Deaf Explorer

PART TWO: SIGN LANGUAGE

Deaf Explorer commissioned Rinkoo Barpaga and Zoe McWhinney to make a series of four programmes, talking about original topics relevant to the Deaf community. Make a cuppa and put your feet up to watch their conversation and share your thoughts with us by posting on social media. This film will be broadcasted on Deaf Explorer’s facebook, instagram and youtube channels.

Ruth Montgomery will talk about her work ‘Audiovisibility’ and how to make music accessible for Deaf audiences. using performance and visual art. Deaf Explorer is excited to invite Ruth to present her work and past projects and to talk about her next big projects: Calypso and Two Hearts, The Ballet of Dressage and Music.

2021 is a big year for Ruth Montgomery as she will be working in Barbados and Japan as well as organising a concert with Evelyn Glennie and the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra. This event will be presented in British Sign Language with BSL Interpretation.

Photo by Stephen Llife Arlington Arts Centre Nadia Nadarajah & Rachel Gadsden

MAGIC OF THE EAST: BY WASEEM KOTOUB, a contemporary Arabic score for flute and strings

Ruth Montgomery describes an ‘Audiovisibility’ project at Arlington Arts Centre 14th January 2017, “I wanted to see how classical music and contemporary music differ in visual terms.  I was fortunate that Waseem Kotoub of the British Council in Qatar, also a professional pianist, musician and composer himself wrote ‘Magic of the East’ for flute and string quartet.  Upon playing and analysing the music, Waseem’s use of traditional ideas changes 5 times throughout the piece.  This is clearly reflected in Omeima’s textiles, and she has incorporated traditional Arabic designs and calligraphy in her work.”

BSL Interpreted

Deaf Explorer will screen a recording of Mark Smith’s Progress score with his ensemble, Deaf Men Dancing. Performed at the Greenwich Performs Festival in 2019 with original music composed by Chris Bartholomew (Ad Infinitum, Deafinatly Theatre).

The Progress Score 25 mins

1.15 PM, SAT 5 DEC, SQUARE-EYE FESTIVAL

Also at 7.30 PM, SUN 6 DEC,

Mark Smith

“There is a generation of deaf children whose needs are being ignored and who are being left behind in their education.”
Mark Smith was inspired by a story about a deaf boy in Ireland who struggled in education because he didn’t receive support due to the government’s service cuts. There’s a serious issue that young deaf children are falling behind in education and are being failed by the education system. Also, Mark was inspired to incorporate Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) into the choreography.

Credits: 

Choreographer – Mark Smith

Dancers/Collaborators – 

‘Liam’ – Joseph Porton

‘George’ – Joseph Fletcher

‘Dennis ‘ – Aaron Rahn

‘Kyle’ – Joshua Kyle-Cantrill

Composer – Chris Bartholomew

Costume Designer – DMD

Lighting – Jonathan Samuels

Deaf Explorer’s facebook and youtube channel.

PHOTOS “The progress score” Deaf Men Dancing, Laban Theatre Greenwich Performs 2019. Photography by Jane Hobson

in 2021 Ishtiaq Hussain will be working with Creative Black Country and Deaf Explorer to create an inclusive performance and short films of Visual Vernacular (V V) and spoken word poetry. A project for Deaf and hearing people based in the West Midlands, join our zoom session and find out about the project and watch a video of Ishtiaq performing a VV poem about COVID-19.

Part Three: Privilege

Deaf Explorer commissioned Rinkoo Barpaga and Zoe McWhinney to make a series of four programmes, talking about original topics relevant to the Deaf community. Make a cuppa and put your feet up to watch their conversation and share your thoughts with us by posting on social media. This film will be broadcasted on Deaf Explorer’s facebook, instagram and youtube channels.

SQUARE-EYE FESTIVAL 9.30PM, Sat 5 DEC 2020

Deaf Explorer’s facebook and YouTube channel

ISHTIAG HUSSAIN Live New VV Performance

Ishtiaq is a performance artist specialising in Visual Vernacular (VV), an art form pioneered by Deaf artists that uses movements to communicate a story as a universal form of communication. Ishtiaq has been performing and running workshops across the UK since 2011. He also set up his company Deafscope in 2018 in Dudley.

3.30PM, SAT, 5 2020, SQUARE EYE FESTIVAL

A live zoom session with Zoe and Rinkoo about their project, The Armchair Commentators. Rinkoo and Zoe are ready to answer your questions about the series. Have you watched their broadcasts? Enjoyed it? Join us and let us hear your thoughts and your questions and maybe you have an idea for a future episode to share with us. This event is in BSL and will not have an interpreter.

7PM, Sat 5 Dec, 2020