BEGIN:VCALENDAR
VERSION:2.0
PRODID:-//Counterpoints - ECPv6.15.18//NONSGML v1.0//EN
CALSCALE:GREGORIAN
METHOD:PUBLISH
X-WR-CALNAME:Counterpoints
X-ORIGINAL-URL:https://counterpoints.org.uk
X-WR-CALDESC:Events for Counterpoints
REFRESH-INTERVAL;VALUE=DURATION:PT1H
X-Robots-Tag:noindex
X-PUBLISHED-TTL:PT1H
BEGIN:VTIMEZONE
TZID:Europe/London
BEGIN:DAYLIGHT
TZOFFSETFROM:+0000
TZOFFSETTO:+0100
TZNAME:BST
DTSTART:20240331T010000
END:DAYLIGHT
BEGIN:STANDARD
TZOFFSETFROM:+0100
TZOFFSETTO:+0000
TZNAME:GMT
DTSTART:20241027T010000
END:STANDARD
BEGIN:DAYLIGHT
TZOFFSETFROM:+0000
TZOFFSETTO:+0100
TZNAME:BST
DTSTART:20250330T010000
END:DAYLIGHT
BEGIN:STANDARD
TZOFFSETFROM:+0100
TZOFFSETTO:+0000
TZNAME:GMT
DTSTART:20251026T010000
END:STANDARD
BEGIN:DAYLIGHT
TZOFFSETFROM:+0000
TZOFFSETTO:+0100
TZNAME:BST
DTSTART:20260329T010000
END:DAYLIGHT
BEGIN:STANDARD
TZOFFSETFROM:+0100
TZOFFSETTO:+0000
TZNAME:GMT
DTSTART:20261025T010000
END:STANDARD
BEGIN:DAYLIGHT
TZOFFSETFROM:+0000
TZOFFSETTO:+0100
TZNAME:BST
DTSTART:20270328T010000
END:DAYLIGHT
BEGIN:STANDARD
TZOFFSETFROM:+0100
TZOFFSETTO:+0000
TZNAME:GMT
DTSTART:20271031T010000
END:STANDARD
END:VTIMEZONE
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20250904T090000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20251018T170000
DTSTAMP:20260421T140847
CREATED:20250714T094107Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250912T080410Z
UID:10000535-1756976400-1760806800@counterpoints.org.uk
SUMMARY:Leaving Were The Ones Who Could Not Stay
DESCRIPTION:Broadway Gallery in Letchworth presents Leaving Were The Ones Who Could Not Stay\, a new exhibition featuring the work of Beverley Carruthers\, Bettina Furnée\, Olga Jürgenson and Idit Elia Nathan. \nCo-commissioned and presented as part of the Platforma Festival (October 2025) produced by Counterpoints Arts. \nOpening Reception: Thursday 4 September 2025\, 18.30-21.00 \nWorkshop: Memory\, Identity & Home\nSaturday 4 October 2025\, 11:00 – 12:30\nJoin artists Beverley Carruthers and Bettina Furnée for a creative workshop exploring the experience of arriving in a new place. Inspired by photos from The Garden City Collection. We will work with writing\, storytelling and photography to create new versions of our own and others’ treasured memories. \nArtist-Led Walk & Talk\nSaturday 11 October 2025\, 12:00 – 13:30\nGain insight into the exhibition through a guided ‘walk and talk’ with the artists\, as they discuss their work and ideas. \nThe exhibition features four Cambridge-based artists who explore the socio-political forces shaping familial bonds\, migration\, and intergenerational memory. Through sound\, video\, collage\, and interactive installations\, they draw on personal histories\, interviews\, found material and family archives to reimagine borders\, displacement\, and the meaning of home. \nThis collectively created project encourages sharing of prescient stories of migration and displacement to question societal change and bonds. \nAll four artists present large-scale new works in this exhibition: Hailstones\, Bars and Meshes is a sound installation with photographic prints by Beverley Carruthers\, exploring contemporary oral histories of labour\, migration\, and community storytelling. Out Of Our Earth is a three-channel film and sound installation by Bettina Furnée that explores ‘leaving’- a friend\, a home\, a country\, our planet- by blending tales of migration and farewell with recorded interviews and elements of science fiction. Permission to Return Granted by Olga Jürgenson is exploring the impact of forced collectivisation\, Stalin’s terror and World War II on the migrant Estonian community\, including her family\, in the Ulyanovsk area of Soviet Russia during the period between 1929 and 1953. Trigger Warning by Idit Nathan is a sculptural installation of handkerchiefs passed down through the maternal line\, delicately embroidered with press images from the war in Gaza and artistic responses to historic horrors of war. \nThe project was developed in partnership with Counterpoints Arts as part of Platforma (October 2025). Additional events with Uncovering Letchworth\, METAL Peterborough and Revoluton Arts\, Luton\, will use the exhibition themes to stimulate conversation and connect (migrant) artists in the region. \nBeverley Carruthers is a multimedia artist exploring female experience\, and how this is navigated through ritual and performance in photography\, generative text\, sound art\, performance and film. She is a Royal College of Art alumnus and was senior lecturer in photography at London College of Communication where she co-created the Writing Photographs research project\, investigating how image and text come together\, particularly in an installation context. She recently ran The Expanded Librarian as collaboration between The Royal College of Art\, CRASSH\, University of Cambridge\, and University of The Arts\, London. She organised the Reframing Menopause research project where she has made collaborative film and texts works and co-curated the first multidisciplinary menopause conference at University of Cambridge in 2019. She has run two conferences at Tate Modern\, and an extensive exhibition\, public lecture\, and workshop program. She is an experienced workshop leader having taught for over 30 years at University of the Arts\, with public workshops at The Photographers’ Gallery\, Tate Modern and LCC Studios. \nBettina Furnée was born in The Netherlands and is studio artist at Wysing Arts Centre. Her text-based practice includes installation\, live events and moving image. She works collaboratively with writers\, musicians and participants to create projects that challenge dominant narratives and amplify voices from the community. Her projects are often situated in public places where power resides\, such as a church\, library\, mountain or bunker\, exploring the instability of language through wordplay\, text and sound. For instance\, collaborative project Even You Song was a choral evensong based on interviews with twelve couples about a potential space mission\, and this premiered at Peterborough Cathedral\, before touring in 2019. Powerhouse was a temporary installation\, set of posters\, archival work and film\, which resulted from a durational word association game staged at Cambridge University Library\, as part of a residency at Kettle’s Yard. She has been awarded public commissions\, group and solo shows\, residencies and support for self-initiated projects. In 2020 she was selected for alternative learning programme Syllabus VI\, and she is currently artist in residence for Natur Am Byth\, Wales’ green recovery programme. \nOlga Jürgenson was born in Siberia and raised in Estonia; she is currently based in Cambridge and works and exhibits internationally. Olga is drawn to the subject of human nature’s complexity – whether it’s from the perspective of a female artist collaborating with the world’s first AI sex doll Samantha\, TV detective stories questioning the role of god\, or a painter of portraits of robots disguised as celebrities. She has participated in many group exhibitions globally\, including 56th Venice Biennial\, MANIFESTA 10\, and Liverpool\, Moscow and Ural biennials. She has been awarded grants and awards from several European foundations\, and in 2011 she was nominated for the Kandinsky Prize (Moscow\, Russia). Recent solo exhibitions were at the Tallinn Art Hall Gallery\, Estonia (2021-2022)\, Espronceda Centre for Arts and Culture\, Barcelona\, Spain (2018)\, New Hall Art Collection\, University of Cambridge\, UK (2014)\, amongst others. Olga’s works are held in state and private collections across the world\, including British Film Institute\, London (UK)\, The University of Cambridge (UK)\, Oulu Art Museum (Finland)\, National Centre for Contemporary Art (Russia). Olga curated the National Pavilion of Mauritius at the 56th and 57th Venice Biennale. \nIdit Elia Nathan grew up in Jerusalem. She is a conceptual artist whose work includes interactive installations\, live events\, games\, audio-visual works\, walks and artists’ books where play operates as a productively provocative space to challenge accepted understandings. Using optics\, scale and perspective\, participants are invited to respond to contemporary dilemmas both as actors with free will and actors in an historical and cultural context. Her artworks have been been exhibited internationally and are held in private and public collections including Kettle’s Yard\, Standpoint\, IMT\, Parasol Unit\, Royal Institute of British Architects\, Triangle Space\, Pushkin House\, Royal Central School of Speech and Drama\, Pembroke and Homerton colleges (Cambridge)\, Crypt Gallery and Materia Gallery (Rome)\, Toxic Dreams (Vienna)\, Display Cult (Canada and US) and Zarya Centre for Contemporary Arts (Vladivostok). Until recently Idit was associate lecturer at Central St. Martin’s College (University of the Arts London)\, where she completed an arts practice PhD titled Art of Play in Zones of Conflict – the Case of Israel Palestine in 2018. \nImage: Bettina Furnée
URL:https://counterpoints.org.uk/event/leaving-were-the-ones-who-could-not-stay/
LOCATION:Broadway Gallery\, 2 The Arcade\, Letchworth Garden City\, SG6 3ES\, United Kingdom
CATEGORIES:Platforma,Visual Arts
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://counterpoints.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/donkey_1.2e16d0ba.fill-1300x731-c0.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20250913T100000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20260111T170000
DTSTAMP:20260421T140847
CREATED:20250901T154950Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250901T155359Z
UID:10000565-1757757600-1768150800@counterpoints.org.uk
SUMMARY:Ghafar Tajmohammad: If you throw a stone in the crowd\, someone’s going to get hurt
DESCRIPTION:Explore Ghafar Tajmohammad’s thought-provoking collection of paintings and hand-woven rugs\, called kilims\, reflecting on conflict\, home\, and the search for hope and resilience.\nBy combining painting\, hand-woven rugs\, and lived experiences\, Ghafar’s work responds to the ongoing global turmoil and its impact. Whilst seemingly distant\, such conflicts mark real lives\, especially those of civilians caught in the crossfire. Ghafar draws on his own experience of displacement as a British Afghan\, while also turning outward to wider struggles and shared hopes. \nCo-commissioned and presented as part of the Platforma Festival (October 2025)\, produced by Counterpoints Arts. \nAbout the exhibition \nThe exhibition’s title comes from a proverb shared with Ghafar by a fellow Afghan while talking about the bombings in Afghanistan. \nToday\, the phrase feels even more powerful against the backdrop of global conflicts. For Ghafar\, it reflects both feelings of helplessness and the hope that expressing the collective “crowd” might encourage solidarity and social connection. \nGhafar’s work talks about ideas like home\, belonging\, and migration of people moving from one place to another. \nHis art looks closely at the experiences of people from the Afghan community who have moved to new places\, especially to the UK. He uses painting in new and different ways to share these stories. \nFull exhibition details \nWhat to expect \nOne of the works in this exhibition is a collection of hand-woven\, painted rugs\, called kilims\, named “Love Letters.” This personal piece was inspired by a workshop Ghafar co-led with ArtRefuge at a refugee camp in the UK. \nDuring this workshop\, he invited participants to write and draw their initials using both Arabic and English letters. This simple act of writing one’s own initials became a powerful way for people to express identity\, memory\, and presence. \n“Love Letters” begins with these initials as a starting point\, not only to acknowledge the individuals who took part\, but also to open the space for others. \nAnother highlight is “Dirt Upon My Head”. It is made from one large canvas stretched over several square frames. Each frame represents a single home\, and together they suggest a neighbourhood or city frozen in a moment of impact. The canvas stretches out from the centre\, giving a feeling of breaking or tearing. \nAbout Ghafar Tajmohammad \nGhafar is of Afghan heritage and was displaced as a small child. He grew up in Southeast London\, graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Painting at Camberwell College of Arts and works as a Curatorial Project Manager at the Migration Museum. \nAbout Firstsite \nFirstsite is the East of England’s contemporary visual arts organisation where you can experience the most exciting developments in contemporary art\, and explore the rich artistic legacy cultivated by the East of England’s unique landscape and character. \nImage: Homage to Najia\, Fall of Kabul by Ghafar Tajmohammad\, courtesy of the artist.
URL:https://counterpoints.org.uk/event/ghafar-tajmohammad-if-you-throw-a-stone-in-the-crowd-someones-going-to-get-hurt/
LOCATION:Firstsite\, Lewis Gardens\, High Street\, Colchester\, CO1 1JH\, United Kingdom
CATEGORIES:Platforma,Visual Arts
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://counterpoints.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Homage-To-Najia-Fall-Of-Kabul.jpeg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20251001
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20251101
DTSTAMP:20260421T140847
CREATED:20250630T085619Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250903T090308Z
UID:10000526-1759276800-1761955199@counterpoints.org.uk
SUMMARY:Platforma Festival 2025
DESCRIPTION:Our 8th Platforma Festival will take place in October across the East of England\, co-produced with local artists and organisations and also featuring touring work from across the country.\nPlatforma 2025 will include more than 35 arts events across music\, theatre\, film exhibitions\, and more. \nCo-produced by Counterpoints Arts in partnership with local artists and organisations\, Platforma is a festival that takes place every two years in a different part of England. The aim is to present work by\, with and about refugees to a wide audience\, build capacity and share learning. \nLocations this October include Cambridge\, Colchester\, Diss\, Ipswich\, Diss\, Great Yarmouth\, Lowestoft\, Norwich\, Peterborough and Snape. \nProgramme highlights include: \n–The Table – a new play by Aisha Zia\, directed by Suba Das at The Key Theatre\, Peterborough\n–Hearts\, Bodies and Words – in conversation with novelist Sulaiman Addonia at the National Centre for Writing\, Norwich\n-If You Throw A Stone In The Crowd\, Someone’s Going To Get Hurt – an exhibition of work by Ghafar Tajmohammad at Firstsite\, Colchester\n-A Community Takeover at Jerwood DanceHouse\, Ipswich\n-You Never Asked My Name – installation by Jill Eastland at Cambridge Junction\n-Penguin – a play by Hamzeh Al Hussein and Amy Golding touring to Norwich and Cambridge\n–MAS(S) – a new sound installation by Tristan Shorr and Rae Champion (CONCRETE) in collaboration with Lomond Campbell\, touring to Great Yarmouth\n-Palestine: Peace De Resistance – Sami Abu Wardeh’s new comedy show comes to Diss\n-Touchstones – a participatory photography and writing project led by Gillian Allard in partnership with Living Grief\n–A Think Tank on Music and Displacement with Britten Pears Arts in Snape \nFor the full programme visit: https://counterpoints.org.uk/upcoming-events/ \nFor more information contact Counterpoints Senior Producer\, Tom Green via hello@counterpoints.org.uk \nThe Platforma Festival takes place in a different area of England every two years\, produced by Counterpoints Arts in collaboration with local partners to present work by\, with and about refugees and to build capacity and share learning. \nThe 8th Platforma festival will take place across the East of England in October 2025\, following a series of meetings with networks\, artists and organisations over the past 18 months. \nIn 2023 the 7th Platforma festival was held over 5 weeks across the South West of England. A key part of the programme is connecting organisations and people across the arts\, migration and other sectors. We also seek to make connections between places\, within the region and with visiting artists and practitioners from across the UK and internationally. \nBy focusing on a different region every two years\, Counterpoints is able to spend time getting to know a wide range of new partners and to build and understanding of the context. Our co-commissions and overall programme are responsive to that\, with a view to capacity building for the longer term and creating collaborations that last well beyond the festival period.
URL:https://counterpoints.org.uk/event/platforma-festival-2025/
CATEGORIES:Platforma
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://counterpoints.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Platforma-2025-Website-2.jpg
END:VEVENT
END:VCALENDAR