forget and something ArtRefuge has learnt from, you have to reach out to engage, you have to be relevant and you need a sense of humour to succeed. In developing projects ArtRefuge has always sought to work in a way that is sensitive to the needs of asylum seekers and refugees as well as having a strong awareness of what themes will be both appropriate and relevant to them. ArtRefuge has been operating during a period of heightened intolerance and sensitivity towards asylum seekers within the UK and we have sought to develop an awareness of the skills and stories that asylum seekers bring to the UK, to encourage discussion and raise a broader understanding around asylum.
Identity was ArtRefuge’s first major project completed in 2006. It was funded by the Arts Council England and Portsmouth City Council. A Zimbabwean sculptor, Antony Sarireni was appointed from a national recruitment for a year-long residency based at the Friendship Centre. At the same time we also
recruited filmmaker Justin Edgar to produce a documentary capturing the participants’ experiences. Antony mostly worked with participants at the ASAP Friday afternoon drop-in, introducing them to the traditional Zimbabwean technique of stone carving. It soon became clear that both Anthony and the technique would be extremely popular, his engaging and relaxed manner encouraged trust and engagement. We were all impressed with Antony’s showmanship at the launch event, especially when he produced a blow torch to heat up the stone prior to polishing. Health and safety concerns aside, the workshops were a huge success and a core group of participants soon came together to drive the project forward. They all quickly learnt the skills needed to create a range of interesting stone sculptures, which reached its conclusion in a final large stone carving still on show at the entrance to the Friendship Centre, on which they all collaborated. The benefits for the participants in Identity were clear to see, the new skills learnt, the pride individuals had in their own work, and improved communication between a group of people with different languages from different countries and beliefs. But what was most tangible was the camaraderie the project engendered in its participants, whether this was the power that comes from working together toward a common goal or the ‘identity’ one gains from joining a gang I am not sure, but it is my lasting memory of the project.
LOCUS feels different from Identity even though it echoes its structure by being a year long residency and employing both an artist, Ania Bas and a documenter, photographer Les Monaghan. It was clear when we interviewed Ania Bas that she would work in very different ways from Antony and the Identity project. This was part of the reasoning behind appointing her, where Identity focused on skills development with definite creative outcomes, LOCUS has been more about process than the production of any ‘art’ product. We hoped that participants would gain other benefits from LOCUS through being given opportunities for non skills-based engagement around issues and processes that the participants direct and own. I did feel there was an element of risk in this approach, what would be happening? What would participants gain from the project? What skills would they learn? How would they feel without anything tangible to take home? LOCUS has reminded me of a lesson that I learnt a while ago; art, culture, creativity are all constructs and each society creates its own sets of values. A lot of asylum seekers do not recognise a lot of what we call art or what an art gallery could possibly be. Creating an engagement process that sidesteps questions of value and skill has allowed a different means of engagement that is hopefully more owned and understood by its participants. Marc Steene Head of Learning and Community Pallant House Gallery
Locus Project: Keywords Portsmouth | pôrtsməθ | noun
(a) round table | a round tābəl | noun
1. a port and naval base on the southern coast of England; population 175,000. The naval dockyard was established here in 1496.
1. circular table.
2. asylum seekers’ destination.
3. round tables are about equality; are about debate and discussion; for us sitting by the round table in Friendship House was about making work, drinking tea, and meeting.
3. English city – by many described as ‘typical’. 4. The Locus project took place in Portsmouth as this is one of the cities where asylum seekers are housed; the project is aimed at this group, however not all people who contributed to the project have asylum seekers status - we worked with local residents as well as with people who have been through the asylum seeking experience and have now been granted the right to stay in the UK.
centre | sentər| noun 1. the middle point of a circle or sphere, equidistant from every point on the circumference or surface. 2. a place or group of buildings where a specified activity is concentrated i.e. Friendship House or All Saints. 3. the place to meet and share a cup of tea. 4. focal point for asylum seekers in Portsmouth, a place you can walk into for free. 5. centres not only consist of places but also people. Friday afternoons would not be the same without Sally Jones, All Saints drop-in sessions wouldn’t be as busy without George Brown and his team.
2. (round table) an assembly for discussion.
4. The Locus project took place around a round table. Some of the works also fit into this context i.e. originally the ‘post-it notes’ body of work was made at the round table and matched the round table.
train | trān | noun 1. a series of railroad cars moved as a unit by a locomotive or by integral motors: the journey to Portsmouth took an hour and a half by train. 2. Ania & Les were commuting to Portsmouth on a morning Megatrain from London Waterloo; the time they spent on the train was as much part of the project as the afternoon they spent at Friendship House. 3. on the way to Portsmouth there were always the reassuring Surrey and Hampshire landscapes of good old England. 4. the journey; the time in between; a moment to prepare for the asylum seekers’ reality of life on £20 a week. 5. Saadia said: “Train reminds me of my journey to Croydon, to the Home Office. You have to leave early to be there on time.”
board game | bôrd gām | noun
exhibition | eksə bi sh ən | noun
1.any game played on a board, esp. one that involves the movement of pieces on the board, such as chess or checkers.
1. a public display of works of art or other items of interest, held in an art gallery or museum or at a trade fair.
2. when one plays the game one is just a pawn in the hands of luck; one is expected to obey the game’s rules in order to win or loose; loosing is very common.
2. a display or demonstration of a particular skill.
3. some board games imitate life. 4. the game can be played by many people at the same time - a shared experience. 5. ‘Asylum Seekers’ is a board game devised as part of the Locus project and explores the hurdles asylum seekers go through on their way to receiving leave to remain or on their way to being refused this. 6. Amani said: “This is the reality - go round, and round and round and it is not merry!” ORIGIN ‘board’ Old English bord, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch boord and German Bort; reinforced in Middle English by Old French bort ‘edge, ship’s side’ and Old Norse borth ‘board, table.’ ORIGIN ‘game’ Old English gamen [amusement, fun,] gamenian [play, amuse oneself,] of Germanic origin.
3. the work created as part of the Locus project was first shown at The Third Floor Arts Centre in Portsmouth in April 2010. The exhibition marked the midway point in the Bas and Monaghan residency at Friendship House. 4. The Locus exhibition at Pallant House Gallery in Chichester brings together the majority of work created as part of the project and for the first time makes all the work available to a wider audience. 5. exhibitions are about hanging, displaying, framing, witnessing, exposing. The hot and fluid processes need to be pinned down to surfaces and made into exhibitable forms. 6. private views are part of exhibition culture - a special time to meet the people who made the work, to mingle, to sip wine and enjoy nibbles and to see the work, although usually the work ends up as the background for speeches, shaking hands and smiles - visiting the exhibition twice is highly recommended! 7. this exhibition is the end of the process that started a year ago. We hope this journey will be continued by artists, activists, and people beyond Portsmouth and Hampshire and the UK. ORIGIN late Middle English (in the sense [maintenance, support] ; hence sense 3, mid 17th cent.): via Old French from late Latin exhibitio(n-), from Latin exhibere ‘hold out.’
post-it (also Post-it note) | pōst it | noun trademark 1. a piece of paper with an adhesive strip on one side, designed to be stuck prominently to an object or surface and easily removed when necessary. 2. a piece of paper used widely by office workers, in the imagination of many, strongly linked with bureaucracy. 3. easily removed, easily misplaced, easily lost, easily forgotten. 4. often yellow.
5. highlights things to remember, appointments not to be missed, messages not to be forgotten. 6. used by some as a device to mark one’s territory i.e. to mark the food that belongs to one in a shared fridge. 7. a body of work on post-it notes has been devised as part of the project; small scale drawings, doodles and writings explore the list of essential and (often) lost objects, places, people.
mobile phone | mōbəl; - bēl; - bīl fōn | noun 1. a telephone with access to a cellular radio system so it can be used over a wide area, without a physical connection to a network. 2. a tool to survive; essential to endure. 3. a tool to stay in touch, to be connected, to hear the news (bad and good), to be contactable, to call for help, to be able to leave the house, to prove one’s existence.
4. always pay as you go to match the temporary nature of the asylum seeker’s income and locality. 5. a body of work made with paper, pens and paper clips; each person involved in the project creates their mobile phone and sends a text message into the past or future. The messages span the poignant and funny, heartbreaking and light-hearted. 6. Amani said: “You are taken from place to place, you have to be mobile, just like your phone.”
Photograph by Haji
Photograph by Vathani
Photograph by Karim
(video) camera | vidē ō kam(ə)rə | noun 1. a device for recording visual images in the form of photographs, movie film, or video signals. 2. documentation, the record of what took place. 3. portrait. 4. as part of the Locus project we worked with the filmmaker Lou Pack and created 3 films. The films have been screened at the BBC Big Screen in Portsmouth City Centre for 3 months in 2010 and can be found on the DVD at the back of this book. 5. memory; fixing the moment; taking pictures for the family away; capture how the kids grow.
6. skills - as part of the project we have introduced many people to photography and taught them how to use cameras. 7. we used simple-to-use pink digital cameras. Pink stood out. 8. photographs taken by people involved in the project as well as by Les Monaghan are featured in this book and on the project blog. 9. Saadia said: “England is one big camera. Everywhere you go you are watched. Every time you moved you are recorded.” ORIGIN mid 19th cent.: from Latin
Photograph by Haji
table tennis | tābəl tenis | noun
3. the way to stay active and fit and have some fun.
1. an indoor game based on tennis, played with small paddles and a ball bounced on a table divided by a net.
4. the pleasant way to kill time and forget.
2. Friendship House, where the Locus project was taking place, has 2 table tennis tables. Playing the game was one of the pastimes of many visitors to Friday afternoon sessions.
6. a soundtrack to the Locus project.
5. it takes two. 7. Amani said: “I always lose! I’m the ball I think. The life hits me from both sides.”
Photograph by Sultana
Asylum Seekers: the game that lasts a lifetime!! General rules: Choose your counter. If you choose a child character do not expect to be treated better. In this game the same rules apply to children and adults. Distribute the chance cards to Amani and Karim’s hands in the middle of the board. Place all playing counters on the Home Office square. Roll the dice. Move your counter as many squares (clockwise) as your dice roll.
Equally important: The game is recommended for people 10 -100 years old, although younger children play the game in real life. One should play the game in appropriate clothing: smart casual is recommended. If you are not sure how to dress imagine you are going to the Home Office today and your entire future depends on the impression your appearance makes. This simple test should help you choose the right trousers and the right top. Not recommended: jeans, T-shirts, trainers.
If you land on the ‘killing time’ square you simply kill time.
Please set aside a substantial amount of free time to play the game, that could be a lifetime!
If you land on a square with the name of a location on it – take a chance card from the hand closest to the square you landed on.
Remember!!!
Follow the instructions on the card. Please note that if the chance card sends you to the police station or hospital you will have to stay there as long as it takes until you roll a 1. You win if you manage to land exactly on the Home Office square (not if you are sent back there!) If your roll carries you past the Home Office you must go around again, remember its just like that in real life!
No crying, no laughing, no shouting, no smoking, no use of mobile phones, no lying, no cheating, no substitute players, no appeals, no breaks (once you have started you play indefinitely!)
Chance Cards (copy and cut out)
You are stressed and stay in. Go to temporary accomodation
You made friends! Go and see them at Friendship House
The News picks up your case! Go to Newspaper
You are lost in the city. You end up in the Dodgy Street!
You are stressed go for a swim! Go to the Beach!
You are hungry and steal some food. You are caught. Go to Police Station. (To get out roll a 1)
It’s your birthday! Go to Party!
It’s sunny and over 15 degrees! Go forward 2 spaces
You are not coping with the world outside. Stay in. Go to Temporary Accomodation
You are accused of stealing jobs from English people. Go back 2 spaces!
You are stressed! You make it worse by getting drunk. Stand still for 2 rounds
You are now fluent in Someone calls you English and know when a terrorist. King James 1 was born! Go to Guildhall to pass Go to the Police Station citizenship test!
You need some spiritual guidance. Go to Church / Temple / Mosque
You pass your English exam! Hurray! Go forward 2 spaces
You work very hard and You did some illegal work and are caught - you get sick. Go to Hospital are risking your case. (to get out roll a 1) Go back to Home Office! Oh my gosh! You get leave to remain. Advance to Home Office. Happy Ending
You volunteer at the Red Cross. Go to All Saints
It’s raining. Go to Library to cheer up.
You have been given some food vouchers. Go to ASDA!
You got a place at ESOL class, you will learn English! Go to Highbury College
People take advantage of you. Go to Crystal Alley
You start fighting for your case! Go to Lawyers Office
You meet Sally and she brings some certainty into your life. Go to Friendship House
Surprise Surprise! You are deported! The End
You get a leisure card. Go to Leisure Centre and have some fun!