Can Art Save Us?

Manchester based poet Qudsia Akhtar is already recognised as an important new voice for her generation, her debut collection of poems, 'Khamoshi' (Silence), is out now, published by Verve Poetry Press. She is also highly commended in the Forward Book of Poetry, 2023, considered the indispensable annual guide to contemporary poetry. Qudsia reflects modern Britain as a British-Pakistani writer. She talks about the noise of cultural duality as well as the silence that builds inside generations of migrant women. Her soft and gentle voice doesn't betray the histories of massacres, genocides, patriarchy, colonial legacies and Islamophobia. We talk about gruesome truths uncovered by the arts, creativity, self-expression and speaking up to demand justice for those who can't. Illustrated with readings by Qudsia throughout. Series Audio Editor - Courtesy of Joey Quan. Series Music - Courtesy of Barry J. Gibb Closed Captions are added to all interviews in this series. Read only, text versions of every interview can also be found here: www//canartsaveus.com/ Discover Qudsia Akhtar here: www.couldseeher.com/

Princess Arinola Adegbite a.k.a. P. A. Bitez is a British Jamaican-born Nigerian poet, she’s a spoken word artist, a songwriter and filmmaker whose artistic expression is described as social activism and spiritual healing. At 16, she published her debut poetry collection 'Soft Tortures.' At 17, she won Slambassadors, a national poetry competition and by 2020, she was one of six finalists of the BBC Words First talent scheme, searching for the Best Spoken Word Poets in the UK. In 2021 she was awarded Manchester Creative of The Year at The Manchester Culture Awards and she has won a number of successful commissions too. Currently Princess Arinola, is a member of Young Identity, Manchester’s Premier Spoken Word Collective and in early 2023, we can look forward to her Afrofuturistic EP Vintage Destiny. We talk about self-actualisation and dysmorphia, poetry defined by proximity to blackness, page poets and spoken word artists, editing versus erasure, love and loss and whether Shakespeare and Tupac were the same. If you're lucky enough to be in Manchester (UK), Saturday, 18th March, 2023, head to Manchester Central Library from Midday to 2pm. FREE, Princess Arinola will be part of a live performance, 'Rehearsal Methods,' by Jade Montserrat. We support #free and #accessforall at Can Art Save Us? Series Audio Editor - Courtesy of Joey Quan. Series Music - Courtesy of Barry J. Gibb Closed Captions are added to all interviews in this series. Read only, text versions of every interview can also be found here: www//canartsaveus.com/ Discover Princess Arinola here: www.youngidentity.org/the-team

Adam Kammerling is a former, UK slam poet champion who has since become an inter-disciplinary artist combining his innovative poetry with theatre, dance and music. He embraces collaboration, risk and experimentation and his poetry creates movement both on and off the page. His debut poetry collection, Seder, is a National Jewish Book Awards Finalist. Adam's collection explores his Jewish heritage, inter-generational trauma and his deeply personal visit to Auschwitz. Please be sure to listen to him recite the poem Orange, orange, orange, in this podcast. We talk about his creative journey from punk and metal bands to slam poetry to inter-disciplinary performances of his poems today. We talk about trauma, the holocaust, his family and memory. "It's a strange feeling to reach for memory and hold nothing." We talk about male identity distorted by violence and confused courage and his creative workshops with homeless affected people and looked after children. Adam is a compassionate soul with a very deep and "shared root." His theatre work has been reviewed as ‘dazzling brilliance,’ his rap as 'unpretentious' and his work with young people in foster care as 'sensational.' Published on January 25th, 2023, Adam is headlining on January 27th at the Holocaust Memorial Day, in Wrexham and his website link is below. Series Audio Editor - Courtesy of Joey Quan. Series Music - Courtesy of Barry J. Gibb Closed Captions are added to all interviews in this series. Read only, text versions of every interview can also be found here: www//canartsaveus.com/ Discover Adam Kammerling here: www.adamkammerling.co.uk/

Shirley May is an acclaimed poet, writer and an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Society of literature. She is also CEO and Artistic Director of Young Identity, Manchester's premier spoken word collective in the UK. In 2006, Shirley founded the Inner Voice, a voluntary Youth Arts Project that 16 dedicated years later, has become Young Identity, a literature and performance arts charity. Young Identity now has the prestigious status of being a national portfolio organisation with the UK Arts Council. In other words, Young Identity is recognized as a leader both in their field and in our collective national arts. Shirley's work is described as "blazing with emotion, challenging all the senses." We talk about her work responding to pain and pride in the experience of migration, her Jamaican heritage and in African history. We start with how one day "she woke up with a poem in her mouth," how "the word was first" and developing the "risk of excellence," in marginalised youth today. Young Identity is important legacy work that talks to truth. Series Audio Editor - Courtesy of Joey Quan. Series Music - Courtesy of Barry J. Gibb Closed Captions are added to all interviews in this series. Read only, text versions of every interview can also be found here: www//canartsaveus.com/ Discover Shirley May here: www.youngidentity.org/ www.shirleyannemay.co.uk

Cherry Smyth is an Irish writer and poet who lives in London. In 2022 Cherry was nominated as a Fellow for the Royal Society of Literature and she is Associate Professor in Creative and Critical Writing at the University of Greenwich. Critically acclaimed, Cherry has had four poetry collections published and a debut novel, Hold Still. Her current work, If the River is Hidden, is a collaboration with Craig Jordan Baker. This has also been developed for performance with the flautist Eimear McGeown, one of the world's most versatile exponents of both the classical and Irish flute. If the River is Hidden, is a shared pilgrimage, over 8 days, Cherry Smyth and Craig Jordan Baker walk the length of the River Bann, Northern Ireland’s longest river. This hybrid work of prose and poetry, is a deeply personal, journey between friends. With backgrounds from each side of the sectarian divide, they explore together their Irish identity, of belonging and not belonging, of the Troubles, trauma and truth. This is by no means an easy pilgrimage and we talk about the pain of partition, of bombings, the Irish famine, deep personal losses but also of compassion, connection and landscape as coming home. Discover the musical composition by flautist Eimear McGeown, specially commissioned to accompany If the River is Hidden. www.epoquepress.com/cherry-smyth-craig-jordan-baker-if-the-river-is-hidden Discover Cherry Smyth here: www.cherrysmyth.com Edit - Courtesy of Katherine Wiley. Series Music - Courtesy of Barry J. Gibb Closed Captions are added to all interviews in this series. Read only, text versions of every interview can also be found here: www//canartsaveus.com/

Otis Mensah is the first hip-hop poet to be awarded a poet laureate title in the UK by the City of Sheffield. Influenced by the expressive freedom of Jazz, Otis documents his journeys of introspection through vulnerable expression that speaks to racial identity, masculinity, loneliness and being othered. He has had numerous commissions and live performances include the Glastonbury Music Festival. His poetry collection, Metamorphosis, gives voice to unspoken trauma in everyday-life and we also talked about why poetry can speak, but we may not talk to each other. As the first Hip-Hop artist to be awarded a poet laureate title in the UK, he wants to use the position to break down barriers, smash the stuffy stereotype, and remind people that poetry is meant to be for the people. The Guardian. Otis could be described as the most courageously vulnerable artist of the 21st century. Series Audio Editor - Courtesy of Joey Quan. Series Music - Courtesy of Barry J. Gibb Closed Captions are added to all interviews in this series. Read only, text versions of every interview can also be found here: www//canartsaveus.com/ Discover Otis Mensah here: www.otismensah.com

Tom Delahunt, the hobo poet, is an award-winning academic and an advanced nurse practitioner with years of experience in intensive and emergency care. In 2019 he was awarded Most Innovative Teacher of the Year, by the prestigious Times Higher Education Awards, this was in recognition of his use of poetry to support nursing students dealing with trauma. Tom created the blog Poetic Nursing Heart and he also advocates creating a safe space for neurodiversity in education. He says “poetry fuels my hopes and aspirations for inclusion and a rise in educational wonder.” Tom’s complex dyslexia was diagnosed as an adult and he attributes his survival at school to his autistic tendencies navigating what he describes as the ‘mechanistic and impersonal system that is school.’ We talk about, trauma, addiction, neuro-diversity, philosophies of serenity and pessimism and ultimately love. His new children’s book, The Wandering Lamb, is about unconditional love and acceptance. And then, there's The Butterfly Farmer... Ready to fly? Series Audio Editor - Courtesy of Joey Quan. Series Music - Courtesy of Barry J. Gibb Closed Captions are added to all interviews in this series. Read only, text versions of every interview can also be found here: www//canartsaveus.com/ Discover Tom Delahunt here: www.linkedin.com/in/tom-delahunt-71a1559a/ Kickstarter private preview for forthcoming play: www.kickstarter.com/projects/tcl/the-table-of-consciousness?ref=bh2wzx&token=aa34fe8d

Both BBC Words First Finalists, Billie Meredith is a poet and performer and Saf-S2E is a poet and rapper and they are active members of Young Identity. Recognised as some of the UK’s best emerging talent, they are involved in the Cities Untold project, a partnership between Young Identity, the Manchester Literature Festival and Danish literature festivals. Their commissions will be inspired by the secrets and untold narratives of a city. Saf-S2E also has an album out now, Ink is Blood and Billie's theatre work has been reviewed as brilliant in the Adhesion of Love, written by multi-award winning playwright Stephen Hornby. Billie played Walt Whitman, America's 'father of free verse.' We talk about destiny, poverty, fear, developing craft, Manchester and Africa and ask whose industrial revolution was it? With so much creative and innovative work coming out of Young Identity, this is their cultural revolution and we should probably take Saf-S2E's poetic advice, ‘Expect the Unexpected.’ Series Audio Editor - Courtesy of Joey Quan. Series Music - Courtesy of Barry J. Gibb Closed Captions are added to all interviews in this series. Read only, text versions of every interview can also be found here: www//canartsaveus.com/ Discover Billie Meredith and Saf-S2E here: www.youngidentity.org/ Discover Saf-S2E's album, Ink is Blood, here: www.open.spotify.com/album/08GlLcmCeC4arevzbtDZhW

Dr Michael McMillan is an artist, author, playwright and curator. His plays and performance pieces have been produced by the Royal Court Theatre, Channel 4, BBC Radio 4 Drama and across the UK. He’s a Visiting Professor of Creative Writing at the University of the Arts, London and an Associate Lecturer, teaching Cultural & Historical Studies at the London College of Fashion. Michael was born to immigrant parents from St Vincent and the Grenadines and his work explores family, identity and generation in a migrant context. His curation and installation of a 1970s West Indian Front Room at the Geffrye Museum had more than 35, 000 visitors and has since become a permanent exhibition at the now Museum of the Home. A new iteration of this 1970s interior was recently included at Tate Britain’s landmark exhibition; “Life Between Islands,” exploring Caribbean-British art over four generations. Amongst the 5 star reviews, The Guardian described the exhibition as ”a mind-altering portrait of British Caribbean life through art.” We talk about the struggle behind rich cultural exchange, the political fear of art, the vital integrity of an artist, courage when your identity is made a target and the experience that changed Michael's life when he was only 16. Michael is a true educator. Series Audio Editor - Courtesy of Joey Quan. Images: The Museum of the Home Closed Captions are added to all interviews in this series. Read only, text versions of every interview can also be found here: www//canartsaveus.com/ Discover Dr. Michael McMillan's Front Room here: www.museumofthehome.org.uk/whats-on/rooms-through-time/a-front-room-in-1970/

Daryl Beeton is a kind of acrobatic superhero. He flies on top of sway poles which includes 25 meters across London's Olympic Stadium. H’s trekked 228 miles across Nicaragua, filmed by the BBC, requiring armed soldiers due to the dangers of bandits and kidnappers. He also performs with the trapeze and could probably hang upside down longer than Batman and he's the creator of joyful and highly imaginative, inclusive theater. Daryl Beeton creates accessible theater for everyone. He's a performer with a disability. And he shows the joy of creating alternative and imaginative ways of performing. If you want to see how many ways a wheelchair can spin, striking, acrobatic shapes, and unexpected choreographies, he's your man. We talk about social disability, taking risks as part of exploring friendship and self-development, owning your identity and not being mis-represented, pushing boundaries and expectations, with plenty of mischief, merriment and fun. Assistant Audio Editor - Enric Thier Closed Captions are added to all interviews in this series. Read only, text versions of every interview can also be found here: www//canartsaveus.com/ Discover Daryl Beeton: www.darylandco.com

Tarek Zaidieh is an exceptionally talented violinist and member of the outstanding Orchestra for Syrian Musicians. The orchestra is described as a celebration of Syrian culture with contagious rhythms, soaring vocals and genius musicianship. Tarek has performed with the orchestra across Europe and at major festivals, including Glastonbury. You may have discovered the orchestra performing with Damon Albarn, famously known as the frontman of Blur, and co-founder and lead singer of the virtual band Gorillaz. Tarek has described some of these experiences as once in a lifetime and that the mission of the orchestra is showing the world that Syrians speak the language of peace. We talk about the violin as his second heartbeat, music as an injection of life when threatened by war and a connection to home when displaced by conflict. Tarek and the Orchestra of Syrian Musicians let the music do the talking, sharing messages of peace across the world. Series Audio Editor - Courtesy of Joey Quan. Closed Captions are added to all interviews in this series. Read only, text versions of every interview can also be found here: www//canartsaveus.com/ Discover The Orchestra of Syrian Musicians here: www.facebook.com/syrianorchestra/

Joe Howell, also known as Maverick Beyond is a photographic artist working with an alternative cyanotype process from which she also creates sculptures. Her identity is firmly rooted in Sunderland, loyal to her working class roots, Jo is standing up to arts elitism by staying put. Despite the barriers against her as a working class woman in the arts, Jo not only supports community groups into creative practice and learning, but she foregrounds women lost in history. We talk about the 'Sad Countess' as both a victim of shocking domestic abuse and as a ground breaking victor of sexist law. Jo also amplified and made visible the significance of the Countess as a botanist in the Bowes Museum collection. We talk about the contribution of women to the 1985 Miners' Strike and the role of art in banners which she is also making visible again today. Jo talks about the pain she lives with, fibromyalgia, alongside the social wounds in society today but, just like her nana did, with every intention of getting on. Series Audio Editor - Courtesy of Joey Quan. Closed Captions are added to all interviews in this series. Read only, text versions of every interview can also be found here: www//canartsaveus.com/ Discover Jo's work here along with free, creative workshop videos, get curious! www.maverickbeyond.com

Maya Youssef is known as the Queen of the Qanun, a virtuoso and composer of this beautiful Middle Eastern instrument described as a flat harp with 78 strings and possibly a descendant of the Egyptian harp. Maya honours Arabic classical music traditions with pathways into Western classical, Latin and jazz music. Her music responds to her vivid dreams and spiritual awakening, war and domestic abuse, love and separation. Maya's music is a prayer for peace and healing which she consciously shares with her audiences. In Maya’s words the act of playing music is the opposite of death and destruction; it is a life- and hope-affirming act and an antidote to what is happening, not only in her home of Syria, but in the world. We talk about how she became Queen of an instrument deemed only for men, music and heartbreak, surviving her personal war and finding the universal home. Series Audio Editor - Joey Quan. Closed Captions are added to all interviews in this series. Read only, text versions of every interview can also be found here: www//canartsaveus.com/ Discover Maya Youssef: www.mayayoussef.com

Bobby Brown is a creative producer, artist, manager and rising architect of community arts and equal access, based in the city of Brighton. He's a game changer in youth work supporting creative projects, including music and radio that changes the lives of disadvantaged and excluded young people. He describes himself as a dream weaver, a bridge builder, an optimist and as someone who relied on youth services growing up to make sense of conflict and creative energy. He's an artist manager for rap duo Frankie Stew and Harvey Gunn and he's already been behind R&B singer Elli Ingram, a household name. We talk about identity, why multi-cultural cities are still ghettoised, Black Lives Matter and cultural spaces, fear and internal faith. Bobby is a game changer in the city of Brighton responding to the ever deepening gap between rich and poor. He shares his ideas and vision for building a society where democracy, equality and a collective voice can flourish together. Series Audio Editor - Courtesy of Joey Quan. Closed Captions are added to all interviews in this series. Read only, text versions of every interview can also be found here: www//canartsaveus.com/ Discover Bobby Brown here: www.lighthouse.org.uk/projects/public-art-strategy

Dr. Marwa Al-Sabouni is an award-winning architect considered to be one of the top 50 global thinkers around the world. Marwa elevates the critical role architecture has to play in building peace and preventing conflict through segregation and isolation. She is the author of ‘The Battle for Home’ and ‘Building for Hope' and an international speaker. She also recently co-directed the Brighton festival. We talk about 'uglification' and how badly built environments result in loneliness, violence, suicide and war. We talk about inhumane architecture as a form of siege on our human experience. We talk about hope, how we can re-build for peace and where those examples of architecture have been found historically. Marwa's hometown Homs was destroyed during the Syrian war and she and her family lived as prisoners for 2 years with daily, deadly threats. She chose to stay, to rebuild peace. Her courage is as humble as it is huge, practical, spiritual and very inspiring for a world in desperate need of peace. During this recording, Marwa had low bandwidth in Syria, very special thanks are owed to the audio editor Barry J. Gibb to make the quality the best it could be. Discover Marwa Al Sabouni here: www.facebook.com/people/Marwa-Al-Sabouni/100001576481506/ Closed Captions are added to all interviews in this series. Read only, text versions of every interview can also be found here: www//canartsaveus.com/

Marice Cumber is one of the UK’s most compelling ceramic artists. She presents her own emotions, fears and vulnerabilities in her work and even cowardice shows up, no doubt kicking and screaming. Her large, over-sized, ceramic cups hold and display her raw emotions. They share the edgy qualities of German Expressionism by showing inner feelings and embracing the alternative but keeping a healthy focus on individual strength too. Marice is also the founder and director of Accumulate, the Art School for the Homeless and she has been committed to creativity as a way of empowering people who are homeless to move forward positively in their lives – you could say helping to re-fill their own cups with possibility and opportunity. We talk about cowardice, courage, mental health, purpose through crisis and how we can change adversity in our lives through creativity. Series Audio Editor - Joey Quan. Closed Captions are added to all interviews in this series. Read only, text versions of every interview can also be found here: www//canartsaveus.com/ Discover Marice Cumber: www.instagram.com/maricecumber www.accumulate.org.uk

Antony Penrose, is a photographer, author, rewilder and Co-director of The Penrose Collection and the Lee Miller Archives at Farleys House & Gallery, his childhood home in Sussex. Antony conserves and shares the extraordinary work of his parents. His father Sir Roland Penrose was a surrealist painter, poet, biographer and a major collector of modern art. His mother, Lee Miller, moved from being in front of the camera as a Vogue super model by today’s standards, to behind it as both a surrealist and highly significant WWII frontline war photographer. Oscar winner, Kate Winslet, will play Lee Miller in the forthcoming film, 'Lee.' Antony talks about biting Picasso, the courage of conviction and we discuss how 'curiosity is the most important thing in the world.' We discuss how surrealism and Lee's WWII war photography championed honesty and truth, however brutal. Images by permission only: ‘ Antony Penrose, Farleys House, Sussex, England’ by Tony Tree / ‘Dining Room, Farleys House, Sussex, England’ by Tony Tree Audio edit courtesy of Joey Quan. Closed Captions are added to all interviews in this series. Read only, text versions of every interview can be found here: www//canartsaveus.com/

Eve Horne, is a singer, songwriter, producer, author, award winning mentor and activist. Eve's journey is a roller coaster from being in 90s 'girl groups' touring with major boy bands, a No. 1 single and millions of streams on Spotify, to a major life change dealing with depression then re-emerging as a producer and co-writer for major artists. Black, gay and a single mum, Eve is also a campaigner for gender equality in the music industry with her campaign 'The Unheard.' This year she is recognised as a Future Leader with Keychange, a global movement for equality. Eve talks about early trauma from feelings of rejection to racially motivated murder. She talks about life extremes from private jets to driving trains and onto the loneliness of leadership. Struggle has built her resilience and her commitment to justice is brave and unwavering. Closed Captions are added to all interviews in this series. Read only, text versions of every interview can be found here: www.canartsaveus.com/ Images: Courtesy of Eve Horne / Peak Music UK. Audio edit: Courtesy of Joey Quan. Discover Eve: www.peakmusic.uk

Hala Sabet, changed her life from being the most senior woman in the multinational oil and gas giant, Shell, in Egypt, to becoming a fine artist. Hala draws on her Egyptian roots to express the universe through sculpture and painting. She was selected by the Royal British Society of Sculptors and the International Art Fair in Egypt, where she also has recently had large scale solo exhibitions. We explore curiosity and courage through the idea of biblical coding, Islamic geometry, gravity and profound grief when art was her essential life force. Hala shares the loss of her mother, brother and feeling devastated when her husband needed major heart surgery. Hala's conviction is gripped through art. Closed Captions are added to all interviews in this series. Read only, text versions of every interview can be found here: www.canartsaveus.com/ Images: Artworks by and courtesy of Hala Sabet. Audi Edit courtesy of Katherine Wiley. Discover Hala Sabet: www.halasabet.co.uk

Mohammed Ali, MBE, is a graffiti artist who works internationally and creates immersive events combining theatre, music and poetry too. Mohammed has a deep respect for heritage, community and the arts and his purpose is clear; he wants to empower communities and celebrate multi-cultural stories around faith and migration. His art work could be understood as a vital community service, one of human connection. Mohammed is changing community division by demystifying culture, faith and ethnicity, spray can by spray can. We explore whether public space really exists, the empowerment of people, art without pretention and where courage exists. Closed Captions are added to all interviews in this series. Read only, text versions of every interview can be found here: www.canartsaveus.com/ Images: Courtesy of Mohammed Ali, MBE Audio Edit: Courtesy of Joey Quan. Discover Mohammed Ali: www.artofmohammedali.com