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DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20260723T100000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20260723T170000
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UID:10000631-1784800800-1784826000@counterpoints.org.uk
SUMMARY:Sijelo Collective in Leeds - Arts of Noticing
DESCRIPTION:Supported by the Critical Digital Practice Lab\n\n\n\n\n‘Arts of Noticing’ is a one-day symposium where artists\, researchers\, technologists and organisers making and thinking with plants will come together to explore questions about nature\, memory\, and human connection through the senses. There will be a series of workshops and activities about embodiment and sensing with plants\, followed by a creative activity in the afternoon where we will bring together all that we’ve learned in order to create a collaborative living collage. \nSijelo Collective in Leeds present: ‘Arts of noticing’ \n“Noticing is my way of opposing… it is trying to take those blinders off to look at the world around us\, with special attention to the more-than-human world (the human plus non-human world).” – Anna Tsing \nSchedule for the day \n10.00–10.30: arrivals\, teas and coffees (provided by the Barn Cafe) \n10.30-11.00: Short intros from Sijelo and CDP Lab \n11.00–12.00: the art of noticing things \nBo Olawoye of Sijelo will facilitate a walking* activity where we will spend some time wandering\, looking and using our senses to explore the farm. You can decide what little things are worth noticing. These might be shapes\, colours\, shadows\, light or textures. \n*you are also welcome to sit or stand and notice \n12.00–13.00: Plant Switching II \nJoanne Armitage of CDP Lab will lead us in the digitisation of plant–human connections through the creation of simple soft-circuit switches. Using conductive materials and living plants\, we will experiment with translating interspecies encounters into binary on/off signals. Together\, we will reflect on how reducing these relationships to digital logic can flatten the complexity\, reciprocity\, and energies of plant–human interactions\, while also considering how such systems might be extended\, challenged\, or reimagined. \n13.00-13.30: COMMONING & [Co-]SENSINGTHOUGHT FORMS Pt I \nHow can we sense a shared language manifested in land\, people and ephemera? \nIn this playful collaborative workshop with artist Kim Chin of Sijelo\, we explore how we feel through natural forms and imagined symbolism\, sharpen listening skills with pairwork and probing\, and interpret what we “see-hear-feel” by markmaking with natural dyes. In addition to the creative activity\, we will engage in a short mindfulness activity\, light-touch introduction of visual forms of communication by communities-activists-artists and end with reflections to close the session. \n13.30– 14.30: Lunch \nVegan lunch provided by the Barn Cafe (please email hello@kaajalmodi.com with any specific dietary requirements) \n14.30– 15.30: COMMONING & [Co-]SENSINGTHOUGHT FORMS Pt II \nContinuing our session from the morning exploring how we feel through natural forms and imagined symbolism with Kim Chin. \n15.30–17.00: Sculpting with Nature \nIn this relaxed and experimental workshop facilitated by Tasnim Siddiqa Amin of Sijelo\, you are invited to explore your relationship with land and power through a queer lens through material collaging. We’ll also consider how our bodies can be incorporated into the sculpture. We can work as a group or work on your own small piece and then add it a larger shared artwork. \nMaterials to collage with will be provided\, including plants\, sensors\, and spices\, and you can also bring with you images\, words\, textures\, sounds and gestures that represent your relationship with Land and plants. If you have anything you would like printed please email it to hello@kaajalmodi.com by 13.00 on Wednesday 22nd July. \n17.00: Finish \n18.00: optional visit to PEST by Lucif Neave at Assembly House \nEvent/Booking link HERE \nAbout the Facilitators:\nBoseda Olawoye (known as Bo) is a freelance creative producer/consultant based in Nottingham who works nationally and beyond. She specialises in developing arts projects\, programmes and cultural strategies with and for diverse communities\, young people(13+)\, marginalised groups and artists. \nJoanne Armitage is a digital media practitioner\, researcher and artist. She is co-founder of the international maker-activist collective sus_NET (Sustainable Making for Feminist Action)\, which collaboratively explores issues of justice and equity through creative\, technical and community practice. Her work centres on developing methods to unpack\, critically engage with and rebuild technology alongside activist groups and within community contexts. Her approach emphasises slowness\, play and the everyday to untangle issues of agency\, power and expertise. \nKim Chin (they / she / we) makes art with others. Through experimental textiles\, time-based media\, installation and facilitating participatory activities\, their work is an invitation to enjoy the process of creating\, un/learning self-knowledge with others. We notice our breath\, bones\, mood and energy that we carry into physical and socio-political spaces – consciously and unconsciously. The alchemy of nature is Kim’s teacher; soil\, seeds and creatures know no borders. When site-specific textile pieces are shaped by environmental elements and oils of human touch\, they explore questions on labour\, ownership and material intent. \nTasnim Siddiqa Amin (she/they) is a queer\, working-class Bangladeshi-British artist\, theatremaker and activist from East London. Her interdisciplinary practice spans theatre\, performance art\, visual art and community arts facilitation\, grounded in anti-racism\, postcolonialism and intersectional feminism. \nTasnim’s practice is trauma-informed and grounded in care-based methodologies\, shaped by lived experience and a commitment to collective wellbeing. She designs and delivers participatory arts programmes that prioritise accessibility\, co-creation\, and long-term relationship-building using creativity as a means of connection\, reflection and resistance. \nSijelo are a UK-based art collective of women and non-binary people organising\, producing and making at the intersection of climate justice\, land rights\, migration and displacement. The collective came together through a series of residential events organised by Counterpoints from 2023–4\, and now loosely collectivise around specific campaigns\, events and issues that feel urgent to us https://counterpoints.org.uk/event/climate-displacement-part-ii-a-gathering-for-womxn-artists/ \nThe event is funded by Leeds Critical Digital Practice Lab (CDPL)\, a new creative and critical experimentation space-based at the University of Leeds. The lab is a space where we play with accessible technologies and feminist and decolonial practices in order to develop critical digital methods in response to the emergent moment. Led by Kaajal Modi\, Helen Thornham and Joanne Armitage. \n‘Arts of Noticing’ is an independently organized symposium\, officially recognized as part of a global conversation sparked by the If Trees Could Talk International Art Biennale. To learn more\, visit https://www.iftreescouldtalk.art/conversations/sijelo \nWith special thanks to the EMPIRE LINES podcast\, Meanwood Valley Urban Farm\, Counterpoints Arts and University of Leeds. \nImage: detail from a workshop series at The Showroom\, London by Kim Chin.
URL:https://counterpoints.org.uk/event/sijelo-collective-in-leeds-arts-of-noticing/
LOCATION:Meanwood Valley Urban FarmMeanwood\, England\, Sugar Well Rd\, Meanwood\, Leeds\, LS7 2QG
CATEGORIES:Learning,Sustainability & Climate Justice
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://counterpoints.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/Kim-Sijelo-Leeds.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20260717T110000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20260717T120000
DTSTAMP:20260709T105225Z
CREATED:20260709T104413Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260709T105225Z
UID:10000629-1784286000-1784289600@counterpoints.org.uk
SUMMARY:Backyard Biennial: East — Guided Tour
DESCRIPTION:A special networking event for invited artists and producers to view the Whitechapel Backyard Biennial and to learn more about the works and the production and curation process.\n\nDate: 17th July 2026\, starting at 11am. \nThis networking event is part of an ongoing collaboration between Counterpoints and Original Projects\, an arts organisation based in Great Yarmouth with whom we first collaborated as part of Platforma 2025. \nThe event will be part of artist and curator exchange visits between the two organisations. \nFor more information contact tom@counterpoints.org.uk. \nRead more about Backyard Biennial: East at Whitechapel Gallery here. \nPhotograph by Mohammed Moharm
URL:https://counterpoints.org.uk/event/backyard-biennial-guided-tour/
LOCATION:Whitechapel Gallery\, 77-82 Whitechapel High St\, London\, E1 7QX\, United Kingdom
CATEGORIES:Learning,Visual Arts
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://counterpoints.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/DSC02230.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20260717
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20260726
DTSTAMP:20260721T081454Z
CREATED:20260626T113421Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260721T081454Z
UID:10000623-1784246400-1785023999@counterpoints.org.uk
SUMMARY:How I Grew A Moustache (Work in Progress)
DESCRIPTION:A semi-biographical theatre piece by Riwa Saab exploring grief through the lens of intergenerational relationships.\nPresented by Arts Admin with support from Arts Council England\, Counterpoints Arts\, Guildhall School of Music & Drama and Shubbak.\nIn a pursuit of better understanding her father\, Riwa finds a letter he sent to his own late dad. With this discovery\, she unlocks a quest that travels through timelines and across conversations with family members\, piecing together a puzzle. Pulling in puppetry\, silhouettes\, and verbatim audio\, How I Grew a Moustache explores how grief and silence travel across generations\, and what it means to inherit stories that are left untold. At its heart\, the work asks how diasporic families carry love\, loss and memory across time. \nRiwa Saab is a theatre-maker\, sound designer\, poet and puppeteer. With her hands in different writing/composing and performance disciplines\, she works in both creative and backstage capacities. Her art puts people and our relationships at the centre of the political narratives we inhabit\, with recent explorations including the unpacking of generational and familial baggage\, and the politics of pop princesses. \n“The elegance with which Riwa traveled through and compressed time was extraordinary. Grief and loss often feel tied to specific moments\, but Riwa managed to show how something that happened 50 years ago to someone else can still be happening to us in the present.” – Audience member \nArtsadmin / Toynbee Studios\, 28 Commercial St\, London E1 6AB\nPresented as part of Whitechapel Gallery’s Backyard Biennale\nSaturday 25 July\n7 – 8pm\nBook your free ticket \nBush Theatre\, 7 Uxbridge Rd\, London W12 8LJ\nThursday 17 July\n8 – 9pm \nFriday 18 July\n8 – 9pm \nTickets: £10 – £20
URL:https://counterpoints.org.uk/event/how-i-grew-a-moustache-work-in-progress/
CATEGORIES:Mental Health,Theatre
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://counterpoints.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/1HIGAM-Poster-Photo-Photo-by-Abdulisms-scaled-e1781276107406-720x721-1.jpeg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20260716T190000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20260716T200000
DTSTAMP:20260709T073714Z
CREATED:20260708T170933Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260709T073714Z
UID:10000626-1784228400-1784232000@counterpoints.org.uk
SUMMARY:Fozia Ismail In Conversation
DESCRIPTION:Join artist Fozia Ismail for the opening conversation of A Song for the Xeedho – the Knot Makers.\nBOOK HERE\nFozia will introduce the ideas\, histories and questions that shape the installation\, from Somali nomadic heritage and women’s craft traditions to climate grief\, migration and memory. \nTaking the xeedho – a woven vessel made for Somali wedding ceremonies – as a starting point\, the conversation will explore how objects can hold stories of land\, movement\, care and loss. In conversation with journalist Precious Adesina\, Fozia will reflect on the making of the work\, the knot as both material and metaphor\, and what it means to honour forms of knowledge carried through family\, oral tradition and embodied practice. \nA Song for the Xeedho – the Knot Makers is co-commissioned by Counterpoints Arts and Whitechapel Gallery. \n  \nAbout Fozia Ismail\nFozia Ismail is a British Somali artist\, founder of Arawelo Eats and co-founder of dhaqan collective. Her practice moves across food\, sound\, textiles and found objects to create works exploring migration\, climate\, identity and diasporic memory. \nRooted in Somali nomadic feminist pedagogy\, her work approaches everyday cultural practices as living archives of care\, knowledge and survival. Through collective acts of listening\, eating\, weaving and making\, she reframes domestic and communal space as sites of shared authorship. Central to her practice are inherited materials and objects connected to her mother’s Somali nomadic roots – vessels\, spices\, textiles\, cassette tapes and sound recordings\, which she transforms into sculptural\, time-based and archival works. \nIsmail has exhibited internationally at the British Textile Biennale\, Southbank Centre\, Biennale Architettura Venice\, Weltmuseum Wien\, Playable Cities\, Osaka and Jodhpur Art Week. \n\n  \nAbout Precious Adesina\nPrecious Adesina is a London-based freelance writer\, presenter and moderator. Her work explores the intersections of the arts\, culture\, lifestyle\, and social politics\, often centring on underrepresented artists and overlooked perspectives in the UK and internationally. \nFormerly a journalist at The Telegraph\, she now regularly writes for leading outlets including The New York Times\, BBC Culture\, The Guardian\, Financial Times\, CNN\, The Economist\, and The Art Newspaper\, among others. Adesina has been invited to speak at institutions such as Whitechapel Gallery\, the Barbican Centre\, Nottingham Contemporary\, and University College London\, her alma mater. \nAcross both her journalism and public engagements\, she consistently highlights how the arts reflect\, challenge\, and reshape today’s social and cultural landscape. \n  \nBOOK HERE \nCamel Milk Cultures event\, Wellcome Collection. Photograph by David Sandison/Wellcome.
URL:https://counterpoints.org.uk/event/fozia-ismail-in-conversation/
LOCATION:Whitechapel Gallery\, 77-82 Whitechapel High St\, London\, E1 7QX\, United Kingdom
CATEGORIES:Sound Art,Visual Arts
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://counterpoints.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/Copy-of-Fozia-Ismail-Camel-Milk-Cultures-Welcomme-Collection.jpg
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20260628T150000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20260628T170000
DTSTAMP:20260325T143343Z
CREATED:20260325T123806Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260325T143343Z
UID:10000608-1782658800-1782666000@counterpoints.org.uk
SUMMARY:Arab Film Club: An Afternoon of Shorts and Q&A
DESCRIPTION:Join us for a specially curated programme of short films for Refugee Week 2026\nActor and writer Sarah Agha curates a programme of short films for Arab Film Club on 28 June\, followed by a live Q&A with the film-makers. These exceptional films demonstrate how film-makers can use the power of cinema\, art and storytelling to humanise narratives of migration\, using cinema to champion stories of courage\, community and resilience. \nFull line up to be announced soon. For ages 14+. \nBook your place on the Southbank Centre website. \nPhoto: Southbank 2025\, Suhaib Jaber \n— \nInterested in holding your own Refugee Week film screening?\nEach year we curate a selection of short and feature-length films from across the world exploring themes of displacement\, migration\, belonging\, and community as part of The Refugee Week Film Festival. Organisations and individuals can screen them for free during Refugee Week on 15 – 21 June 2026. Find out more about hosting your own screening.
URL:https://counterpoints.org.uk/event/arab-film-club-an-afternoon-of-shorts-and-qa/
LOCATION:Purcell Room\, Southbank Centre
CATEGORIES:Film,London Refugee Week
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://counterpoints.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Southbank-2025-by-Suhaib-Jaber-.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20260627T140000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20260627T220000
DTSTAMP:20260325T152656Z
CREATED:20260325T152522Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260325T152656Z
UID:10000609-1782568800-1782597600@counterpoints.org.uk
SUMMARY:Our HeartBeats: Courage in Creativity
DESCRIPTION:Join a celebration of global club sounds and community at the Southbank Centre with Our Heartbeats DJ Crew\nRooted in the belief of music’s ability to bring people together and defy narratives\, Our HeartBeats DJ crew create a space where culture\, migration and identity collide on the dance floor. \nOur HeartBeats is a community-led DJ training and performance platform rooted in the belief that music has the power to unite\, empower and challenge narratives. Championing young DJs from refugee and displaced backgrounds\, the programme creates pathways into London’s music scene while celebrating the diverse musical identities of its artists. \nAt this event\, newly trained DJs from the latest Our HeartBeats cohort will perform their first public sets\, supported by alumni artists who have gone on to perform at festivals\, venues and radio stations across London and beyond. Special guest DJs will also join the line-up. \nAbout Our Heartbeats\nPart of Southbank Centre’s Refugee Week 2026 programme\, presented in partnership with Counterpoints Arts\, this event responds to this year’s theme of ‘courage’ – welcoming audiences to connect across cultures through music and shared celebration. \nOur HeartBeats began during Refugee Week 2024 in collaboration with the Southbank Centre and has since grown into an independent Community Interest Company supporting emerging artists through workshops\, mentoring and performance opportunities. Find out more about Our Heartbeats.
URL:https://counterpoints.org.uk/event/our-heartbeats-courage-in-creativity/
LOCATION:Riverside Terrace\, Southbank Centre SE1 8XX\, SE1 8XX\, United Kingdom
CATEGORIES:London Refugee Week,Music
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://counterpoints.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IMG_5694-1.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20260627T140000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20260627T150000
DTSTAMP:20260616T141337Z
CREATED:20260324T144234Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260616T141337Z
UID:10000606-1782568800-1782572400@counterpoints.org.uk
SUMMARY:Counterpoints Lecture with Elif Shafak
DESCRIPTION:Global bestselling writer and renowned activist Elif Shafak explores whether creativity can help heal our divided world in the inaugural Counterpoints lecture.\nBOOK TICKETS \nFor this first iteration of the annual Counterpoints lecture\, Elif Shafak explores how imagination and artistic practice shape our understanding of the world. She reflects on the link between creativity and courage\, and how creativity can open paths to belonging\, imagination and collaboration in times of conflict\, fear and political division. \nDrawing on academic\, literary critic and activist Edward Said’s concept of the ‘counterpoint’ perspective of displaced people\, Shafak considers how artists from regions affected by war\, violence and political extremism can offer vital insights and new ways of seeing\, questioning and imagining. As part of this\, Shafak unravels the idea of ‘storyland’ as a motherland. \nPart of Southbank Centre’s Refugee Week 2026 programme\, presented in partnership with Counterpoints. Refugee Week is a nationwide festival celebrating the contributions\, creativity and resilience of refugees and people seeking sanctuary. Inspired by refugees\, the theme this year is ‘courage’. \nFurther information available on Southbank Centre’s website. \nAbout Elif Shafak\nElif Shafak is an award-winning and highly acclaimed British-Turkish novelist whose work has been translated into 55 languages. The author of 21 books\, including 13 novels\, she is a bestselling author in many countries around the world. \nShafak holds a PhD in political science and is President of the Royal Society of Literature and a Public Humanities Fellow at the School of Advanced Studies (SAS). She is a leading voice on freedom of expression\, women’s rights and LGBTQ+ rights. \nPhoto credit: Ferhat Elik
URL:https://counterpoints.org.uk/event/counterpoints-lecture-with-elif-shafak/
LOCATION:Royal Festival Hall\, Southbank Centre\, SE1 8XX
CATEGORIES:Literature & Spoken Word,Refugee Week
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://counterpoints.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Elif-Shafak_credit-Ferhat-Elik-1.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20260626T193000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20260626T205000
DTSTAMP:20260610T153519Z
CREATED:20260324T155827Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260610T153519Z
UID:10000607-1782502200-1782507000@counterpoints.org.uk
SUMMARY:It Sounds Like Courage: Music and Solidarity
DESCRIPTION:A celebration of music and spoken word shaped by migration – brought together by courageous creative talents for Refugee Week.\nBOOK TICKETS \nCo-curated by Southbank Centre with Anoushka Shankar and Counterpoints Arts\, It Sounds Like Courage brings a unique blend of artists who stand in solidarity with displaced people all over the world. \nConnected by the unifying theme of ‘courage’\, the night features music and poetry born from generations of migration\, mapping the sounds and creativity that grew out of resistance movements. \nThe Line Up\nHosted by comedian Nish Kumar\, an inspiring lineup of musicians includes: \n\nAward-winning Palestinian singer\, composer\, and flautist Nai Barghouti\, who is conducted by Robert Ames with the London Contemporary Orchestra\nKora virtuoso Seckou Keita\nAfrofusion rapper MoYah\nMercury Prize-nominated songwriter Nadine Shah\nSoul singer and songwriter Nectar Woode\n\nThere will also be poetry from award-winning poets: \n\nInua Ellams\nNikita Gill\nSalena Godden\n\nFeaturing artists with lived experience of displacement\, musicians with migrant heritage and high-profile allies in the fight for justice and equality\, It Sounds Like Courage is a night to imagine new possibilities together\, with community and solidarity at its centre. \nThis event sits at the heart of Refugee Week’s programme of events and is presented by Southbank Centre in partnership with Counterpoints. \nFull details and booking via the Southbank Centre website. \nAnoushka Shankar. Photo by Laura Lewis
URL:https://counterpoints.org.uk/event/it-sounds-like-courage-music-and-solidarity/
LOCATION:Royal Festival Hall\, Southbank Centre\, SE1 8XX
CATEGORIES:Music,Refugee Week
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://counterpoints.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Anoushka-Shankar-1.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20260620
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20260901
DTSTAMP:20260708T153258Z
CREATED:20260522T145536Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260708T153258Z
UID:10000619-1781913600-1788220799@counterpoints.org.uk
SUMMARY:One Song @ Art House
DESCRIPTION:One Song is an audio-visual installation and community project by artist Kadir Karababa that explores how music carries memory\, identity and a sense of home across borders.\nFirst begun in 2024\, the project is an evolving archive of songs and stories developed with women who have personal experience of migration or seeking sanctuary. \nBuilt through participation and shared experience\, this iteration was developed with members of the Wakefield community. Each participant is invited to share a song that takes them back to the place they first called home. These songs form the foundation of the work\, bringing together individual memories into a wider collective portrait. \nThe project is inspired by the artist’s own family history of migration from Eastern Turkey to London\, and an interest in how songs are carried across borders while remaining rooted in the places they were first sung. \nThese songs are deeply personal\, connected to family\, language and everyday life\, and often carried across time and distance. For many\, singing becomes a way of reconnecting with places and experiences that are no longer physically present. \nPresented together\, One Song creates a shared space of listening. Each voice remains distinct\, while common themes of movement\, belonging\, loss and connection begin to emerge. \nRead more on The Art House website. \nOne Song was originally commissioned by Counterpoints Arts. This iteration has been supported by Arts Council England and Counterpoints Arts. To view the archive of songs that make up One Song and to read more about work visit The One Song website
URL:https://counterpoints.org.uk/event/one-song-art-house/
LOCATION:The Art House\, Drury Lane\, Wakefield\, WF1 2TE\, United Kingdom
CATEGORIES:Visual Arts
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/webp:https://counterpoints.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/one-song.webp
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20260619T181000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20260619T200000
DTSTAMP:20260428T202706Z
CREATED:20260427T211120Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260428T202706Z
UID:10000617-1781892600-1781899200@counterpoints.org.uk
SUMMARY:Khartoum + discussion
DESCRIPTION:In this moving documentary\, a collective of filmmakers capture the lives of a people caught up in a conflict that has ravaged Sudan.\nDirectors: Rawia Alhag\, Ibrahim Snoopy\, Anas Saeed\, Timeea M Ahmed\, Phil Cox \nUK-Sudan-Germany-Qatar 2025. 80min \nThe screening will be followed by a discussion. \nA civil servant\, a tea lady\, a resistance committee volunteer and two young bottle collectors. Five Khartoum residents from different walks of life\, share their experiences of conflict and exile after escaping the Sudanese capital following a military coup and the outbreak of war. The filmmakers – also displaced by the war – weave together a personal and insightful film comprising footage shot prior to the escape\, staged reenactments\, and stories of migration and survival\, highlighting the human cost of this conflict. \nContains scenes of war and graphic violence or injury. \nPresented by BFI Southbank as part of their Refugee Week programme\, in partnership with the International Organization for Migration (IOM). \nFull details and tickets
URL:https://counterpoints.org.uk/event/khartoum/
LOCATION:BFI\, Belvedere Road\, London\, SE1 8XT\, United Kingdom
CATEGORIES:Film,Refugee Week
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://counterpoints.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/khartoum-01.jpeg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20260619T180000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20260619T200000
DTSTAMP:20260527T144046Z
CREATED:20260527T143551Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260527T144046Z
UID:10000622-1781892000-1781899200@counterpoints.org.uk
SUMMARY:An Evening with Inspyre
DESCRIPTION:An Evening with Inspyre: Home\, Migration & Belonging\n\n\n\n\n\nAs part of Refugee Week 2026\, Inspyre invites you to an intimate evening of storytelling\, reflection\, and conversation exploring the meaning of home\, migration\, and belonging. \nHosted in London\, this special gathering will bring together performances\, personal stories\, short film\, and discussion to humanise refugee experiences through art and community. Across three themed chapters Home\, Migration\, and Home From Home\, the evening will explore what it means to leave\, arrive\, rebuild and belong. \nExpect a warm and reflective atmosphere with spoken word\, film\, conversation\, tea\, coffee\, and space to connect with others through shared stories. \nInspyre is a creative media and community platform centred around storytelling\, books\, culture\, and thoughtful conversation. Through podcasts\, events\, and community gatherings\, we aim to create spaces where people feel inspired\, understood\, and connected. \nThis event is part of Inspyre’s wider 2026 cultural programme focused on storytelling\, community\, and meaningful creative experiences. \nTickets: https://luma.com/4k32vuqv
URL:https://counterpoints.org.uk/event/an-evening-with-inspyre/
LOCATION:Church Street Library\, 67 Church St\, Edgware Rd\, London\, NW8 8EU
CATEGORIES:Multi-Art Form,Refugee Week
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://counterpoints.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/Untitled-design-2.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20260617T170000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20260617T203000
DTSTAMP:20260522T165554Z
CREATED:20260522T165352Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260522T165554Z
UID:10000620-1781715600-1781728200@counterpoints.org.uk
SUMMARY:Comedy and Social Justice
DESCRIPTION:To mark Refugee Week this double event — organised by the University of Westminster (School of Humanities) in partnership with Counterpoints Arts — offers an opportunity to explore the power of comedy in contexts of displacement and injustice. \nFeaturing stand-up comedy from the No Direction Home Comedy Collective with Yasmeen Audisho Ghrawi\, Victor Rios\, Prince Abdi and Selam Amare. \nFollowed by a screening of acclaimed documentary Palestine Comedy Club: “When six Palestinian comedians hit the road to tour a stand-up show across Palestine and Israel\, their search for humour amidst the injustice of everyday Palestinian life becomes a plea for humanity against in the face of brutal war” \nThe evening will conclude with a Q&A featuring Comedy Director Dr Sam Beale\, film producer Charlotte Knowles\, Dr Atef Alshear (University of Westminster) and No Direction Home members. The event will be moderated by Dr Federica Mazzara (University of Westminster). \nFull details and free booking via Eventbrite
URL:https://counterpoints.org.uk/event/comedy-and-social-justice/
LOCATION:University of Westminster\, 309 Regent Street ( Room UG05)\, London\, W1B 2HW\, United Kingdom
CATEGORIES:Comedy,Refugee Week
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://counterpoints.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/Palestine-Comedy-Club_banner.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20260617T120000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20260617T221500
DTSTAMP:20260527T120454Z
CREATED:20260527T120454Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260527T120454Z
UID:10000621-1781697600-1781734500@counterpoints.org.uk
SUMMARY:Around the World
DESCRIPTION:A Stand & Be Counted (SBC) Theatre production in collaboration with Football Unites Racism Divides\, Sheffield Home of Football and Yellow Bus Events. Supported by Counterpoints Arts and Migration Matters Festival.\nAround the World is a brand new digital art-meets-football project made with people from all over the world who now call Sheffield home\, to celebrate the World Cup and Refugee Week. \nSBC’s bright yellow school bus will tour Sheffield’s communities\, inviting peopl\,e to explore the original rules of the modern game; founded right here in our city – and make your own art works to be displayed on board the bus and beyond! \nTHey will be touring around the city between Thursday 11 June – Tuesday 16 June with a series of community events\, games and creative workshops\, culminating in a dazzling celebration of everything that has been created at the Peace Gardens on Wednesday 17 June. \nThe main event on Wednesday 17 June will include contributions and events with Amar Shah\, Brown Girl Sport\, Farah Chamma\, Inderjit Bhogal OBE and be hosted by Sile Sibanda.
URL:https://counterpoints.org.uk/event/around-the-world/
LOCATION:Peace Gardens\, 50 Pinstone Street\, Sheffield\, S1 2HH\, United Kingdom
CATEGORIES:Refugee Week
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/webp:https://counterpoints.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/SBC_TradingCards3.webp
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20260616T182000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20260616T193000
DTSTAMP:20260428T202618Z
CREATED:20260427T210611Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260428T202618Z
UID:10000616-1781634000-1781638200@counterpoints.org.uk
SUMMARY:Allies In Exile + Q&A
DESCRIPTION:The London Premiere of a new film by Hasan Kattan and Fadi Al-Halabi\nDirector: Hasan Kattan \nUK-Syria 2026. 40min \nEvent includes a Q&A with Hasan Kattan \nSyrian filmmakers Hasan Kattan and Fadi Al-Halabi experienced and documented the atrocities of the war in Syria. After entering the UK\, they find themselves part of the asylum process\, wondering whether their new lives will ever become a reality. \nMade as part of the Displacement Film Fund launched by UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador Cate Blanchett\, and co-produced by Counterpoints Productions\, this moving first-person documentary explores the power of cinema to bring refugee stories to the big screen. \nContains scenes of war and graphic violence or injury. \nPresented by BFI Southbank as part of their Refugee Week programme. \nFull information and tickets
URL:https://counterpoints.org.uk/event/allies-in-exile-qa/
LOCATION:BFI\, Belvedere Road\, London\, SE1 8XT\, United Kingdom
CATEGORIES:Film,Refugee Week
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://counterpoints.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/allies-in-exile-01.jpeg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20260615T000000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20260621T000000
DTSTAMP:20260401T162824Z
CREATED:20260401T162538Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260401T162824Z
UID:10000612-1781481600-1782000000@counterpoints.org.uk
SUMMARY:Refugee Week 15-21 June 2026
DESCRIPTION:Refugee Week is the world’s largest arts and culture festival celebrating the contributions\, creativity and resilience of refugees and people seeking sanctuary.\nEstablished in the UK in 1998\, Refugee Week is co-ordinated by Counterpoints Arts and takes place every year around World Refugee Day (20th June). It has grown into a global movement with over 2 million participants\, across over 20 countries. Through an exciting programme of thousands of events\, activities and media campaigns\, Refugee Week brings together people from different backgrounds to connect beyond labels\, and foster a deeper understanding of why people are displaced\, and the challenges they face when seeking safety. \nRefugee Week 2026 will be 15-21st June with the theme of Courage. \nBy providing a platform for people who have sought sanctuary to share their experiences\, perspectives and creative work on their own terms\, our vision is for refugees and asylum seekers to be able to live safely within inclusive and resilient communities\, where they can continue to make a valuable contribution. \nThis year\, Quentin Blake’s joyful illustrations will sit at the centre of the Simple Acts campaign — a series of nine everyday actions anyone can take to show solidarity with refugees and help build more welcoming communities. Blake’s bright\, playful drawings will appear on postcards\, posters and other materials for communities\, schools\, libraries \, arts organisations and individuals to use at their own events. \nRead more about Refugee Week\, including how you can take part.
URL:https://counterpoints.org.uk/event/refugee-week-15-21-june-2026/
CATEGORIES:Refugee Week
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://counterpoints.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/Screenshot-2026-04-01-at-16.57.48.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20260611
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20260913
DTSTAMP:20260629T142247Z
CREATED:20260522T115031Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260629T142247Z
UID:10000618-1781164800-1789232400@counterpoints.org.uk
SUMMARY:Floating Together: Refugee Week Co-Commission by Malak Mattar
DESCRIPTION:A new public artwork commissioned by Choose Love\, Counterpoints and the Southbank Centre.\nResponding to the Refugee Week 2026 theme of ‘courage’\, and the Choose Love and Creative Visions themes ‘unique and united’ artist Malak Mattar has created a new installation in collaboration with young people from Ukraine and Greece. The commission is a bold public artwork inviting reflection on solidarity\, community and courage. \nMalak Mattar describes Floating Together\n‘Growing up by the sea in Gaza\, summer meant long days at the beach and the excitement of new colourful swimming floats that marked our journey from childhood to adulthood. Swan and turtle-shaped floats became symbols of joy and childhood. Over time\, the meaning of the sea changed. As life under blockade became difficult\, many young people began crossing the sea in search of a better life. Some reached new shores\, while others were lost along the way. \n‘The installation reflects both memories of my childhood and the realities of displacement. Inspired by swimming floats\, the work is large\, playful and illuminated with vibrant light\, especially at night\, honouring the many refugee journeys made in darkness\, while sending a message that refugees are seen\, welcomed and cared for. \n‘The patterns featured on the floats are created in collaboration with young people from Ukraine and Greece\, alongside drawings by children from Gaza\, expressing family life\, flowers\, dreams\, love and unity.’ \nThe installation is part of the Southbank Centre’s Riverside Sessions. \n  \nAbout Malak Mattar\nMalak Mattar (b. Gaza Strip) is a multidisciplinary Palestinian artist whose work is rooted in personal and collective experiences under occupation and siege. She began painting as a teenager\, using art as a form of survival and resistance. Her work has been exhibited internationally and is held in private and public collections\, including the British Museum. Mattar is also the Artistic Director of the Together for Palestine Concert and the author of the bestselling children’s book Sitti’s Bird. \nPhoto by Hossam Fazulla
URL:https://counterpoints.org.uk/event/floating-together/
LOCATION:Riverside Terrace\, Southbank Centre SE1 8XX\, SE1 8XX\, United Kingdom
CATEGORIES:Visual Arts
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://counterpoints.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/P1011707.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20260531T194500
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20260531T210000
DTSTAMP:20260518T161349Z
CREATED:20251209T174137Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260518T161349Z
UID:10000587-1780256700-1780261200@counterpoints.org.uk
SUMMARY:Footnote x Counterpoints Prize Readings
DESCRIPTION:Join Footnotes x Counterpoints Fiction Prize shortlisted writers for an evening of readings and reflections hosted by author Colin Grant.\n\n\nBOOK TICKETS \nThis event brings together shortlisted authors\, ahead of the announcement of the overall prize winner in June. During the event the writers reflect on themes of displacement\, belonging\, courage and creativity\, both in the selected works and beyond. Hosted by Colin Grant. \nThe £15\,000 prize aims to highlight writers from refugee and migrant backgrounds whose work explores themes of displacement\, courage and belonging. It champions bold new literary voices whose stories offer fresh perspectives on our world. \nThe winner is selected by a judging panel composed of acclaimed writer Dina Nayeri; Waterstones’ Head of Books\, Bea Carvalho; Waterstones Debut Fiction Prize-shortlisted and Observer Best New Novelist\, Gurnaik Johal; Footnote Press Commissioning Editor\, Serena Arthur; and director and co-founder of Counterpoints Arts\, Almir Koldzic. \nColin Grant is an author whose books include Bageye at the Wheel\, shortlisted for the Pen Ackerley Prize; Homecoming: Voices of the Windrush Generation; I’m Black So You Don’t Have to Be; and his forthcoming book What We Leave We Carry. \nThe shortlisted works\n\nEleanor Chan’s When I Bleed It  Is Like a Squashed Raspberry\, a meditation on amnesia\, re-remembering and the healing power of storytelling.\nJose Hall’s What The Trees Remember\, which follows a neurodivergent woman of Jamaican and Cornish heritage uncovering fractured histories of migration\, otherness and silence.\nErica Li’s A Thousand Rivers of Time\, a family saga chronicling the lives of three generations of women from a Hakka-Chinese family from 1945 to the present.\nJoel Mordi’s Backward Into the Future: ‘Her Past Was His Future’ an Afro-folkloric novel in which a trans griot who guards ancestral memory and a gay Nigerian asylum seeker become bound across time.\nAhmed Najar’s The Weight of Staying which follows a Palestinian-British narrator reckoning with exile\, where surviving the loss of place draws him into ghosthood.\nMaryam Namazie’s Bird of Dawn which charts an encounter between a pregnant Iranian refugee cast into the Aegean Sea and an ancient folkloric witness.\n\n\nBook your ticket\n\n\nBOOK TICKETS \nTickets are booked via the Southbank Centre.
URL:https://counterpoints.org.uk/event/footnote-x-counterpoints-prize-readings/
LOCATION:Purcell Room\, Queen Elizabeth Hall\, Southbank Centre\, London SE1 8XX
CATEGORIES:Literature & Spoken Word
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://counterpoints.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/Footnote-X-Counterpoints-General.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20260518T100000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20260518T123000
DTSTAMP:20260427T150400Z
CREATED:20260427T150017Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260427T150400Z
UID:10000615-1779098400-1779107400@counterpoints.org.uk
SUMMARY:Critical Hope - Creativity and Wellbeing Week launch
DESCRIPTION:Join us in person to hear from Creative Health sector experts from across the country as part of Creativity and Wellbeing Week 2026 organised by London Arts and Health. Our Arts\, Refugees & Mental Health producer Maren will be one of the panelists for this important conversation. \n\n\n\nDay one of Creativity and Wellbeing Week sets the tone for the national programme under the theme of Critical Hope for Acute Times. The theme acknowledges the increasing precarity in the health and care sectors including the impending NHS redundancies\, ongoing instability in funding for Creative Health and the rising pressures linked to planetary health and climate change. Hear from cutting edge speakers\, network and re-energise at this free event to kick start our festival for 2026. \nRead more about the festival theme\, Critical Hope here. \nThis event will gather the sector in a space of critical hope\, reconnecting practitioners with their passion and inviting visions for the future of Creative Health. You can expect exciting panel discussions\, Q&A\, artistic activity and networking. \nAt the National Theatre. London Arts & Health anticipate the event to sell out with practitioners\, NHS colleagues\, artists\, funders and policy makers joining to mark the opening of the festival. \nAll attendees will be able to take home a unique Critical Hope badge created by the Badge Cafe! \nFeaturing: \n\nChair and host: Thahmina Begum\nAnna Woolf: London Arts and Health\nYamin Choudury: National Theatre\nEmmanuella Morsi : Artist\, Production Manager and Researcher\nMaren Ellermann: Counterpoints Arts\nDan Hopewell: Bromley By Bow Centre\nDr Simon Opher MP: Chair of the APPG on Creative Health\nRachel Millward: Deputy leader of the Green Party of England and Wales\nWith resident artist from Hoxton Hall: Aaron Appiah-Anderson\n\nAbout the venue: \nArrive from 10am in the foyer of the National Theatre and follow the signs for the event which will take place at the Buffini Chao Deck. You can purchase a hot drink to bring up from the cafe to enjoy during the event. The venue is fully wheelchair accessible. \nGet your tickets here \n 
URL:https://counterpoints.org.uk/event/critical-hope-creativity-and-wellbeing-week-launch/
LOCATION:National Theatre\, National Theatre\, Upper Ground\, South Bank\, London\, London\, SE1 9PX\, United Kingdom
CATEGORIES:Creativity & Wellbeing Week,Mental Health
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/webp:https://counterpoints.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/Critical-hope.webp
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20260512T103000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20260512T163000
DTSTAMP:20260330T134821Z
CREATED:20260320T143116Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260330T134821Z
UID:10000603-1778581800-1778603400@counterpoints.org.uk
SUMMARY:Spaces of Care; Migration\, Museums & Mental Health
DESCRIPTION:We are thrilled about this interactive event with the Migration Network\, MultakaOxford and Counterpoints Arts at the Museum of Making in Derby. \n\n\n\nSpaces of Care a free day-long\, in-person event kindly hosted by the Museum of Making in Derby. This event is intended for those working with migration and intersecting themes in museums\, heritage sites and cultural spaces. It’s particularly for those working across the Midlands and South Yorkshire – to ensure opportunities for connection and potential collaborations. \nThere will be opportunities to hear from the organisers\, engage with a carousel of story-sharing activities\, share your own work\, and network and connect with each other. \nDuring the day we’ll explore key questions like: what are the motivations for everyone involved? How do we do it? What is successful and what challenges are we facing? What is the impact and what consequences do we need to consider? \nIf you would like to attend please email maren@counterpoints.org.uk
URL:https://counterpoints.org.uk/event/spaces-of-care-migration-museums-mental-health/
CATEGORIES:Mental Health
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://counterpoints.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Museum-of-Making-and-the-River-Derwent-c-Derby-Museums-2021.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20260426T103000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20260816T130000
DTSTAMP:20260709T082731Z
CREATED:20260422T121201Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260709T082731Z
UID:10000614-1777199400-1786885200@counterpoints.org.uk
SUMMARY:To Re-Cite: Ayat al-Kursi - Sound\, Faith\, and Collective Listening - workshops
DESCRIPTION:We warmly invite you to a workshop as part of the wider development of our newly commissioned project with artist Aliaskar Abarkas\, exploring sound\, music\, and listening through faith and collective experience.\nEach session brings together members of our community with Muslim backgrounds to share ideas\, and reflections on how sonic practices – from recitation and prayer to breath\, rhythm\, and silence – shape spiritual\, emotional\, and communal life. The starting point of the project is the Quranic verse Ayat al-Kursi\, whispered across generations\, transmitted as both lullaby and sonic protection. \nThis is a series of workshops forming part of a longer-term project\, with sessions taking place on Sun 26 Apr\, Sun 17 May\, Sun 31 May\, 21 Jun\, 12 Jul\, 26 Jul and 16 Aug 2026. Please book each session individually. \nTo Re-Cite is co-commissioned by Counterpoints Arts and Whitechapel Gallery for Backyard Biennial.\n\nBook workshops on these dates:\nSun 26 Apr 2026\, 10.30am – 12.30pm; book HERE\nSun 17 May 10.30am – 12.30pm; book HERE\nSun 31 May 10.30am – 12.30pm; book HERE\nSun 28 June 11am – 1pm; book HERE\nSun 12 July 11am – 1pm; book HERE\nSun 26 July 11am – 1pm; book HERE\nSun 16 August 11am – 1pm; book HERE\n  \nAbout Aliaskar Abarkas\nAliaskar Abarkas is an Iranian artist based in London. \nRooted in alternative and communal art education\, his practice stages choreographic encounters that move from individual elements into collective expression. Often in dialogue with historical sources\, Abarkas builds collaborative frameworks that invite participants to interpret and activate inherited scores through music\, exhibition\, and performance-making. \nHe is currently an Associate Artist at Sadler’s Wells / Rose Choreographic School (London\, 2024–26) and Lead Artist at Autograph Gallery (Acts of Solidarity\, in partnership with All Change\, London\, 2025–28). He holds a BA in Visual Cultures from the University of Tehran and an MA in the Theory of Contemporary Art and Politics from Goldsmiths\, University of London. Previous residencies include Cubitt Gallery and the Swiss Church (London)\, as well as Rupert (Lithuania)\, the Institute of Postnatural Studies (Madrid)\, Castro (Rome)\, Open School East\, and Syllabus V (UK)\, among others. \nHis work has been supported by institutions including the Barbican Centre\, ICA\, The Mosaic Rooms\, TACO!\, Pushkin House\, LUX (London)\, CAPC (Bordeaux)\, LOCALES (Rome)\, Scuola Piccola Zattere (Venice)\, and CIRCA. Upcoming projects include commissions and collaborations with Arts Catalyst (Sheffield)\, YDP Foundation (London)\, and the Singapore Art Museum. \nImage: Reverberance\, Living Rehearsing\, YDP\, London\, 2026. Photograph: Anne Tetzlaff
URL:https://counterpoints.org.uk/event/to-re-cite-ayat-al-kursi-sound-faith-and-collective-listening-workshops/
LOCATION:Clore Creative Studio Whitechapel Gallery\, Clore Creative Studio\, Whitechapel Art Gallery\, 77-82 Whitechapel High St\, London\, E1 7QX
CATEGORIES:Community & Participation,Sound Art
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://counterpoints.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/Photo-credit-©-Anne-TetzlafDSC01760-1170x655-1.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20260414T103000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20260414T120000
DTSTAMP:20260330T145225Z
CREATED:20260330T144238Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260330T145225Z
UID:10000610-1776162600-1776168000@counterpoints.org.uk
SUMMARY:Take Part in Refugee Week
DESCRIPTION:A partnership event exploring Refugee Week 2026 \n\n\n\n\nJoin this event to learn more about Refugee Week and the intersection of arts\, mental health and displacement with Counterpoints Arts. \nRefugee Week is the world’s largest arts and culture festival celebrating the contributions\, creativity and resilience of refugees and people seeking sanctuary. Refugee Week 2026 will take place from 15–21 June and will explore the theme Courage\, marking the 75th anniversary of the Refugee Convention. \nThe session will include a case study and practical guidance on embedding good mental health practice when planning Refugee Week events or working with people from displaced backgrounds. \nSign up to the event here  \nThis event is a partnership between Counterpoints Arts and a collective of UK creative health networks: The Culture\, Health & Wellbeing Alliance; London Arts and Health; Arts\, Culture\, Health & Wellbeing Scotland; the Wales Arts\, Health & Wellbeing Network; the Northern Ireland Creative Health Network and Arts Care. \n\n\n\n\nAgenda\n\n\n\n10:30 AM – 10:40 AM \nWelcome & housekeeping\n\nCHWA\n\n10:40 AM – 10:55 AM \n\n\nAbout the Week\n\nCounterpoints\n\nAbout the Week – and how you can take part \n\n\n10:55 AM – 11:05 AM \nCase study\n11:05 AM – 11:20 AM \n\n\nCounterpoints + Mental Health Guidebook\n\nCounterpoints\n\n11:20 AM – 11:45 AM \n\n\nDiscussion & Q&A\n11:45 AM – 12:00 PM \n\n\nClosing remarks
URL:https://counterpoints.org.uk/event/take-part-in-refugee-week/
LOCATION:Online via Zoom\, via Counterpoints 128 Hoxton Street\, London\, N1 6SH\, United Kingdom
CATEGORIES:Mental Health,Refugee Week
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/webp:https://counterpoints.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Courage.webp
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20260413T110000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20260413T133000
DTSTAMP:20260227T141349Z
CREATED:20260217T120244Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260227T141349Z
UID:10000597-1776078000-1776087000@counterpoints.org.uk
SUMMARY:Beyond a Joke - report launch
DESCRIPTION:Counterpoints Arts is delighted to be co-hosting the launch of Beyond A Joke – Comedy and Social Change in the UK\, by Sam Beale\, supported by Unbound Philanthropy.\nDr Sam Beale is a comedy director\, writer\, teacher and researcher. She is a co-founder and co-director of Palestine Comedy Club (PalCom) and founder/ director of Funny Side Collective. \nTo celebrate and advocate live comedy as a tool for positive social change\, Beyond A Joke explores how comedy initiatives are building communities\, reducing social exclusion and improving mental health\, and examines the effectiveness of using humour as part of social justice campaigns. \nThe launch event will feature a presentation of the report plus a panel discussion from experienced comedy and social change practitioners:\n– Performer\, facilitator and story-maker\, Yasmeen Audisho Ghrawi\n– The Comedy School Founder/Director\, Mr Keith Palmer MBE\n– Critic\, K. Biswas\n– Report author\, Dr Sam Beale \nChaired by Laith Elzubaidi (Counterpoints Arts) \nLight lunch will be served. \nThe report features projects and organisations currently working in the sector\, to identify existing good practice\, and considers opportunities for expansion and key challenges for the field. It is divided into three themed areas\, highlighting the principal ways that comedy and collective laughter can be catalysed for social change: \n\nComedy and community;\nComedy\, recovery and resilience;\nComedy and campaigning.\n\nIllustrative examples are loosely gathered under these themes with some crossovers. To support the report’s interpretative overview of the field\, each section includes the insights and reflections of comedy creators\, and providers and participants of ongoing projects. These identify current applications and impacts of comedy for social change practices and the skills\, methods and approaches. \nThe launch is an invite-only event. If you would like to attend please email hello@counterpoints.org.uk \nDownload Beyond A Joke (pdf)
URL:https://counterpoints.org.uk/event/beyond-a-joke-report-launch/
LOCATION:Shaftesbury Theatre\, 210 Shaftesbury Ave\, London\, WC2H 8DP\, United Kingdom
CATEGORIES:Comedy
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://counterpoints.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/BAJ-report-cover-image-1.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20260412T103000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20260412T123000
DTSTAMP:20260408T042800Z
CREATED:20260407T091221Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260408T042800Z
UID:10000613-1775989800-1775997000@counterpoints.org.uk
SUMMARY:To Re-Cite: Ayat al-Kursi - Sound\, Faith\, and Collective Listening
DESCRIPTION:We warmly invite you to a workshop as part of the wider development of our newly co-commissioned project with artist Aliaskar Abarkas\, exploring sound\, music\, and listening through faith and collective experience. \nThe session brings together members of our community with Muslim backgrounds to share ideas\, and reflections on how sonic practices – from recitation and prayer to breath\, rhythm\, and silence – shape spiritual\, emotional\, and communal life. The starting point of the project is the Quranic verse Ayat al-Kursi\, whispered across generations\, transmitted as both lullaby and sonic protection. \nThis session is the first in a series of workshops forming part of a longer-term project. \nFurther confirmed sessions will take place on: Sun 26 Apr\, Sun 17 May\, and Sun 31 May. \nAliaskar Abarkas is an Iranian artist based in London. \nRooted in alternative and communal art education\, his practice stages choreographic encounters that move from individual elements into collective expression. Often in dialogue with historical sources\, Abarkas builds collaborative frameworks that invite participants to interpret and activate inherited scores through music\, exhibition\, and performance-making. \nHe is currently an Associate Artist at Sadler’s Wells / Rose Choreographic School (London\, 2024–26) and Lead Artist at Autograph Gallery (Acts of Solidarity\, in partnership with All Change\, London\, 2025–28). He holds a BA in Visual Cultures from the University of Tehran and an MA in the Theory of Contemporary Art and Politics from Goldsmiths\, University of London. Previous residencies include Cubitt Gallery and the Swiss Church (London)\, as well as Rupert (Lithuania)\, the Institute of Postnatural Studies (Madrid)\, Castro (Rome)\, Open School East\, and Syllabus V (UK)\, among others. \nHis work has been supported by institutions including the Barbican Centre\, ICA\, The Mosaic Rooms\, TACO!\, Pushkin House\, LUX (London)\, CAPC (Bordeaux)\, LOCALES (Rome)\, Scuola Piccola Zattere (Venice)\, and CIRCA. Upcoming projects include commissions and collaborations with Arts Catalyst (Sheffield)\, YDP Foundation (London)\, and the Singapore Art Museum. \nCo-commissioned by Counterpoints Arts and Whitechapel Gallery. \nImage credit: Anne Tetzlaf
URL:https://counterpoints.org.uk/event/to-re-cite-ayat-al-kursi-sound-faith-and-collective-listening/
LOCATION:Clore Creative Studio\, Clore Creative Studio\, Whitechapel Art Gallery\, 77-82 Whitechapel High St\, London\, E1 7QX
CATEGORIES:Community & Participation,Sound Art,Visual Arts
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://counterpoints.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/Photo-credit-©-Anne-TetzlafDSC01760-1170x655-1.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20260409T160000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20260409T173000
DTSTAMP:20260313T131425Z
CREATED:20260313T131349Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260313T131425Z
UID:10000601-1775750400-1775755800@counterpoints.org.uk
SUMMARY:The (De)Colonial Legacy of the 1932 Cairo Congress
DESCRIPTION:Panel Discussion with Kamilya Jubran\, Hazem Jamjoum\, Tarek Beshir and Gülçin Özkişi\nThe panel brings together musicians\, scholars and archivists to reflect on the legacy of the 1932 Cairo Congress from a contemporary MENA perspective\, as part of Beyond 1932. Moderated by Rim Irscheid\, panelists Kamilya Jubran\, Hazem Jamjoum\, Tarik Beshir and Gülcin Özkişi discuss how the Congress continues to shape ideas of authenticity\, notation\, preservation\, and musical modernity today. \nDrawing on creative practice and research\, the panel will explore the political\, colonial\, and archival dimensions of this historic gathering and its ongoing impact on music-making and knowledge production in the region. \nThe panel takes place on Thursday 9 April\, 4–5.30pm in the Pyramid Room at King’s College London (War Studies Department)\, followed by a drinks reception. \nThe event is free and open to all\, registration is required. \nCounterpoints has been partnering with the Beyond 1932 \, helping to connect events and podcasts with our networks.
URL:https://counterpoints.org.uk/event/the-decolonial-legacy-of-the-1932-cairo-congress/
LOCATION:KCL\, Pyramid Room\, King's Building\, London\, WC2R 2LS\, United Kingdom
CATEGORIES:Learning,Music
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://counterpoints.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/swehm5uqdldhul3b51eo.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20260409
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20260419
DTSTAMP:20260401T142923Z
CREATED:20260330T163029Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260401T142923Z
UID:10000611-1775692800-1776556799@counterpoints.org.uk
SUMMARY:Uprooted
DESCRIPTION:Ieva Sudargaite Douaihi presents new work in response to a time of mass displacement in Lebanon\, continuing the twinning and solidarity between OUTPOST in Norwich and Takeover Beirut. \nThe photographic prints featured in this exhibition will be available for purchase\, with all proceeds donated to Buzuruna Juzuruna. \nLocated in the Bekaa Valley\, Buzuruna Juzuruna operates a vital heirloom seed library and educational farm. Their work mirrors the themes of this exhibition: a commitment to the native landscape and a refusal to let the roots of Lebanese ecology be swept away. They have been chosen not only for their immediate impact but for their long-term mission to secure a sustainable\, local future for the region’s agriculture. \nCounterpoints first worked with OUTPOST last October to present work by Maria Proshkowska as part of Platforma 2025\, and we are delighted to be able to collaborate again to bring this important new exhibition to the UK. \nIeva Saudargaite Douaihi is a transdisciplinary artist working at the intersection of photography\, architecture\, and material research. Rooted in an ongoing exploration of vernacular landscapes\, memory\, and overlooked ecologies\, her practice spans image- making\, spatial interventions\, and hybrid objects composed of found objects\, natural matter and household materials. Drawing on her background in architecture and a deep sensitivity to ecological and social entanglements\, she engages with overlooked spaces and slow processes of growth\, decay\, and adaptation. \nThrough layered relationships between nature\, memory\, and the built environment\, Douaihi explores how spaces carry histories\, absences\, and the potential for renewal. Her work gives form to questions of permanence\, access\, and belonging—unfolding as quiet gestures that trace the ways in which people and places shape\, resist\, or intertwine with one another.
URL:https://counterpoints.org.uk/event/uprooted/
LOCATION:OUTPOST Gallery\, 10b Wensum Street\, Norwich\, NR3 1HR\, United Kingdom
CATEGORIES:Visual Arts
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DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20260407T193000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20260407T210000
DTSTAMP:20260313T130254Z
CREATED:20260313T130119Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260313T130254Z
UID:10000600-1775590200-1775595600@counterpoints.org.uk
SUMMARY:Kamilya Jubran and Werner Hasler
DESCRIPTION:Kamilya Jubran and Werner Hasler unravel a musical universe of possibilities; “a unison of timbres\, cultures complementing\, the complicity of verses\, and modes and languages confronting each other” in the duo’s own way of communicating respective origins and contemporaneity. Lyrical\, within a sound full of contrast and ornamentation\, they pursue an expansion of their repertoire with imaginative interpretation and improvisation. \nHinging on a practice of interrogating their hearing and their expression\, their research and their desire\, Kamilya Jubran and Werner Hasler draw a universe where everything seems possible. It is a unison of stamps\, cultures completing each other\, sentences colliding with each other\, modes and languages meeting each other. It’s a way of communicating their respective roots and presents. Kamilya Jubran and Werner Hasler let us gradually see the tenants and secrets of their artistic conversation. The alchemy of their exchange unveils a voyage into a unique\, unheard sound. \nAs part of Kamilya Jubran’s Beyond 1932 Residency at King’s College London\, the duo will perform و WA (Arabic for ‘and’)\, their third album (2019 Everest Records er_093 ). \nThe performance will be followed by a short Q&A with the artists. \nFull details and booking \nCounterpoints has been working with the Beyond 1932 project\, sharing events with our networks.
URL:https://counterpoints.org.uk/event/kamilya-jubran-and-werner-hasler/
LOCATION:Cafe Oto\, 18-22 Ashwin St\, London\, E8 3DL
CATEGORIES:Music
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DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20260328T120000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20260328T180000
DTSTAMP:20260317T134530Z
CREATED:20260317T111812Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260317T134530Z
UID:10000602-1774699200-1774720800@counterpoints.org.uk
SUMMARY:Artists Against The Far Right - Together March
DESCRIPTION:Join Counterpoints in the Arts Bloc at the Together March on 28 March!\n\nWe invite artists\, creatives\, arts organisations\, partners and supporters to walk with us at the Together Alliance March. Bring your work\, your art\, your placards and your chants. At a time when division is being weaponised\, we believe in the power of the arts — and in the power of gathering together — to imagine and demand something better. Let’s make creativity visible in the movement for justice.  \nWe’ll have some placards available\, please sign up if you’d like one\, and to give us an idea of numbers.  \nSign up to join us at the march!\nMeet on Park Lane at 12pm – exact location on What Three Words. \n\n—\n\nAbout The Together Alliance\nThe Together Alliance is made up of hundreds of civil society organisations representing over 7 million people. They are backed by thousands of everyday people from all over the country: trade unionists and environmentalists\, community activists and faith leaders\, musicians\, athletes\, entertainers and elected representatives. \nThe community is rapidly growing and are mobilising in communities across the country – members represent over 7 million people mobilising for love\, hope and unity in the face of hate\, fear and division\, raising their voices to stop the rise of the far-right. More information about the March route\, accessibility and speakers here.
URL:https://counterpoints.org.uk/event/together-march/
CATEGORIES:Community & Participation
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://counterpoints.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Join-1.jpg
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DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20260322T190000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20260322T220000
DTSTAMP:20260210T121605Z
CREATED:20260210T121605Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260210T121605Z
UID:10000595-1774206000-1774216800@counterpoints.org.uk
SUMMARY:About Us! Artists Scratch Showcase 2026
DESCRIPTION:The Southbank Centre and Counterpoints Arts invite you to submit your work to be screened or performed during a supportive artistic group session at 7pm – 10pm on Sunday 22 March 2026. Sign up to present your work (or work in progress) and engage in discussions with a room full of like-minded artistic experimenters. All artists selected to present will receive £150 to cover their time and expenses.. \nAs part of the session\, after the performances the artists and audience will discuss any shared or contrasting themes and talk about craft. There are also opportunities for networking and gaining industry advice. \nCounterpoints Arts also have a capacity to support artists from the global majority with advice on project development\, fundraising\, and networking. Contact at Counterpoints is Dijana Rakovic\, Senior Producer dijana@counterpoints.org.uk \nApplications to present work are open to artists aged over 18 from a global majority background (or tackling the subjects of diaspora and migration)\, whether you’re a writer\, musician\, dancer\, filmmaker\, designer or anything in between. \nPlease submit your application by 11.59pm on Wednesday 25 February. Six artists will be selected to share their work. This selection will be curated by Awate. If your work is not selected we’d still love you to come as an audience member to give feedback and share ideas. \nFull details and application form: https://www.southbankcentre.co.uk/artist-call-out-about-us-artists-scratch-showcase-2026/
URL:https://counterpoints.org.uk/event/about-us-artists-scratch-showcase-2026/
LOCATION:Purcell Room\, Queen Elizabeth Hall\, Southbank Centre\, London SE1 8XX
CATEGORIES:Multi-Art Form
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/avif:https://counterpoints.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/Scratch-Showcase-Charlotte-Gosling.avif
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DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20260317T100000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20260404T180000
DTSTAMP:20260227T092159Z
CREATED:20260216T120125Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260227T092159Z
UID:10000596-1773741600-1775325600@counterpoints.org.uk
SUMMARY:Bibby Boys
DESCRIPTION:Bibby Boys documents the experience of the men aboard the Bibby Stockholm barge and the community that rallied around them. It is a collaborative photographic series by Theo McInnes and Thomas Ralph.\nFree Admission \nPrivate View\, Thursday 19th March\, 18:00-21:00. RSVP HERE \nCounterpoints Arts is one of the partners supporting the exhibition. \nIn late 2023\, while visiting Portland\, McInnes and Ralph overheard the phrase “Bain’t narn of we” used to describe the men housed aboard the newly arrived Bibby Stockholm. In old Dorset\, it means “ain’t one of us”. Hearing this prompted them to consider who these men were\, and how they would experience the island as their temporary home. \nThe Bibby Stockholm\, a repurposed maintenance barge moored off the island\, was used by the UK government to accommodate people seeking asylum. Many of the men onboard had fled persecution\, war\, or climate-related displacement\, only to find themselves confined in conditions Amnesty International described as “utterly shameful” and “reminiscent of the prison hulks of the Victorian era”. Promoted as a cost-saving alternative to hotel accommodation\, the Bibby Stockholm became a highly visible symbol of a deterrence-led asylum policy. \nThe Isle of Portland is a small peninsula connected to the Dorset mainland by a single road. Known for its quarries\, prisons\, and industrial port where the barge was moored\, the island has a rugged character shaped by industry\, remoteness\, and long-standing economic challenges. Portland and neighbouring Weymouth include several neighbourhoods ranked among the most deprived in England\, reflecting persistent barriers to housing\, employment\, and access to services. With the arrival of the Bibby Stockholm\, the island became a focal point of a fierce national debate on migration. \nFor many\, boarding the barge did not feel like a choice. Several men later described feeling compelled to go onboard\, fearing homelessness or negative consequences for their asylum claims if they refused. As they waited in limbo for interviews\, often for multiple years\, the men faced a series of severe challenges. These included an outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease in the water supply\, restricted movement\, sustained racist and xenophobic protests\, the threat of removal to Rwanda\, and the death of Leonard Farraku onboard. All of this unfolded alongside the personal trauma many carried and deep uncertainty about their futures. Leonard’s death raised serious questions about the adequacy of mental health care and safeguarding within the asylum accommodation system\, deepening concern about the human cost of prolonged limbo. \nIn late 2024\, the decision not to renew the barge’s contract was widely understood as a response to mounting criticism of its human and financial cost. This followed sustained pressure on the newly elected government\, driven in part by collective strikes organised by the men onboard and by continued solidarity from organisations including Care4Calais\, Stand Up To Racism\, and the local Portland Global Friendship Group. \nFormed by Portland residents\, many of whom were strangers before the barge arrived\, the Portland Global Friendship Group offered practical support including help with Home Office applications\, transport\, clothing\, and access to services\, alongside companionship and advocacy. Operating amid local and national hostility\, the group became a visible presence of welcome on the island. Through shared time and activity\, gardening\, walks\, games\, art\, and volunteering became spaces of mutual exchange. Rather than a one-way act of assistance\, the group grew through reciprocity\, with care and responsibility shared between the men onboard and the wider Portland community. When the barge closed\, both the men who had fought for its end and local residents were left to say goodbye to a community formed under conditions no one had chosen. \nMcInnes and Ralph worked slowly and collaboratively\, prioritising time\, consent\, and repeated encounters. With no access to the barge itself\, they worked from the outside\, observing how the men lived and navigated this period of limbo on the island. Over more than a year\, the connections formed between the artists\, the men onboard\, and the wider community shaped both the work and its meaning. \nMainstream media frequently reduces asylum to crisis or threat. Bibby Boys offers another way of looking\, grounded in proximity\, exchange\, and relationship. The tensions surrounding this work are not abstract: when a small preview was shown in Dorset\, the exhibition was vandalised. That act\, occurring alongside a swell of welcome and support\, reflects the contested ground this project occupies and why exhibitions encouraging dialogue and reflection remain necessary. \nArtist Bios\nTheo McInnes (b. 1992) is a photographer and filmmaker based in London. His practice centres on people and the ways they navigate the world\, using photography and film as vehicles for exploration\, attention\, and empathy. Working across portraiture\, social documentary\, and observational filmmaking\, McInnes focuses on human presence\, character\, and lived experience\, often engaging with communities observed from the margins. His directorial debut\, the short documentary The Fanciers\, received recognition at DOC NYC and Bolton International Film Festival\, and was nominated for Best Short Documentary at the Melbourne International Film Festival. McInnes is a multiple-time Portrait of Britain winner\, selected in 2019\, 2020\, and 2024\, and shortlisted in 2023. He received the Social Documentary Photography Award for Best Series for Showland\, and has been awarded Rugby Photographer of the Year twice for his documentary work on the Men’s Six Nations. \nThomas Ralph (b. 1989) is a film director\, writer\, and socially engaged artist from Dorset whose work is driven by political inquiry and an interest in lived experience. Working across film and photography\, his practice explores culture\, community\, and representation. His commercial work has received nominations and awards from Cannes Lions\, British Arrows\, D&AD\, and the UK Music Video Awards. In 2024\, he was a Portrait of Britain winner. Alongside his commissioned practice\, Ralph develops long-form narrative and documentary projects. He is currently co-writing the feature film Precious Things and the television miniseries The Laughter Of Our Children with Liam Papadachi\, and is adapting writer Max Porter’s arms trade soliloquy Wild West into a short film.
URL:https://counterpoints.org.uk/event/bibby-boys/
LOCATION:Photofusion\, 2 Beehive Place\, London\, SW9 7QR\, United Kingdom
CATEGORIES:Photography
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DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20260228T100000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20260301T160000
DTSTAMP:20260203T172851Z
CREATED:20260203T172526Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260203T172851Z
UID:10000593-1772272800-1772380800@counterpoints.org.uk
SUMMARY:Once We Were Held – SHARP
DESCRIPTION:An immersive installation created with sound\, scent\, visuals\, sculpture and LGBTQIA+ history. \nInspired by the Bethany Project in Bodmin – a radical place of rest and care for people with HIV/AIDS in the 80s and 90s – this installation invites us into a space of rest\, reflection and queer community. \nReclaiming daffodils as a symbol of queer resilience\, the installation connects LGBTQIA+ care with the landscapes of Cornwall. \nDeveloped with Queer Kernow and supported by Screen Cornwall & Creative Kernow Associates’ Immersive Innovation programme (part-funded by Cornwall Council from the Culture and Creative Industries Innovation Fund). Co-commissioned with Counterpoints Arts. \n\nSHARP’s Website\nSHARP’s Instagram\n\nAbout the Artist\nSHARP is a queer\, working class\, socially engaged artist\, activist\, and producer whose interdisciplinary approach incorporates experimental video\, photography\, sculpture\, and sound installations. Their work investigates the human condition from a queer perspective\, focusing on themes of remembrance from both personal and collective experiences. \nBased in Cornwall\, with a studio at Trewarveneth in Newlyn\, SHARP works across the UK and internationally. Their artwork is represented in several private and national public collections\, including Leeds Art Gallery\, Bradford Museums and Galleries\, and the Salford University Art Collection. Recently\, SHARP received an Artist Award from the Henry Moore Foundation and\, in 2024\, won the overall title at The Exeter Contemporary Art Prize. \nCurrently\, SHARP is exhibiting in the Plant Dreaming exhibition at Leeds Art Gallery and in She Sells Seashells at the Alice Austin House on Staten Island\, New York. Most recent exhibitions and performances have taken place at venues such as The Loading Bay Bradford City of Culture\, Yorkshire Sculpture Park\, Newlyn Art Gallery & The Exchange in Cornwall\, The Whitaker Museum\, Cartwright Hall Bradford\, VOID Derry\, and The Gallery 78 in Reykjavik\, Iceland. \nSHARP was the lead artist and creative director of the queer contemporary arts and heritage project KOMPAS with Queer Kernow and Decoder. The installation Once We Were Held was inspired by the research on this project.
URL:https://counterpoints.org.uk/event/once-we-were-held-sharp/
LOCATION:St Petroc’s Church\, Church Square\, Priory Road\, Bodmin\, Cornwall\, PL31 2DP
CATEGORIES:Visual Arts
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://counterpoints.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/Sharp-7b509f97-4272-4607-83c3-e15e5d397304-1.jpg
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