Upcoming creative events in Brent.
Opening on Monday 24th at 6.00pm.
What is compassion? What does the word mean to you? Is it the same as empathy or care? Is it a virtue, even a moral force given our almost unceasing concern for the wellbeing of others? Are you compassionate? If so, how and why? Is London compassionate? How does compassion shape Brent as a borough, and Willesden Green as a community? What stories can we craft and share about everyday acts of compassion? Will compassion save us?
‘A Festival of Compassion’ responds to questions such as these by way of exhibitions, workshops, oral histories, object-based learning, and other activities, encouraging co-production, co-curation, and further collaborative ways of working together to make the thinkable/imaginable [QUESTION: either/or?] a reality.
Monday 24th March, 6.00pm-8pm: Opening ‘A Murmuration III: A Festival of Compassion’, a group exhibition offering a collective peak at the rich diversity of activities unfolding during the Festival.
Tuesday 25th March at 6.00pm: Opening of ‘Brent New Stories - Growing Roots in Kilburn’, an exhibition developed in collaboration with local residents, weaving stories on the living history of Kilburn.
Friday 28th March at 6.00pm: Opening of ‘Traces’, a project exploring the often unnoticed but deeply human stories of lost property on London buses, co-created with passengers, drivers, and TFL employees.
Tuesday 1st April at 6.00pm: Opening of ‘Boats Bring Bonds’, a thought experiment reimagining Brent’s forgotten waterways as an active transport network thereby shaping alternative futures for the borough’s rich heritage.
Saturday 5th April at 6.00pm: Opening of ‘Little Voices, Big Connections’, an interactive exhibition engaging children in art making as a means of self-exploration and community connection.
Tuesday 10th April at 6.00pm: Opening of ‘The New Compassion’, a project foregrounding the impact our polycrisis (war and conflict, social injustice, environmental crisis, etc.) is having on our wellbeing, and suggesting ways we might begin to heal.
‘A Murmuration III: A Festival of Compassion’ is co-curated by students on the MA Art Education, Culture & Practice, the MA Museums & Galleries in Education, and the MA Cultural Heritage Studies at UCL.
Acknowledgements: our thanks to: all the staff at Willesden Green Library and Gallery; Colin Chester; Diana Manipud, Mish Aeld; Brent Curate; Metroland Cultures; London Museum, K2K; Dom Sergi; Teresa Cisneros; Andy Ash; staff in Art, Design & Museology at UCL Institute of Education, especially Ross Head and Sophie Huckfield; Jo Townsend; Kim Chin; Sultan Doughan; Nuria Querol; Feifan Lou; Josephine Borradaile; Annabel Gee; Rafie Cecilia; and our heartfelt gratitude to all those that have participated in these projects by way of interviews, workshops, and assisted in our field research.
