Migration Matters Festival 2022 Brochure

WELCOME TO #MIGMAT2022

It fills me with pride to say, ‘Welcome Back, Sheffield’ to a 7th year of Migration Matters Festival.

While you’ve been gone, the festival has come under the wing of Sheffield based charity, Arts on the Run who has been supporting refugee and migrant artists since 2009.

It has been a challenging few years for everyone and it feels apt that this year's Refugee Week theme is ‘healing '. The festival will pay homage to the communities who have been most impacted over this period, particularly sanctuary seekers, refugees and survivors of war and the people and places that have supported them.

This year we can dance, laugh, learn, and listen together in another soulful sensation at venues across the city. We are welcoming over 50 events to a packed 9-day programme bringing together artists from Sheffield’s communities with artists from across the globe.

Among the many events to look out for are Howl Yuan’s Diaspora programme

featuring a film night with Queer East, an outdoor peformance from Pepa Duarte with show Migran-te, online podcast from Living in Sheffield and Frontier Media. We will be graced by celebrated author, poet, and British icon, Lemn Sissay as he reads from bestselling book ‘My Name is Why’ and answers your questions in an event to remember at The Montgomery Theatre. Son of Afrobeat pioneer, Seun Kuti will join us with the legendary Egypt 80 at The Foundry. Les Amazones D'Afrique, a contemporary world music supergroup, will be joining us for a Monday Leadmill extravaganza.

Finally, I would like to send an enormous thank you to the festival team, our countless volunteers and the incredible trustees both current and former who have worked tirelessly to ensure the festival continues to inspire and bring hope to people.

Thank you for joining us on our 7th year celebration of sanctuary in the Steel. You’re going to love it!

Sam Holland Festival Director

DONATE TO THE FESTIVAL

Our festival is funding dependent and the only way we have been able to coordinate 7 straight festivals is through the generosity of our audiences. We work hard throughout the year to make sure that the festival’s legacy is secured. Any donations or money that you can contribute towards events goes a long way to helping us put on future programmes.

The festival will continue to support two chosen charities with the profits of this year's festival and will be announced on our website.

DONATE TO MIGRATION MATTERS FESTIVAL www.migrationmattersfestival.co.uk/supportus

FUNDERS SUPPORTERS

Refugee Week is the UK's largest festival celebrating the contribution of refugees and promoting understanding of why people seek sanctuary.

http://refugeeweek.org.uk/

SCHEDULE

Join us for an emphatic return Podcast Family Event Workshop

We know that navigating our bumper programme can be overwhelming! Use this handy schedule to plan your 2022 festival.

Please check the website for the most up to date times, dates and venues.

person events at the festival Theatre DJ Talk

Saturday 18 June Exhibition Poetry Spoken Word Storytelling

Building a Manifesto for Change: a Nature Writing Walk-shop Installation Music Dance

Content Warnings

Heh-ring-ghonzah (With INTIMAL App)

Exhibitions/Installations/Podcast/Online Little Bean Reads 小豆釘 小故事 Little Bean Theatre 19 June 13:00-14:30 Montgomery Theatre Family event Make Your Mark (Humara) workshops Nisha Lall Dance 19 June 15:00-16:30 Montgomery Theatre Workshop Windows of Displacement Akeim Toussaint-Buck 19 June 17:30-18:30 SHU Performance Lab Dance Shapeshifting+Q&A LegalAliens 19 June 19:00-20:00 Makerspace Theatre A breeze From Heaven Seyed Ali Jaberi & The Hamdel Ensemble 19 June 19:30-21:30 Montgomery Theatre Music P20 Monday 20 June Event Artist/Company Date Time Venue Theme Page Me, Myself and Misha Terpsichoring Dance 20 June 19:00-19:45 SHU Performance Lab Dance P22 Les Amazones d'Afrique Les Amazones d'Afrique supported by Mim Suleiman 20 June 19:30-22:00 The Leadmill Music P21 Tuesday 21 June Event Artist/Company Date Time Venue Theme Page MIgrating Dance Mob Shobana Jeyasingh Dance 21 June 13:00-14:00 Check Website Dance P23 Siapa Bawa Melayu Aku Pergi (Who Took My Malay Away?) Faizal Abdullah 21 June 14:00-14:45 Makerspace Workshop/ Performance P22 The Healing Wisdom of Us Black Girls Bloom and WOC Azadi Collective 21 June 15:00-17:30 Check Website Workshop P23 Roots and Futures: Discovery Workshop Dr Elizabeth Craig-Atkins Department of Archaeology, University of Sheffield 21 June 17:30-19:30 Check Website Workshop Music's Healing Power Manchester International Roots Orchestra 21 June 19:30-20:30 Yellow Arch Studios Music/Spoken Word P24 The Burning Gadulka Miro Kokenkov 21 June 19:30-20:30 Makerspace Theatre

Evie Muir, Founder Peaks of Colour and Dal Kalur, Food Performance Walk Comedy Film Cabaret 12+ 14+ 15+ 18+ 4 5

GRAB A 2022 FESTIVAL PASS!

This year you can grab a whole festival pass to see as many of the amazing events as you would like!

Please note! If you purchase a festival pass you must book a free ticket for every event you want to attend. They are broken down as follows:

TICKETS FOR GOOD

This year we return to our favourite ticketing platform Tickets for Good. You can find all our events online where we have suggested ticket prices for our events. Our tiered ticketing system £/£/£ can be broken down as follows: SCAN THE QR CODE BELOW TO BOOK ON TO YOUR FAVOURITE EVENTS

audience members who feel financially vulnerable)

(For audience members who are able to pay but can’t match a full price ticket)

Price (For audience members able to pay the full value of a ticket)

Events are often oversubscribed so we advise that you book ahead and reserve so that you don’t miss out on your favourite events and artists.

VENUES

Take a look at some of the incredible venues in the steel city we are proud to be working with this year!

Sidney and Matilda

‘Where Brooklyn meets Berlin in Sheffield’s cultural sector.’

A warehouse, basement, and courtyard orientated music and event venue, that has shined new neon red light on an abandoned industrial district located in Sheffield UK.

Rivelin Works, Sidney St, Sheffield City Centre, Sheffield S1 4RH

Bloc Projects

Bloc Projects is a contemporary arts organisation in the centre of Sheffield with an innovative gallery space.

71 Eyre Lane, Sheffield S1 4RB

Drama Studio Shearwood Rd, Broomhall, Sheffield S10 2TD

SHU Performance Lab

Boasting a high tech lighting rig that can be turned into a black box space, the performance lab is a cutting edge multifunctional space at Sheffield Hallam University

Arundel Gate, Sheffield City Centre, Sheffield S1 2LQ

The Montgomery Theatre Small local performing arts theatre featuring popular musicals, plays, children's shows & more.

27 Surrey St, Sheffield City Centre, Sheffield S1 2LG

DINA

an independent, inclusive and innovative art organisation for Sheffield and beyond.

12 Fitzalan Square, Sheffield City Centre, Sheffield S1 2AZ

The Leadmill Longest running live music venue in Sheffield

6 Leadmill Rd, Sheffield S1 4SE

The Foundry Sheffield Students' Union, Western Bank, Sheffield, S10 2TG

Yellow Arch Studios

30-36 Burton Rd, Neepsend, Sheffield S3 8BX

Makerspace at Portland Works Portland Works, Randall St, Highfield Sheffield S2 4SJ

THROUGHOUT THE WEEK

LIVING IN SHEFFIELD PODCAST

Living in Sheffield/Frontier Media

June 17

YOUNG MIGRANTS IN GHANA

Dr. Jill Thompson & Co/YMGH project

A TALE OF TWO SHEFFIELDS

Happy Group & Uni of Sheffield

17 - 25 June

June 20

WE FIGHT IN THE DARK

Migrants in Action (MinA)

20 - 25 June

Installation

We still fight in the dark is a multimedia installation devised by Brazilian women in London. It questions the intersections between migration and gender, making visible the cruelty and reality of violence against migrant women.

Tickets Free

Check Website Run Time 12:00 - 16:00 12+

Podcast

In these 2 episodes of the Living in Sheffield podcast, Livia Barreira and Joao Paulo Simoes will present success stories by talking to great migrants who are localy based and adding diversity to the city.

Tickets Free

17 - 25 June online event Run Time All Day 12+

17 - 25 June

Exhibition

Exhibition

THE MEETING

PRE-RECORDED

Cemil Yildiz (Regard Collectif)

This exhibition comprises photographs and narratives generated by young migrants in Ghana, exploring their everyday lives and livelihoods, and examining the empowermentvulnerability nexus of their experiences.

Join us over a glass of whatever you’re drinking as we step into an unexpected meeting between Cyrano de Bergerac, Hamlet and an anonymous refugee.

Tickets Free

Theatre 20 - 25 June Online Event Run Time All Day 12+

Check Website Run Time 12:00 - 16:00

Tickets Free

BECOMING BRITISH

Lora Krasteva & Bloc Projects

17 - 25 June

Bloc Projects

Installation

Becoming British is a performative exhibition exploring immigrant narratives and experiences. Curated by Lora Krasteva in collaboration with Bloc Projects, artists Aisha Seriki, Chris Cambell, Hassun El-Zafar and NikNak, the exhibition will contain artworks, poetry, soundscapes and workshops. Tickets Free

The exhibition displays the photographs taken by the “Happy group” during an ESRC research project. With these pictures, the artists (young people) communicated not only the difficulties they met when they arrived in Sheffield, but they also share their positive experiences of the city.

Tickets Free

The Sanctuary Run Time 12:00 - 16:00

SIT WITH US

Mafwa Theatre

20 - 25 June

The Nest at Soft Ground

Installation

A tranquil space to squeeze your reflections into. A feeling of comfort to wrap yourself in. A place to gather your friends & your thoughts. Mafwa invites you to ‘Sit With Us’, an installation curated by women from different migration backgrounds exploring what comfort means in a hostile environment.

MIGRATION MATTERS FESTIVAL OPENING PARTY

BIR TAWIL PERFORMING “IN BETWEEN”

Desert blues, songwriting and electronica, played by two Sicilians who emigrated years ago from their native Island. Now living in the UK and France, they connect dots from their past lives into one big story: moving means living.

June 17

SIDNEY AND MATILDA

Friday 17th June

OPEN KITCHEN SOCIAL CLUB

Event Venue

Sidney & Matilda Run Time

19:00 - 23:00

With exceptional food from the ever incredible Open Kitchen Social Club, spoken word and music it can only be one thing; the Migration Matters Festival opening party!!, taking place for the first time at pulsating Sidney & Matilda. Join us for an emphatic return to in person events at the festival.

Tickets

£13 | £10 | Free

Music Spoken Word

The amazing Open Kitchen Social Club who have been feeding our audience members at the festival since 2015 return for our opening party, serving up delicious vegan and gluten-free grub for another amazing night.

Food

HUNG LINK

London-based duo merging global genres inc. Amapiano, Afrobeat, Latin House and noughties classics.

DJ

DURRE SHAHWAR PERFORMING ‘47

‘47 is a poem about migration, war, the partition, and generational healing through nature. It is about the memories passed down to us and how we honour those who made it so that we could be alive today.

Poetry by Projection

AFLA SACKEY & AFRIK BAWANTU

Critically Acclaimed, Internationally Diverse, 10-Piece, Afro-Orchestra led by Ghanaian Djembe master and vocalist Afla Sackey are a must-see. Blending High-Life, Afrobeat, Traditional Ghanaian Rhythms, Tight Funk and Roots Music this ensemble is a true spectacle. Music

@Afrik_Bawantu

LOST WOR(L)DS FAMILY MAKERSPACE

Dr Sabine Little

Event Venue Ponderosa

Run Time 15:00-18:00 (drop-in)

Maker{Futures} has teamed up with the Lost Wor(l)ds project to create a nature inspired makerspace for families to come and explore and share their languages and words associated with nature. Have a go at tinkering and make your own nature inspired projects.

Tickets Free

WHY DOES FAMILY REUNIFICATION MATTER?

Dr Patricia Nabuco Martuscelli, Uni of Sheff

10:00 - 11:00

Families are separated across borders everyday, and their ability to reunite is often dictated by a country’s ‘family reunification’ laws. In this talk, Dr Patricia Nabuco Martuscelli looks at family reunification policies in different countries and explains why it matters. Tickets Free

INTIMAL HEH-RING-GHON-ZAH

Ximena

INTIMAL Heh-ring-ghon-zah”, is a one-day hybrid (online and in person) workshop that invites women to listen and celebrate their migratory journeys. Using Deep Listening®, sound improvisation, and the INTIMAL App© they will connect with dreams, voice and languages, expanding their sonic space.

Peaks Of Colour

Meeting Point

Monsal Head, DE45 1NL Run Time

11:00 - 15:00

Interested in how a deeper connection with nature can influence social change? Then join this ‘walkshop’ led by Peaks of Colour and Our True Nature to create a manifesto for change that centres on the environment and community - all whilst embarking on a rejuvenating hike across the Peak District.

Tickets Free Walk-shop 18+

*OPEN

WOMEN, NON-BINARY AND GENDER NON-CONFORMING PEOPLE OF COLOUR ONLY.

THE DEATH & LIFE OF ALL OF US

WORK IN PROGRESS Victor Esses

What remains from our past histories? Victor decided to celebrate those in his family who were the least spoken of. Mixing documentary with experimental performance, The Death & Life of All of Us is a journey through shame and intergenerational trauma reclaiming erased histories and humanity.

Tickets £5 | £3 | Free

REWIND presents silent voices that crave to see the light and to march to the beat of their drum. Can you hear them rising to the surface?

REWIND is inspired by humanitarian work of Forensic Anthropology and testimonies from Latin American refugees and migrants in the UK.

15 14

TWITTER-SQUARE @sabinelittle @Maker_Futures

TO

INSTAGRAM-SQUARE @peaksofcolour

POETRY, PROSE AND PERFORMANCE AT THE MONTGOMERY

In a memorable night of poetry and performance we listen to poets and artists both local to Sheffield and beyond as their work tackles identity, cultural heritage and belonging among a number of themes

The night will begin with a performance of Just Being Me by spoken word poet, PM, before a poetry set from Sheffield based Sarah Orola and capped off with a reading of ‘My Name is Why’ from the legendary Lemn Sissay.

You can either purchase a combo ticket for the evening as a whole or for each individual event.

JUST BEING ME

Award-winning poet, PM, explores themes of intersectional identity and more in this bite-sized spoken word show, simply by being herself. Get ready for a deep dive into British-Indian immigrant histories with poems about onion rings, adulting and the worst first kiss ever sprinkled in along the way.

MY NAME IS WHY + Q&A

Acclaimed British author Lemn Sissay OBE - a BAFTA nominated, International prize winning writer, poet, playwright and broadcaster.

He will share his rollercoaster life story and read powerful extracts from his Sunday Times best-selling memoir, My Name is Why.

The book reflects on his childhood in care, self-expression and Britishness, and in doing so, exploring the institutional care system, race, family and the meaning of home.

Her words transcend boundaries and give voice to a nation. Born in Ireland to parents of Nigerian and Guyanese descent has given Sarah a beautiful yet complex insight into her diverse world..

INSTAGRAM-SQUARE TWITTER-SQUARE @CareCYPF June 19

HEALING HIDDEN IDENTITIES

Care for Young People’s Future CIC

June 19

INSTAGRAM-SQUARE @littlebeantheatre TWITTER-SQUARE @littlebean_LBT FACEBOOK-SQUARE @littlebeantheatre

LITTLE BEAN READS 小豆釘 小故事

Little Bean Theatre

WINDOWS OF DISPLACEMENT Toussaint To Move

Windows of Displacement, choreographed and performed by Akeim Toussaint Buck is an autobiographically sourced solo blending dance, song and spoken word to explore personal narratives, ancestral memory and the increasingly urgent shifting politics surrounding the movement of people.

Event Venue

Millenium Galleries Run Time

11:00-16:00 Tickets Free

Event Venue Montgomery Theatre

Run Time

In this interactive storytelling session, Little Bean Theatre shares stories with families about migration, home, challenges, courage, love and more.

Little Bean is the first and only English-Cantonese bilingual family theatre company in the UK.

“The fact that [Windows of Displacement] is able to deliver its message while still being accessible, thought-provoking and immensely uplifting is a tribute to its creator.” John Murphy, Exeunt Magazine

Tickets

Exhibition

June 19 Event

Venue

Nisha Lall Dance

These are a series of workshops to be facilitated by Nisha Lall creating a safe and welcoming space where everyone is welcome. Participants will be encouraged to take part in cultural dance styles (Indian, Arabic, Latin styles) as an ice breaker / introduction to the session. Participants can simply observe, take part or will be welcome to contribute music and dance/movements to the session. The session will conclude in a short dance/movement piece created by the participants using movement learnt or created during the session, on a particular chosen theme or just for the fun of it.

Bringing music on mobile phones or instruments is encouraged.

SHAPESHIFTING + Q&A

Lara Parmiani/LegalAliens Theatre

Language shapes us from the moment we’re born… What happens, though, when the bond between native language and speaker loosens enough to let another language in?

“Shapeshifting” explores the fragmentation of a life lived in a state of limbo, where one is never fully here nor there.

POKER FACE

‘Raw edged and relevant’

(London Pub Theatres)

RETURN

‘An elegant and minimalist play’

Tickets £10 | £7 | Free Theatre 15+

Tickets

Free Workshop / Dance 12+

19 18

Seyed Ali Jaberi & The Hamdel Ensemble

19:30 - 21:30

Seyed Ali Jaberi and the Hamdel Ensemble presents a stunning and deeply moving concert of contemporary devotional Persian Sufi music and the spiritual poetry of the revered 13th Century poet Rumi.

“A Breeze from Heaven” shares a message of universal love, joy, healing and unity in the midst of globally chaotic times. It reflects the elevating sensation experienced when liberated from adversities, pain and the ego.

The event includes a post-show discussion where audiences are invited to speak directly with the musicians and ask questions about the music, Rumi, Sufi traditions and spiritual philosophies.

Tickets £10 | £7 | Free Music

June 20

- 21:45

Tickets £13 | £9 | Free Music 14+

LES

AMAZONES D’AFRIQUE

WITH SUPPORT FROM MIM SULEIMAN

Les Amazones d’Afrique is a creative force that embraces international voices; sweet, strong harmonies that summon the rights of women and girls; and a meltdown of heritage and new gen talent. They were formed in Bamako, Mali, in 2014 by three renowned Malian music stars and social change activists, Mamani Keïta, Oumou Sangaré and Mariam Doumbia, and the collective has since expanded to involve many female artists from across Africa and the diaspora.

While their cause — campaigning for gender

equality and eradicating ancestral violence — is worthy enough in itself, their musical creative expression is equally powerful. Richly melodic and far-ranging, it blends panAfrican styles and collaborative harmonies with gritty, contemporary pop, and the Congotronix-style production of legendary producer Doctor L (aka Liam Farrell).

Current members include Mamani Keïta (Mali), Fafa Ruffino (Benin), Kandy Guira (Burkina Faso) and Dobet Gnahoré (Ivory Coast).

INSTAGRAM-SQUARE @lesamazonesdafrique TWITTER-SQUARE FACEBOOK-SQUARE @amazonesafrique

ME, MYSELF & MISHA Terpischoring Dance

Me, Myself & Misha is a heartfelt, autobiographical show presented by Terpsichoring Dance, devised, and performed by award winning dance artist Ana Silverio. This uplifting and unique production tells the experience of one mother, the challenges she faces and the joys that come with motherhood.

MIGRATING DANCE MOB

Shobana

“powerful and perceptive meditation on and downs of pregnancy”

North West End UK

Tickets £5 | £3 | Free

SIAPA BAWA MELAYU AKU PERGI

(WHO TOOK MY MALAY AWAY?) Faizal Abdullah

Event Venue Makerspace at Portland Works

Run Time 14:00-14:45

A Malay man from Singapore has come to teach the people about Jawi, the Arabic script that was previously used by his Malay people, as he laments the loss of his culture and identity as a Malay.

He reminisces about his culture – the good and bad, the highs and lows – and the things that have been lost and taken away from the Malay people. He is torn as he decides who to blame; others, or himself. Tickets £5 | £3 | Free Performative Workshop

Join us for a celebration of Middle Eastern folkinspired dance where everyone can take part. Let yourself be led by local dance ‘leaders’, who will have worked with Shobana Jeyasingh Dance previously and discover how you can empower yourself to create movement, be creative, dance with others and have fun. Tickets

THE HEALING WISDOM OF US

This workshop creates space to acknowledge and explore our collective need for healing in the face of ongoing harm, particularly as people who have been displaced from our ancestral lands. It is a celebratory space that cultivates joy and reclaims and honours ancestral and global healing practices.

ROOTS AND FUTURES DISCOVERY

Dr Elizabeth Craig-Atkins

WORKSHOP

Department of Archaeology, University of Sheffield

Check Website Run Time 17:30-19:30

Join Archaeologists from the University of Sheffield at this inclusive workshop to explore the history of Sheffield’s people and places, and to examine the opportunities and challenges our current heritage policy creates.

Tickets Free

June 21

Side

Side by Side has been running since 2008, integrating asylum seekers and refugees with local communities through the use of drama and music.

MUSIC'S HEALING POWER

Manchester International Roots Orchestra

“The atmospheric mixture of melodies, instruments and personalities makes the performance something unique, in a truly orginal celebration of diversity and music.”

THE WEE REVIEW

In “Music’s Healing Power” MIRO shares how music helps our musicians through their lives, especially as they’ve settled in a new country. This will be a joyful celebration of how music has the power to remind us of who we are, reconnecting us with our roots.

Tickets £7 | £5 | Free Music

Run Time

19:30 -20:30

THE BURNING GADULKA

Miro Kokenov

Event Venue

Makerspace at Portland Works

Tickets

£10 | £7 | Free

Run Time

19:00 -19:40

A Bulgarian musician falls out of love with his instrument, the Gadulka, at the same time as the arrival of a mysterious girl. Has he lost his power over his musical instrument, or has the instrument lost its power over him? Where do the pandas come into the dilemma?

Theatre 12+

‘A universal story of human vulnerability… Variously touching, sad and deeply comical.’ – CEEL

Side by Side's journey for this piece started on January 11th. Through ideas, games, improvisation, storytelling and conversations they are proud to present 'Awakening', an expression of Spring, Summer, and New Beginnings. Awakening shows you nature and humans, and how sometimes there are more similarities than you may think! Tickets

DISCOVERING June 22

Portland Works Event Venue Yellow Arch Studios

‘Consuming and purifying’ BGBEN

‘A worthwhile experience.’ LONDON THEATRE 1

June 21 June 21 25 24

INSTAGRAM-SQUARE @mirokokenov_ TWITTER-SQUARE @Kokenov FACEBOOK-SQUARE @MiroKokenovActor

Tales of Whatever Presents

THE #MIGMAT COMEDY NIGHT 2022

FEATURING TOP COMEDY TALENT

Content warning: professional comedy night (recommended 18+)

SEUN KUTI & EGYPT 80

WITH SUPPORT FROM MYNA

DALISO CHAPONDA

Malawi’s Daliso

Chaponda is a comedy legend. As seen/ heard on The Royal Variety Performance 2020 (ITV), Britain’s Got Talent 2017-19 2019, QI (BBC2) and BBC Radio 4

SULLY O’SULLIVAN

A globe trotting kiwi who sold out every single night of his Edinburgh Fringe run in 2021.

“A WICKED SENSE OF HUMOUR” BBC

GRÁINNE MAGUIRE

Award-winning Irish comedian. As seen/heard on Dave, RTE, Comedy Central, BBC Radio 2 & 4.

YURIKO KOTANI

UK based Japanese comedian as seen/ heard on BBC3, BBC2, Comedy Central, Channel 4 and BBC Radio 2 & 3

Tickets £20 | £15 | Free Music 14+

Arts Fringe

Time Out

Seun Kuti is the youngest son of Afrobeat pioneer Fela Kuti. He has spent most of his life preserving and extending his father’s political and musical legacy as the leader of his father’s former band Egypt 80.

Seun began to add his own twist to the music, digging deep into various African traditions to reflect the continent’s struggles and cultures. His debut recording, Seun Kuti & Fela’s Egypt 80, was initially issued by WM Recordings in 2008, and later picked up for distribution by Mr. Bongo. While many outside Africa criticized it for using the Egypt 80 name, critics embraced its musical drive and improvisational fervor. Mr. Bongo also released his Many Things set later that year, to critical acclaim.

June 22

Event Venue The Foundry

Run Time

19:30 - 22:00

Seun has toured globally and played for enthusiastically receptive audiences in Detroit, New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, Paris, London, Tokyo, and especially Lagos. In 2011, he cut “From Africa with Fury: Rise” for Knitting Factory Records. It was co-produced with Brian Eno and John Reynolds. The set proved to be his breakthrough; it landed on both Billboard and digital International Charts. Seun Kuti & Egypt 80 -- the band still retained three-quarters of the group that played, protested, and were arrested with his father -- toured the globe relentlessly, often playing multi-hour shows that were as heavy on group improvisation as they were on composition.

AND POLITICAL SONGWRITING.” -

“AS THE SON OF AFROBEAT ICON FELA KUTI, SEUN KUTI CARRIES A TORCH FOR INFECTIOUS GROOVES

“BLISTERINGLY FUNNY”

“LEFTFIELD RISING STAR”

MIGRATION MATTERS FESTIVAL x

Queer East

Examining the multifarious meanings behind queer and Asia, Queer East presents a cinema night that showcases a collection of LGBTQ+ short films and artists’ moving image work made by East and Southeast Asian filmmakers from the UK and across the globe, along with an artist Q&A.

Through cinematic expressions of collective and individual experience, the programme explores how these filmmakers visualise identity as a complex and fluid entity, to shine a light on our never-ending search for a sense of belonging, and question what it means to be queer, Asian and migrant today.

FROM THE DAUGHTER OF A DICTATOR

Yasmeen Audisho Ghrawi

/‘jes.mɪən/ /’aʊdiʃəʊ/ /’ʁrɑː.wiː/ lived and cautiously thrived under a dictatorship for almost two decades. Through personal anecdotes Yasmeen unpacks the politics of the last 20 years inviting us to reflect on our experiences of individual and collective power through an ‘other’ frame. We find ourselves confronted with the question and dilemma: is living in a democracy becoming so different than living in a dictatorship?

‘From The Daughter of a Dictator’ is a one-person show exploring the personal journey of migration from Baghdad to Beirut to Berlin to Britain.

Written and performed by queer Iraqi/Syrian/Assyrian performer and theatre-maker Yasmeen Audisho Ghrawi and devised in collaboration with artists Emma Bonnici, Charly Monreal, and R.M. Sánchez-Camus.

June 23

Event Venue Makerspace at Portland Works

Run Time 18:00-19:00

Tickets £10 | £7 | Free

ALL THE BEDS I HAVE SLEPT IN

This energetic company of refugee performers reveal the seam of kindness and care that lies within their experience of being forced to leave their homes to seek asylum in the UK. From a flat in North London to the exercise yard of a Greek detention centre, the play is a shout-out to all the real people who helped them, exploring the hospitality of strangers, the intimacy created between friends when family is absent, and how to stay hopeful in a scary world.

- Lyn Gardner, Stagedoor

Phosphoros Theatre

‘THIS IS A SHOW IN WHICH THE LIVED EXPERIENCE OF THE PERFORMERS SHINES THROUGH, REMINDING US THAT IF THEY ARE HEROES IT IS BECAUSE THEY HAVE TO BE. THEY DON’T HAVE ANY CHOICE.’

MUSIC ACROSS BORDERS:

DIGITISING SOUTH ASIAN MUSICAL HERITAGE

Dr Radha Kapura, Department of History

MIXED SNACKS

Event Venue

Check Website Run Time 15:00 - 16:00

In this panel discussion, Dr Radha Kapura will talk to Faraan Ifran (Founder and CEO of Saarey Music) and John Ball (musician and North Indian Classical Music expert) about music, digitisation and heritage across the Indian-Pakistan border. Together they will address the question - can online repositories of music help subvert the borders created by the 1947 Partition?

Tickets £5 | £3 | Free

The discussion will be accompanied by a live musical performance.

ITS ROOTS, ITS WOUNDS, ITS FLOWERS:

Shagufta K Iqbal & Evie Muir

Event Venue DINA Run Time 14:00-15:30

DIASPORA FORUM

Diaspora Forum is a platform to draw our focus to the diaspora and its allies, sharing different practices from arts and community works. Two inspirational practitioners, Shagufta K Iqbal and Evie Muir, join us and share their works and projects.

Tickets Free

CANINE TEETH

Ayse Balkose

Event Venue

Makerspace at Portland Works

Run Time 19:00-19:50

Ayse’s one woman show illustrates the journey of a Turkish woman, Elif, who is trapped in a society and her struggle to adapt to a landscape of conflicting values. The voyage of the character is told poetically and captures Ayse’s personal experience and the change in the society’s attitudes toward women by using several generations of women’s interpersonal dynamics.

Tickets £7 | £5 | Free

Theatre/Storytelling/ Spoken Word/Music/Video

Cushion Eurasian Society

Event Venue DINA Run Time 21:00, 22:15

Delve into an assortment of performance treats with Sam Reynolds and Jasmine Shigemura Lee, aka Cushion Eurasian Society! The two-strong society present this cabaret variety show of sorts, exploring growing up as queer Eurasians in the UK, with comedy, dance, live art and more. Tuck in!

Tickets £7 | £5 | Free Cabaret 18+

June

EASTERN MARGINS

Event Venue DINA Run Time 22:30-02:00

Eastern Margins is a collective showcasing sounds from the Margins of East & South-East Asia.

They’ll be traversing the full scope of experimental club sounds - with a live performance from ĀN Jí, and DJ sets from Dirty K, Arya R & Adanko.

Tickets £5 | £3 | Free DJ 18+

@easternmargins

TICKBOX

BRITISH LATIN AMERICAN FILMS TAKE OVER

British Latin American short films made by Film Locos, a newly created media platform whose purpose is to share and create diverse and interesting stories in the UK.

Come, connect and network with likeminded people, enhance your knowledge and open your hearts to an exciting multicultural future!

Tickets £10 | £7 | Free Film 18+

MIGRAN-TE

'Migran-te' is an outdoors movement piece gathering experiences from 7 Latinx households living in the UK.

How does it feel to reconstruct home from the other side of the world? What do you bring with you across the border? 'Migran-te' aims to take you on a journey from our roots to yours.

Tickets Free Physical Performance

Tickbox is a semi-autobiographical one woman play in English and Urdu. Combining theatre, storytelling and comedy; sharing the journey of a middle class Pakistani family arriving in Govan, Glasgow and dealing with the discrimination by using food and humour.

Migration via the CommonWealth.

‘TICKBOX IS A RICH AND GLOWING CONTRIBUTION TO OUR DEEPER KNOWLEDGE OF OURSELVES’

- The Scotsman

7 ≈ 8 AURA

An immersive voyage to the artist's body, the self, the other, the environment, the space-time, the whole, and the infinity, by exploring the seven almost eight auric layers.

7 ≈ 8 is the culmination of profound introspection and the courage to deconstruct and reconstruct one's own history, while sharing it.

OPEN KITCHEN SOCIAL CLUB

ONE WORLD CHOIR

#MIGMAT FESTIVAL CLOSING PARTY

#MIGMAT

Feeding hungry stomachs for our closing party, Open Kitchen Social Club return.

To find out more about the incredible work Open Kitchen Social club do to provide free meals to the people most in need please visit their website

WWW.OPENKITCHENSOCIALCLUB.COM

Food

The life-enhancing, sociable and diverse One World Choir of Sheffield bring together asylum seekers and refugees with others living in Sheffield. The performances are joyful and vibrant as they sing songs in a variety of languages, many created by the choir’s members. Enjoy their spirit and energy!

Choir

June 25

AT SIDNEY AND MATILDA

Friday 25th June

Run Time

19:30 - 02:00

The 50th and final event of the festival. It’s a return to Sidney and Matilda for a night of dance, music, food and poetry to cap off this mesmerising week of Migration Matters Festival!

Tickets £13 | £10 | Free 14+

Music Party Food

SUNTOU SUSSO

Suntou Susso is a multi-instrumentalist: Kora player, percussionist, singer and composer from The Gambia.

Born a Griot in a 700-year old tradition, the Kora – harp-lute with 22 strings – is unique to the Griots of the Mandinka people.

AMIR DARWISH

Amir Darwish is a British Syrian poet & writer of Kurdish origin who lives in London. Born in Aleppo, he came to Britain as an asylum seeker in 2003. Amir’s work is moving, touching, thought-provoking but mainly humane.

Poetry

FEHDAH

Spiritual daughter of Erykah Badu and Oumou Sangare, electronic cousin of Peggy Gou, Fehdah is a future-afro soul vocalist, producer and multi-instrumentalist, on the frontline of an emerging Irish hiphop and electronic music scene. An eclectic songwriter who draws on her love of Wassoulou music in forging an entirely new take on electronic soul.

- Gal Dem

– The Irish Times

Music

“FEHDAH IS CRAFTING HER OWN GENRE”

“AFROFUTURIST ELECTROSOUL WORTHY OF MANY RESPINS”

LEMN SISSAY

SEUN KUTI & EGYPT 80

LES AMAZONES D’AFRIQUES

SEYED

AFLA

AMIR

DURRE

EPHEMERAL

GRAINNE

LITTLE

PEAKS OF COLOUR

ONE WORLD CHOIR

PEPA DUARTE

DR PATRICIA NABUCO MARTUSCELLI

PHOSPHOROS THEATRE

PM

QUEER EAST

DR RADHA KAPURIA

SUNTOU SUSSO

REGARD COLLECTIF

SARAH OROLA

SIDE BY SIDE

TALES OF WHATEVER

TOUSSAINT TO MOVE

WOC AZADI COLLECTIVE

SULLY O’SULLIVAN

SHAGUFTA K IQBAL SHOBANA JEYASINGH DANCE

TERPISCHORING DANCE

UNIVERSITY OF SHEFFIELD

VICTOR ESSES

XIMENA ALARCON & THE INTIMAL COLLECTIVE

YASMEEN AUDISHO GHRAWI

YURIKO KOTANI ... and more to be announced

INSTAGRAM-SQUARE @migmatfest TWITTER-SQUARE @migmatfest FACEBOOK-SQUARE @migrationmattersfestival  www.migrationmattersfestival.co.uk

BOOK TICKETS

Migration Matters Festival is the flagship Project of Arts on the Run. Registered Charity 1166636