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*Announcement*
[please cross post]
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EXCHANGE VALUES: Images of Invisible Lives
A Social Sculpture Project
Shelley Sacks in collaboration with banana growers of the Windward
Islands and representative organisations.
Stitched 'sheets of skin' from 20 randomly selected boxes of Windward
Island bananas and voice recordings of meetings with banana growers the
artist has managed to trace, form the basis of the installation.
Through bananas, the situation of the banana producers and the effects
of 'free trade' in one particular region of the world, EXCHANGE VALUES
emphasises the interconnections between producers and consumers in our
complex global economy and our role as 'artists' in re-envisioning our
world.
For more information, see www.exchange-values.org
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EXCHANGE VALUES will be open to the public from 26th April to 27th May
2004, 10am-5pm, at the University of Central England's Bourneville
Centre for the Visual Arts, Linden Road, Birmingham B30 1JX, UK.
For directions, see http://www.biad.uce.ac.uk/site/contact/bournmap.htm
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A public forum will take place on Saturday 8th May 2004, from 2-5pm in
the Centre's Gallery and Conference Room. Here, Renwick Rose, producer
representative from WINFA in the Caribbean, Shelley Sacks, Alistair
Smith from the NGO Banana Link, geographer, Ian Cook and a number of
MPs will participate in a discussion on ‘free trade’ and our
responsibilities as global citizens, as well as an ‘expanded approach
to art’ – or social sculpture - which involves us as ‘artists’ in
shaping a more democratic, ecologically sustainable world.
NB. the size of the space is limited so, if you intend to participate
in this forum, please email [log in to unmask] or [log in to unmask]
or telephone 01865 484961 or 0121 4146262, ASAP.
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EXHANGE VALUES creates a space for exploring the responsibilities and
connections between consumers and producers through bringing together
thousands of banana skins and the voices of unseen producers in the
Caribbean. A series of schools workshops are being arranged for
geography teachers and students through the Birmingham Creative
Partnerships programme (see www.creative-partnerships.com). Any other
groups wishing to hold workshops on issues raised by the sculpture
should contact Ian Cook [email: [log in to unmask] Tel: 0121 4146262].
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Finally, visitors will be able to contribute to a bulletin board, via
computer terminals in the gallery space, to which banana producers in
the Caribbean will also be able to contribute and respond, allowing
dialogues to develop about the issues raised by EXCHANGE VALUES.
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Ian Cook
Lecturer in Human Geography
School of Geography, Earth & Environmental Sciences
The University of Birmingham
Birmingham B15 2TT
UK
Tel: 0121 4146262 Fax: 0121 4145528
http://www.gees.bham.ac.uk/people/index.asp?ID=118
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