School of Integration Welcome Home 2021
Led by people who have made Manchester their home, School of Integration is a learning space, a meeting place, a treasure chest of our culture and lived experiences. It is a place for connection and reflection, highlighting individual and global stories and creating conversation. It provides a space for expanding the common ground we stand on through informal shared learning. It is an invitation to become confident in our differences, to learn together and strengthen our connections with each other, to create a stronger whole.
School of Integration is a project initiated by activist and artist Tania Brugera, highlighting the experiences of immigrants, critically questioning the terms ‘migrant’ and ‘integration’, inventing new terminologies and celebrating the power of human movement.
Since 2019 a small group of teachers have continued to meet with coordinators of the project at Manchester Art Gallery and Manchester International Festival to work out what legacy there is from this piece of work. There was a desire from some teachers for the School of Integration to become it’s own thing, to build a network of teachers across the city and to be teaching lessons in a range of settings and venues with a range of people. They continued to meet online during the pandemic and shaped a programme of lessons into a series of films to be released in March.
School of Integration Welcome Home 2021 – Tuesdays 6.30 – 8pm
Tuesday 9 March, 6.30 – 8pm
Life and Drawing with Leonardo (with Leonardo Mohammed)
Join me as I work through my thoughts on integration, migration, my experiences, my art and my life unravelling while doing the thing I love…drawing. Filmed at Manchester Art Gallery with a life model, I spend time drawing and talking. Drawing helps me to think, to reflect, to dream, to imagine even if not perfect. It unlocks memories and helps me to understand myself and the world. Spend time with pen, paper and me while I think through my life experiences and my journey from then to now.
Book through Eventbrite
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/life-and-drawing-with-leonardo-tickets-142554912581
Tuesday 16 March, 6.30 – 8pm
Shahnameh – More Than a Book of Kings (with Shahireh Sharif)
In 940 AD in Paj (Pazh), on the outskirts of the city of Tus (Tous) in north eastern Iran, a boy was born. He grew up to become the creator of a palace made entirely of Persian poetry. His name was Ferdowsi and his masterpiece is called the Shahnameh, the ‘Book of Kings’. In Shahnameh – More Than a Book of Kings, we’ll be looking at stories and wisdom contained within the book. For example we look at the story of a boy whom is considered an outcast because he is born with white hair and white eyelashes. Is today’s society more able to accept and embrace differences?
Book through Eventbrite
Tuesday 23 March, 6.30 – 8pm
Café Concert: Chilean Protest Music (with Jova Bagioli Reyes)
A lesson exploring Chilean protest music from the 1950s to the present day. I’ll discuss how music and politics interweave and will perform key songs from Chilean history as well as my own material.
Book on Eventbrite:
Tuesday 30 March, 6.30 – 8pm
Reflecting on touch (with Juliet Davis-Dufayard)
I’ll be guiding you through movement and touch to facilitate individual and collective reflections on our experiences of connection through lockdown. You can join the session as an individual or as a pair with someone from your household with whom you can share a phone or laptop screen.
Book on Eventbrite:
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/reflecting-on-touch-with-juliet-davis-dufayard-tickets-142929294367
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School of Integration is supported by Manchester International Festival and Manchester Art Gallery.