Charlotte Archer brings her one-of-a-kind art exhibitions to Fabric’s iconic Room 2 for one night only. Showcasing her brand new collection of oil paintings, which depict the UK rave scene from 1989 to now, she shines a light on the importance of rave culture and human connections made on the dance floor. Charlotte’s artwork will evoke feelings of nostalgia & joy with a live music soundtrack to match. Charlottes “Arty Parties” combine her love of art and music, creating an immersive experience for her audience. Expect a night of good vibes, special guest DJs and a journey through UK club culture through art, sound, visuals and story telling.

Hosted by Mighty Moe (Heartless Crew)
Tickets available here

Read more about James’s collaboration here Charlotte here

James Clifford Kent (Royal Holloway, University of London) in conversation with exhibition curator Lucie Donaldson

For more information on Raúl Cañibano: Human Landscapes click here.

Invited talk/hybrid conference

Cities of Modernism
Unimagined realities: From modernism to surrealism in Raúl Cañibano's Havana

For three decades, black-and-white photographs by Raúl Cañibano (b. Havana, 1961) have documented history and human experience, telling stories about his native Havana. Making connections across film, literature and visual culture, this paper examines how Cañibano employs modernist and surrealist influences in his ongoing series “Foto Ciudad” (1992–present). It also reflects on what the collision of social, historical, and political elements in these images says about Cuban culture and identity. In turn, it reveals how Cuban photographers such as Cañibano are creating alternative views of politically loaded places/spaces where pre- and post-revolutionary Cuban themes converge. To achieve this, the paper aligns Cañibano's work with critical historical moments that have determined Western imaginaries of Cuba. Informed by interviews and recent fieldwork on the island, it also considers Cañibano’s influence on contemporary Cuban photography and how native and foreign critics and audiences have received his work.

Our ‘In Conversation with Generation COVID’ platform enables a cathartic dialogue between new/expectant parents, clinicians and researchers to shine a light on the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on family wellbeing and health.

Together, the COVID-19 in the Context of Pregnancy, Infancy and Parenting (CoCoPIP) study of 2,000 families from diverse backgrounds across the UK and the Pregnant in the Pandemic project interviewing and photographing the experiences of a range of parents-to-be document the resilience that families have shown in the face of uncertainty. Our conversation between new parents impacted by the pandemic and child development researchers intends to give “Generation COVID” families a voice for their stories.

The introductory 30 minutes by James Clifford Kent (Pregnant in the Pandemic lead), photographer and new parent, who will discuss their mission to document the diverse experiences of expectant parents who raised their babies or gave birth in the pandemic. Following this, there will be three 10-min publicly-accessible talks on the CoCoPIP study’s research findings - regarding prenatal healthcare access, maternal well-being and infant development - chaired by Sarah Lloyd-Fox (CoCoPIP lead researcher). Finally, there will be an open discussion with attendees and parents, facilitated by Sarah and James, and including spokespeople from policy making, charitable and clinical work in pregnancy, birth and early childhood. We hope our conversations will be a force for insight into the vital questions around the impact of the pandemic on perinatal mental health, infant development and healthcare policies which support family well-being. This event has been organised jointly by Cambridge Reproduction and the PIPKIN (Perinatal Imaging Partnership with Families) project within the Department of Psychology.

We welcome allied health professionals, clinicians and academics to share their reflections and research during our online workshop, "Generation COVID: Perinatal Transitions", which examines the impact of COVID-19 and social restrictions on pregnancy, childbirth, and early life/new parenthood in the UK. We hope to bring together voices invested in assessing and advocating for well-being from pregnancy through childhood, to shed light on the consequences and challenges of accessing perinatal healthcare and caring for the generation born amidst the pandemic.

Invited talk
Human Landscapes: Storytelling and Surrealism in the work of Raúl Cañibano

This talk will explore the work of one of Cuba’s greatest living photographers, Raúl Cañibano (b. Havana, 1961). It will reflect on the importance of storytelling in his various ongoing photo-essays, which date back to the early 1990s, and will examine surrealist influences at play in these wide-ranging bodies of work. It will also consider the influence Cañibano’s work has had on contemporary Cuban photography and the way it has been received by critics and different audiences outside the island.

Hosted by Jessica Hagley

Workshop
Beyond the Frame: Innovative approaches to curatorial and photographic practice in Havana, Cuba

This GCRF-funded photography workshop in Havana, Cuba focuses on the relationship between photography and audio-description. It will bring together British and Cuban experts, researchers and practitioners whose work involves curatorial and photographic practice and will involve reviewing the way we engage with and exhibit images in the gallery space. Dr James Kent and Prof Hannah Thompson will be working collaboratively with representatives from the Universidad de La Habana (UH), the Universidad de las Artes (ISA), the Fototeca de Cuba, and a number of Cuba’s leading photographers (Raúl Cañibano, Arien “Chang” Castán & Leysis Quesada Vera). The broader aim of the project is to design a plan for the delivery of school workshops relating to photography and visual storytelling that would impact positively on the personal and social wellbeing of Cuban school children, socio-economically marginalised groups and disabled people, engaging with key social issues in Cuban society that relate specifically to the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (specifically SDG #4 Quality Education).

To read more about the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals, click here.

This project (networking event/workshop) brings together Cuban experts, researchers and practitioners whose work involves curatorial and photographic practice (including collaborators from the Universidad de La Habana, the Universidad de las Artes (ISA), and the Fototeca de Cuba). With the aim of fostering sustainable societal development, the project will explore physical, social, cultural and technological barriers relating to curatorial and photographic practice, thus stimulating challenge-led interdisciplinary research and helping to foster equitable partnerships between British and Cuban academics, stakeholders and policymakers. Participants at project workshops will be encouraged to explore imaginative ways of producing, curating and talking about images. Focusing on the relationship between photography and audio-description, interactive workshops will involve workshop participants collaborating with other individuals and reviewing the way we engage with photography in the gallery space.