The launch of the Creative Climate Café Programme brought together artists, musicians, environmentalists, and community activists to celebrate funding for a new kind of climate café. This new programme, funded by the Rampion Community Benefit Fund, brings creative art practices into the traditional creative climate café format. This programme of ten cafes covers issues from the energy crisis, marine life and wetlands preservation.
A partnership project between Magnetic Ideals, Arts for Life and Ecotopia Now!, the Creative Climate Cafe initiative will help address eco-anxiety, and fuel conservation for vulnerable groups by running ten intergenerational, family-friendly Creative Climate Cafes that also address the cost-of-living crisis. These workshops will be hosted by experienced facilitators and community leaders with backgrounds in sustainability, mental health, eco-anxiety and community empowerment. Arts activities range from painting with natural dyes, to marbling and working with charcoals, the full programme of events is available on Eventbrite.
Kirsty Lumm from Arts for Life discussed how creative climate cafes, people will engage in healing artistic pursuits, and build community while learning to save money sustainably in the cost-of-living crisis. Each cafe addresses a different cost of living issue, from home fuel use, water use, food, social life and connections, sustainable purchasing, and empowering people to ask for change. Heather McKnight from Magnetic Ideas explained how at these builds on the Climate Psychology Association model of Climate Cafes as open, inclusive spaces for discussing climate change. Cafes allow a forum that can encourage action and educate in cost saving. Research indicates that these collective experiences can lead to better mental health outcomes and be better for the planet, as people move from anxiety to action. Booking for the creative climate cafes is available here.
Xenia Christopoulou from Ecotopia Now! gave an empowering talk about how small actions can make a big difference, and about how interconnected we are with the world around us. Katie Scanlan, the Rampion Stakeholder and Visitor Centre Manager, also gave at talk highlighting the way in which the Rampion Windfarm have been engaging with community both through the visitor centre, and through the Rampion Community Benefit Fund.
The launch event featured a soundscape by local musician Jim Purbrick under the guise of Remember Glaciers. The project Snæfellsjökull 2011 recalls memories of a road trip to an electronic music festival near the Snæfellsjökull glacier in Iceland. The story is told in fragments of dialogue from a more care free time when our only concerns were “Where’s the raves at in Iceland?”, how to make Salmiakki and whether the car would be able to get us there and back again.” You can hear edits of this stream from this live project on his YouTube.
A highlight of the night was a performance of protest song Under the Pee by Lorelei Mathias and Phil Johnstone comedically highlighting pollution in the sea. Lorelei is a comedian, author, mermaid… and founder of cause-powered comedy collective, www.Meloncomedy.com. Lorelei Mathias believes comedy has a unique power to create change, and has made work for South Coast Sirens (which she co-founded), and performed at Surfers Against Sewage /SOS Whitstable’s ‘Cut the Crap’ marches, as well as comedy shows from London to Melbourne. Phil Johnstone is a songwriter and musician in the Bedford Celts, The Qwarks and other projects and also works at the University of Sussex researching and teaching on sustainability transitions. He co-wrote Under the Pee with Lorelei.
Under the Pee Performance
Overall, the night was a wonderful opportunity to bring together people who were activists, artists, community and political leaders, as well as climate café participants from the original pilot scheme. While the climate crisis is very much upon us it is inspirational so see so many people taking part in projects big and small to inspire change, create change and bring the community together around one of the greatest challenges humanity has ever faced.
Utopia Falls (Feb 2020) is a ground-breaking and vastly under-discussed Canadian sci-fi TV show about Afrofuturism, youth activism, and eco-awareness.[1] Created by R.T Thorne, it is the first sci-fi hip hop cross-over, and challenges the white-heteronormative-masculine norms of the sci-fi genre, offering a cast that features mostly BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, people of colour) actors. The show represents diverse sexualities and kinships, placing women in authority.
Utopia Falls is set hundreds of years in the future where during surface wars the great flash sent everything dark, poisoning the world. The remaining survivors were forced underground until what emerged was New Babyl, a seemingly utopian society with a dystopian undertone. We see clear links with our ongoing real-life apocalyptic fears around climate crisis and nuclear extinction.
Things digress from the expected sci-fi narrative when we hear that “the youth of New Babyl have the most important duty of all”. This involves honouring their predecessors through training to compete in “The Examplar”, a music and dance competition that unites, entertains and inspires the people of New Babyl. The engagement of the young participants transforms, however, when they make a discovery about the past that will change their perspective and have far-reaching consequences for the people of new Babyl…
In our far-from-equilibrium times with pandemics, climate crisis, ongoing wars and genocides on one side, and high-profile activist movements of Black Lives Matter, and youth climate strikes on the other we should have expected such a TV show which is “about the erasure of history and Black culture in the future”[2] to be centred and discussed widely in the press?
Daniella Broadway, from Black Girl Nerds notes it “gives us what we’ve been waiting far too long for — representation for people of color in [TV] sci-fi.”[3] The writer, R.T. Thorne, is also a significant figure as chair of the BIPOC committee of the Directors Guild of Canada, hoping to “fight systemic racism and help create much-needed change in our industry.”[4]
However, while it came out in February 2020 it has received little interest despite its cultural relevance for the time we are in. I have not-yet been able to find any academic articles that reference it and have been shocked by the tirade of dismissive reviews and low ratings on sites such as Rotten Tomatoes and IMDB. Disgustingly, this is part of the broader racist and discriminatory structures of the TV industry and society at large. The combination of sci-fi, dance and music on tv is undoubtedly a new one. We can speculate that the traditional world of TV reviewers have found this unsettling and failed to see its significance.
As the creator, R.T. Thorne himself notes, “[p]eople definitely looked at me weird when I first threw it out there a few years ago, just this idea of science fiction and hip hop.”[5] However, on further inspection, what is more surprising is that this hasn’t happened sooner. Science fiction has long been a space for stories of imaginaries of a better world, battles for equality, and critical interventions in the now by positioning dystopian futures.[6] Thorne had noticed that despite these narratives, these future scapes tended to be dominated by electronica and not the kind of music that would galvanise and politicise.
He saw a place for hip hop in how we imagine and critique our own futures in science fiction, as a music of protest as well as popularity. Hip hop forms a signifier in the show for both the erasure and reclamation of black histories. The show goes on to valorise the potentiality of non-violent protest, while also exploring physical and structural violence, tackling police brutality, the injustice of incarceration, privilege, nepotism, infertility, ableism, and precarious bodies in activism. [7]
While not necessarily gaining recognition on mainstream platforms, the show has garnered critical acclaim in the industry and a strong youth following. It has had nominations for the Canadian Screen Awards for best YA programme and direction, for the Canadian Society of Cinematographers Awards, and won the Tweens and Teens Award and Outstanding Achievement in Production Design at the Directors Guild of Canada.[8] It has also been a hit with young BIPOC and LGBT+ fans noting, “[f]or the first time there is a connection between art and what my life is actually like” and others stating that has been unique in the genre of TV sci-fi not only in its representation but also its stories which are set against a backdrop of people of colour trying to uncover stolen aspects of their cultural history.
Utopia Falls represents youth subcultures on television in a way that fundamentally values BIPOC, and LGBT+ lives, and aims to inspire knowledge informed activism and values the revolutionary potential of the arts.[9] Despite its relevance to teen engagement with Black Lives Matter protests, and School Strikes, season two has not-yet been announced. However, there is a clear call for its reinstatement in online petitions and teen-activist blogs that indicate we should not be ignoring the relevance of Utopia Falls, or its ability to inspire future sci-fi shows, as well as its viewers. [10]
As R.T. Thorne notes, the show is about a cultural revolution and not just a political one.[11] He states: “At the end of the day, [‘Utopia Falls’] might not be for everybody, I get that. It’s all good. I’m happy that we’re the first science-fiction hip hop [show and] bring hip hop into the future… There are black nerds out there that love whatever they love. I hope that it just inspires them now to be able to see that culture matters in a future scape.”[12]
Utopia Falls is a highly ambitious and influential show, and I will be writing more about it in due course. In the future, you’ll look back and be glad you watched this show, it’s a sea change, part of a transformational landscape of TV that educates, informs and inspires as it entertains.
[1] ‘Utopia Falls — CBC Media Centre’, accessed 28 June 2021, https://gem.cbc.ca/, //www.cbc.ca/mediacentre/program/utopia-falls. Note this has failed to be include in the recent Routledge guide to Teen TV, despite coming out after numerous other TV shows featured with less radical messaging.
UK Student Movement Research Project // 1st Symposium
As part of Sussex University’s Protestival // 20 – 22 April // University of Sussex, U.K.
Call for Papers and Panels
The 2010 protests and occupations against tuition fees reignited the student movement in the UK on a scale not seen since the late 1960s. A generation of young people and students organised in their universities and colleges, worked inside the National Union of Students, and campaigned outside of the national union too. There was an attempt to set up a separate anarchist student union at the end of 2012, and a student occupation at University of Sussex in support of staff fighting against privatisation in early 2013. The Sussex occupation organised its own national demonstration that drew student activists from across the country. Heavy police repression at the University of London led to the formation of the Cops Off Campus campaign, and resistance to border controls took place through organisations such as Universities Resist Border Controls. There has been renewed interest in feminist and LGBT+ activism, and efforts to question colonialism in our curricula.
Parallel to this wave of activism is the work done by researchers of the student movement. Bringing both closer together and learning from each other is essential for better understanding the student movement and to meet the challenges of the coming years. The UK Student Movement Research Project was set up in January 2017 to connect those interested or active in research on the student movement. The people involved come from a variety of academic and activist backgrounds, and research in a variety of different disciplines.
The 1st Symposium of the UK Student Movement Research Project will be held at the University of Sussex 20th – 22nd April. We welcome contributions on any aspect of the student movement in the UK, but also student movements around the world and analyses from transnational and global perspectives. These can have a contemporary or a historical focus.
Proposals are welcome for individual papers, as well as for panels drawing together 2-3 papers around a common theme. We are also interested in inviting those whose research presentation involves creative practices or a workshop based approach. Alternative spaces will be available for presentations, and if you have an interesting space on Sussex campus that would like to use then please let us know.
Contributions can be from academics, independent researchers and from student activists themselves. While the anti-fees protests are an integral part of the movement’s recent past so papers on this would be very welcome, we are especially interested in topics that have thus far been neglected in academic and political discourses. We are also interested in papers that link the student movement to other social, political, emancipatory and cultural movements.
Please submit your abstracts of no more than 300 words to us in the form below.
The UK Student Movement Research Project’s symposium will be in collaboration with the University of Sussex Students’ Union Protestival, which celebrates a milestone of 50 years of student activism since May 1968. This will be a three day festival of speaker and panel events, workshops, music, comedy. The festival will look at the legacy of student activism and also, where things are at today. As well as presenting papers as a part of the symposium there will also be opportunities to get involved either as a participant or as an audience member in other events throughout the festival weekend.
If you have an idea for a related event that falls outside the symposium brief, please get in touch with Steph Cassin in the University of Sussex Students’ Union Events team. Her contact is steph.c@sussexstudent.com
The festival will be happening 20th-22nd April but the earlier you let us know your idea, the more time we will have to make your event a reality and as successful as possible.
While the Research Project has no direct funds with which to support travel and accommodation costs, opportunities to find cheap shared accommodation will be provided.
Could your knowledge and experiences contribute to a history of joint working between Trade Unions and Students’ Unions?
Opportunities are currently available to participate in a project that tracks the history of interactions between Trade Unions and Students’ Unions from 1970 onwards. Your experience of joint working between these organisations could contribute to the narrative of a currently unwritten history. This may include policy that governs joint working, joined up working on campaigns, protests, consultations, casework, direct action, or any other areas you have experience of. This project is seeking perspectives on where things have worked well, where they have been difficult, and in your thoughts about the future of joint working between these partners.
Participants may be current, or past officers, stewards, staff or volunteers working at Trade Unions or Students’ Unions, or in other HE Sector organisations. You will be required to take part in a one hour recorded interview reflecting on your own experiences. This interview will focus on your personal experience and observations in relation to the topic and you will be required to do no prior work or research on the matter.
If you are interested in participating, please complete this online contact form and we will be in touch shortly: https://goo.gl/forms/bQoamscNQ4YWZuWT2
This research is being conducted by Heather McKnight, a PhD student at the University of
Sussex funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council funding consortium CHASE (Consortium for the Humanities and Arts South- East England). This research has been approved by the Social Sciences & Arts Cluster Research Ethics Committee at the University of Sussex.
Any information provided is confidential, no information disclosed will lead to the identification of any individual in the reports on the project, either by the researcher or by any other party. Personal information will be treated as strictly confidential and handled in accordance with the Data Protection Act 1998.
Marketisation in the UK education system risks reducing equality and social responsibility within the UK Education system. The Green Paper on Higher Education is pushing the agenda of marketisation further, and questions the transparency and accountability of Students’ Unions in the context of the recently proposed reforms to Trade Unions. Workers’ rights are being eroded, and some may argue that traditional structures of Trade Unions and Students’ Unions have become at best ineffectual in resisting, and at worst complicit in governmental plans.
However, the National Union of Students and the Trade Union Congress have stated they will jointly campaign under a “shared vision of a society based on the principles of social justice where all people have access to quality education, decent jobs and individual and collective rights at work” drawing a horizon of hope, knowing that we are stronger together.
The Unionising the Future project looks to understand and bolster local relationships between Students’ Unions and Trade Unions. We are looking to provide research and resources in this area, working with Students’ Union and Trade Union representatives to share experiences, map activity and bring people together to discuss the future.
Some practical things we are looking at doing include:Providing a guide for Students’ Unions about Trade Unions their working students can join with details on costs and benefits. Sharing Case Studies on successful joint campaigns. Trying to understand that this is not always an easy relationship, and bringing people together to discuss why this is, and ways we can overcome it. Providing training and resources for both Trade Unions and Students’ Unions on joint working….
…. interested?
How you can get involved:
Join our steering committee
If you would like to be involved in the shaping of this project, provide input to the materials developed, get your union involved, or develop ideas for what can happen in the future please email your details to unionfuture@magneticideals.org we’ll be in touch soon. Staff, officers, students and trade union reps are all welcome.
Submit a case study
The unions we have spoken have indicated that it would be great to hear more about what other unions are doing, how Students’ Unions and Trade Unions are working together locally and how you can overcome difficult challenges. We know that different Students’ Unions are in very different places with their relationships with local Trade Unions, but we also know that some of the great work that is happening needs to be shared across the network to inspire people. If you have a story to tell about a campaign, direct action, a policy win or just a great working relationship please drop us an email to unionfuture@magneticideals.org make sure you include any weblinks to news stories or blog posts about the work you have been doing!
Complete our survey
This survey is based on conversations we have had so far with Student Officers and Trade Union reps. As with all surveys it is a blunt tool, but will provide the starting point for future research. Please can you complete and send the link to staff members, officers and trade union reps within your union! Complete the Survey.
About Magnetic Ideals: We are a collective of researchers and artists in Brighton working to find and fund projects for social good. Many of us have, or do, work in or with Students’ Unions. We have provided activism, leadership and liberation training for students’ unions, supported homeless artists to get their work exhibited, helped establish a community organisation providing circus skills for the disabled, worked with YMCA to help improve how young people get involved in their governance structures, as well as on research with critically evaluating community engagement by students… now we are Unionising the Future!
More Information about the Project: The initial stage of the project is funded by a Seedbed Research Funding Grant. Full details of the aims and objectives of the project are available on our website: http://wp.me/P5Bqx4-4a The second part of this project will be run as a three year research project through University of Sussex Law School.
The idea of utopia was always been two faced. On the one hand it was the place that is no place (u-topos) – the ideal that could only be imagined. On the other it was the eu-topos of the ancients, the place where the good life could finally be realised. This conference calls on contributors to play both faces: first, to engage in fantastical reimagining of how we live now, to think outside of all the forms of convention which delimit our vision of the future; second, to think of utopia as a form of critique of what is the case in the name of what could be the case. This means taking risks in thinking about transforming our world for the better, and doing so from the radically disparate disciplines within which this idea has been posited – philosophy, politics, architecture, design, literature, film, engineering and education to name only a few. It means also taking seriously the idea of dystopias, both real and imagined.
This conference aims both to think and practice a form of politics that is creative, egalitarian, radical and interdisciplinary against all existing conventions. We hope to attract colleagues from a wide range of disciplines who wish to pose questions of Utopia, whether in transdisciplinary or interdisciplinary ways or from within a single discipline.
The Sex and Power Report in 2014 stated that at the current rate of progress that “a child born today will be drawing her pension before she has any chance of being equally represented in the UK Parliament”. It is not just parliamentary representation but other positions of power where we are falling short, only 5% of national newspapers are edited by women. A recent report on Higher Education by the Equality Challenge Unit showed that only 20.1% of Vice Chancellors and Principals at Universities are women, with women also under-represented in other senior roles across the sector.
Part of the reason for this is the stories we are told, and the stories we tell ourselves, help shape who we are and what we choose to do. So much of the history around us such as the statues we see, the pictures on the walls of our educational institutions, and the authors and protagonists we are given to study, are male, and tell a story of male dominance. Merely having a consciousness of the change from when these were created, to the times of legal equality now, is inadequate to change the impact this historical replication of patriarchal construction has on women today.
Free University Brighton is a community-led initiative that organises and promotes practical and academic education. Following on from their events for LGBT History month, Free University Brighton are putting on the city’s first ever festival dedicated to women in history. The one-day event on 14 March 2015 will mark International Women’s Day celebrations and it will launch a year-long women’s history project to promote positive female role models within schools and the wider community, giving an awareness of the historical significance of women that will help us write a fairer future.
The event will feature the hidden histories of extraordinary and pioneering women such as Brighton and Hove suffragettes, the African Princess in Brighton and women who inspired the trade union movement. There will also be guided walks, workshops, activities for children and an interactive exhibition.
They are still looking for support to put on this inspirational event, it will allow them not only to cover the costs of the event but to have a fund for childcare and travel for those who may not otherwise be able to attend. Please click here for their crowdfunding page to support this project and help shape how we live as women today and tomorrow.
