RACE, PLACE AND DIVERSITY BY THE SEASIDE SUKI DHANDA

Race, Place and Diversity by the Seaside is an exploration of how cultural diversity is expressed along the shoreline of Plymouth and the surrounding area. People from a multitude of backgrounds have historically congregated at the British seaside with their families and loved ones to take in the views, play in arcades, walk along the shore and swim in the sea.

Last year’s Brexit vote has led many people to question their sense of belonging and their place in this country. Numerous theories have been put forward in the wake of the referendum result exploring why people voted to leave the European Union. These range from concerns with immigration levels, austerity, sovereignty, education and communities feeling left behind by the forces of globalisation.

Over a 6 month period, Dhanda has spent time visiting Plymouth (a city that she lived in as a student in the late 80’s) capturing local residents and visitor’s spending time relaxing with their friends and families by the coast.

This project explores the changing face of Plymouth’s population and seeks to uncover and celebrate the diverse community of people who have made this city their home. it highlights the possibilities of co- existing in a shared space.

Suki Dhanda successfully combines a career as one of The Observer/ Guardian Groups main portrait and editorial photographers, with her own personal practice focused on ethnicity, people and place. Suki is an alumni of Plymouth College of Art.

Sukidhanda.com

EVENTS:
SUKI DHANDA EXHIBITION OPENING
Weds 7 Feb / 5.00-7.00pm

Join us for the opening of Suki Dhanda’s exhibition, showcasing a new body of work developed with The Gallery at Plymouth College of Art. Come along for a drink and to meet the artist.

SUKI DHANDA ARTIST TALK
Weds 21 Feb / 5.30-6.30pm

Suki Dhanda will discuss the work created for her exhibition ‘Race, Place & Diversity’, alongside other commissions including work with The British Council.

NIGHT CLEANERS SCREENING & INTRODUCTION BY HUMPHRY TREVELYAN
Weds 28th Feb / 5.30-6.00 introduction / 6-7.30pm screening

Nightcleaners (1975) is a documentary made by members of the Berwick Street Collective (Marc Karlin , Mary Kelly, James Scott and Humphry Trevelyan) about the campaign to unionize the women who cleaned office blocks at night and who were being victimized and underpaid. Intending at the outset to make a campaign film, the Collective was forced to turn to new forms in order to represent the forces at work between the cleaners, the Cleaner’s Action Group and the unions – and the complex nature of the campaign itself. The result is an intensely self-reflexive film, which implicated both the filmmakers and the audience in the processes of precarious, invisible labour. It is increasingly recognised as a key work of the 1970s and as an important precursor, in both subject matter and form, to current political art practice.

PORTRAITS ON FILM: MARGARET TAIT & DEREK JARMAN DOUBLE BILL - WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY JUDITH NOBLE
Weds 7th March / 5.30-6.00 introduction / 6.00-7.00pm screening

Join us for an introduction to the work of Margaret Tait and Derek Jarman led by Associate Dean for Media Judith Noble. This event will explore ‘portrait film making’, including screenings of: Hugh McDiarmid: A Portrait (1964) by Margaret Tait; Land Makar (1981) by Margaret Tait and a selection of short Super 8 films by Derek Jarman.

Both Tait and Jarman made film portraits which were in themselves important works of art. Margaret Tait used landscapes and domestic interiors to create exquisitely observed and structured visual portraits of subjects ranging from poets to farmers and shepherds. Derek Jarman reinvented the “amateur” medium of Super 8 as a way of creating intimate painterly portraits of his friends and fellow artists

For more information visit https://www.plymouthart.ac.uk/latest/calendar/suki-dhanda-race-place-and-diversity-by-the-seaside