BEGIN:VCALENDAR
VERSION:2.0
PRODID:-//Counterpoints - ECPv6.15.18//NONSGML v1.0//EN
CALSCALE:GREGORIAN
METHOD:PUBLISH
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: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;VALUE=DATE:20260227
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20260403
DTSTAMP:20260419T044257
CREATED:20260222T101518Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260222T101833Z
UID:10000599-1772150400-1775174399@counterpoints.org.uk
SUMMARY:Palestine Comedy Club film UK release
DESCRIPTION:A major new documentary feature film: on release across the UK from 27th February\nWhen 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. \nFull details of UK screenings and related events: toughcrowd.uk/screenings \nWhat’s funny about life under occupation? Palestine Comedy Club is a rollercoaster road-movie that follows six Palestinian stand-up comedians from Haifa\, Ramallah\, Jenin\, Hebron and the Golan Heights who devise and tour a stand-up comedy show exploring the unlikely\, often dark humour that circles the complex question of Palestinian identity. \nDespite the cultural and security challenges of touring six Palestinian comedians – all with different travel permissions – across checkpoints and borders to six theatres in Palestine and Israel\, audiences flock to the shows and the tour gains momentum through increasing public demand. \nWord spreads internationally and they are invited to London for a series of gigs starting\, tragically\, on Oct 7th\, 2023. Just as war breaks out at home\, the comedians prepare to perform in English for the first time to an increasingly conflicted British public. Suddenly\, the mission to connect with audiences with thoughtful humanity becomes an existential imperative. \nDirected by Alaa Aliabdallah and Charlotte Knowles \nProduced by Charlotte Knowles \nExecutive Producers: Carri Twigg\, Mikail Chowdhurry\, Farzana Rahman\, Esther van Messel and Maryam Pasha \nProduced in association with Counterpoints Productions
URL:https://counterpoints.org.uk/event/palestine-comedy-club-film-uk-release/
CATEGORIES:Comedy,Counterpoints Productions
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://counterpoints.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/palcom.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20260317T100000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20260404T180000
DTSTAMP:20260419T044257
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
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://counterpoints.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/RECTANGLE_POSTER.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20260322T190000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20260322T220000
DTSTAMP:20260419T044257
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
END:VEVENT
END:VCALENDAR