Being present where... when you wish to (dis-)appear

'Cultural diversity' is a term that has close links to educational, employment and cultural policies, as well as business strategies in higher education. Yet despite the increasing prevalence of such policies and strategies, social equity has still not been achieved for Black populations. Being present where... when you wish to (dis-)appear is a day-long transdisciplinary workshop designed exclusively for Black professionals from the cultural and educational fields. Through a series of activities consisting of movement, close readings, discussion and drawing, this interactive, participatory workshop explores possibilities of empowerment, community building and resource sharing, aiming to provide techniques that allow us to confront the ways in which harmful, oppressive systems are navigated and upheld. Led by writer Nana Adusei-Poku and artist NIC Kay, the workshop feeds into a wider discourse within In formation around the desire to productively critique structural racism.

The number of participants for this workshop is limited. Please apply using this form. If you have any questions, please email learning@ica.art

NIC Kay is from the Bronx, New York, and is currently occupying several liminal spaces: they are a person who makes performances and creates/organizes performative spaces; they are obsessed with the act and process of moving – the change of place, production of space, position, and the clarity/meaning gleaned from shifting perspective. Kay is currently a 2017 Movement Research Artist-in-Residence Van Lier Fellow in New York City. 

Nana Adusei-Poku, PhD is an independent scholar, writer and educator and guest lecturer in Media Arts and Master Fine Arts at the University of the Arts, Zurich. Nana’s work primarily centres around three themes: cultural shifts and how they articulate themselves through the intersections of Art, Politics and Popular Culture; artistic productions from the Black Diasporas; and critical pedagogy in relationship to decolonial aesthetics.

Being present where... when you wish to (dis-)appear has been commissioned by the ICA Associate Curator – Education Programme as part of Transformers, a professional development programme promoting radical change in the museums and gallery sector. For further information please email carey.robinson@ica.art