Here is a compilation of the animations used in the performance. The animations were projected around the room during the reading, highlighting the action and adding more layers to the audience experience.

A Wing A Prey A Song
A play written by Ros Martin
Animation by Mike Stuart
Poem by Ros Martin read by Ros Martin, Jojo martin and Ria Hartley
Poem by Langston Hughes sung by by Emilyne Mondo and Shola Adewusi

Despite the day of showers here in Hackney on Saturday, the Broadway Market round the corner from Sunbury House was full of hustle and bustle with passersby curiously peeking in at the events space sparking conversations on the show. We opened the workshop in the early afternoon with the chalking event pausing questions about migration, hope and freedom. The workshop, Led by Zoe Holloway, was inside our performance space where people were invited in to create a Bird out of Papier mache, and design, style and decorate it to say something about themselves or someone important to them.

There was lots of cutting, sticking, painting, gluing and talking amongst the participants, and we even had a life size bird fly in and out and around Broadway market!!!

We have some fantastic new creations to add to the design of the space ready for the FREE matinee performances of A Wing A Prey A Song  on Wednesday 30^th October at 2.30pm and 7.30pm @ Sunbury House, 1 Andrews Rd, Haggerston, London E8 4QL

We hope to see you there

There was much excitement as the new crew finally descended on London for the first two days of the residency in Hackney @ Sunbury House. Yinka Shonibare came down to see what was going on in his studio. He said he was looking forward to seeing the finished show on wednesday 30th October at the close of the Guest Projects residency.

The director, Sola Oyeleye was in her element working the crew and actors. Ros Martin writer and producer was working hard with responsive rewrites after the rehearsals and into the dark autumn evenings. “It’s a fantastic space,” says Ros, “Phil Newman the Production Designer has lots of great ideas for making use of the studio for the show… Morale is good,” she joked, “.. .there’s also a big kitchen where the crew have been enjoying home cooked lunches made by myself and Ria Hartley my marketing marvel!”

Watch this space for more news as the actress’ start to make the play their own and breathe life into AWingAPreyASong. I wish them all well on the final part of their journey into the residency and beyond…

What is that picture about?

Stills Underground Railroad

I have been asked. It is on A WING A PREY A SONG face book page, Well, it is a 19^th century unknown artist’s drawing from an engraving by John Osler, depicting the privation and exposure to the elements of fugitive slaves making their bid for freedom via the Underground Railroad. It is from African American abolitionist, William Stills, famous Underground Railroad book. The fugitives leave behind, lives of bondage, fear, persecution, insecurity in the Southern states of America.

Note the swallows have gone and the swifts both migratory birds familiar to our shores, are flying making their long journeys to Africa, anticipating food aplenty to survive without privation, insecurity, want…and as they go, Black History month arrives…

 I am a daughter of first generation migrants. My late Father was from Lagos, Nigeria. His people were captured, enslaved and transported from Lagos to Bahia, Brazil. In the latter part of 19^th century were returnees to Lagos. My mother is from the Caribbean island of St Lucia. I often imagine the lives of both my maternal and grandparents, both born in mid 19^th centuries.   

Each migrant’s story is a migration of the heart, it’s yearnings and, dreams of freedom. Isn’t this what we all want? To be free? To fulfill our own dreams?

And so migrants arrive in boats, by plane, in trucks, stowaways much like an Uncle of mine at the turn of the last century.

Having survived a perilous crossing, migrants often find European humanitarian corridor closed, what now, is one’s fate?…….

FREE PUBLIC EVENT FOR ALL AGES

HAVE YOU EVER WANTED TO BE FREE AS A BIRD?

Bird Making Workshop 

The Bird Making Workshop, which ran at Goldsmiths College during the ‘Perspectives from “other” cultures translating culture’ Conference 20 – 22^nd September, stirred up the imagination in participants including members of the Black British Feminist Collective and X Marks the Spot.

The workshop, led by digital artist Zoe Holloway, was a chance for people to explore their own stories about migration and migratory journeys, and sharing these with others through creating papier-mâché birds and decorating them. Offering a space and time for making, reflecting, talking, writing, and thinking opened an array of narratives during the afternoon as well as a variety of colourful bird creations. During the making process, participants reflected on their personal experiences which shaped their birds, some were large and colourful; some were small and could not fly. Later the group wrote stories related to their birds which could be fictitious and woven with elements of truth or lived experiences. Images of the birds created and the recorded stories can be found on the project facebook group page which you can visit by clicking on the image below:

The papier-mâché birds will become a part of the installation designed for the FREE public reading of the play in progress A Wing A Prey A Song on the 30^th October, at Sunbury House, Hackney. The migration project events aim to communicate with a diverse range of people, so the conversations are open to a wider audience and community of people.

Look Out For…..

Bird Walking Trail on Saturday 26^th October from 12.00 – 13.30 – Hackney (EastLondon) Led by Zoe Holloway in collaboration with The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds

Click above to View the photo Album bird workshop

BRITISH BLACK FEMINIST COLLECTIVE

The British Black Feminist Collective are writers, artists, thinkers, academics, historians, activists, mothers, godmothers, daughters etc

“We aim to counteract the invisibility, marginalisation and obliteration of black women’s history, lives and concerns through coming together, identifying and highlighting issues, creative discourse, illuminating hidden histories, street guerrilla action, performance, workshops, provocative art and talks. We come together, by Skype, weekend residential, workshops, collaborations, gatherings events to highlight and work on our issues and concerns and then seek ways to disseminate information and knowledge imaginatively, engaging others”.

X Marks the Spot 

Initiated in December 2011 ‘X Marks The Spot’ is a concerted period of research in conjunction with the Not Our Class and Jo Spence projects at Studio Voltaire, London – conducted by Mystique Holloway, Ego Ahaiwe, Louise Shelley, Gina Nimbhard, Emma Hedditch, Yula Burin and Zoe Holloway. Taking the focus of Spence’s work, on body image, health, and the representation of a life lived, in the most social political form possible. This research does not stay on the page, or screen but has populated our daily lives and heightened our experience of the present. Through Spence’s approach to photography as a transformative process, documentation of her life with breast cancer, and education around alternative therapy and self education through radical sociology, Spence’s work has pushed us to the limits of what we can involve ourselves in. We are taking on Spence’s ideas, with our selves as subjects, and sharing with our present communities.

X Marks the Spot have worked on various outcomes that have crossed into public programming at Studio Voltaire, including: a radio programme, this blog, photography workshops, research and public events series. http://xmarksthe.tumblr.com/

*A big thank you to all that took part in this special workshop*

www.awingapreyasong.org

DATE: Saturday 21st & Sunday 22nd September 2013.

TIME: 12 – 5pm

PLACE: Studio Voltaire artists studio’s Clapham Common (map here http://www.studiovoltaire.org/contact.htm  ALL WELCOME

FACILITATOR: Zoe Holloway. Create a Bird out of Papier mache, design, style and decorate it to say something about yourself. Your bird will be hung in the Guest Project Studio Space of A Wing A Prey A Song and contribute to the theatre play in progress with animation by playwright Ros Martin and illustrator Mike Stuart.

Guest Projects Africa: A WING, A PREY, A SONG experiments with drama and film projection in a gallery space. The play by Ros Martin contrasts the lives of clandestine new arrivals with that of migratory birds.

The project will host two FREE public readings/performances/projections with two actors in the Guest Projects Space of international artist Yinka Shonibare MBE on 30 October 2013 in Hackney 2.30 and 7.30 1 Andrews Road, Haggerston E.8. Age 14 plus. Please note we would like to capture imagery; photo & video from these workshops to put on website. If you have any queries, please contact zoe.holloway@hotmail.com 07931097384. We look forward to meeting with you. http://www.awingapreyasong.org/the-project/