A Common Longing

Join us at Reference Point for an evening of dance and music performances alongside a visual art exhibition exploring the theme of artistic creation and motivation.

What is this longing that pushes people to create? Where does it come from, and where does it take us?

Inspired by poet Rainer Maria Rilke, A Common Longing refers to the strange physical, emotional and intellectual drive that pushes artists to make work. This evening invites audiences to experience work currently in development or process, highlighting the never ending nature of the artistic process. This is an investigation of how we relate to the spaces and people around us, and the interpretation and translation work artists do with that information, explore the thread of thoughts that leads one to create. The idea here is to bear witness to the conversations artists have within themselves and with the world around them.

There will be an exhibition of visual works alongside three live performances across music and dance. In between performances, we aim to have open mic readings, for anyone wishing to share some of their writing, poetry or other. If interested in this, please drop us a line on instagram or via email femanifestoldn@gmail.com

Timeline

7-8:30pm: Exhibition

8:30 - 9:30pm: Performances ( KAZ, Vanessa Downie, Chiara Martina Halter)

9:30 -11pm: Soundscape/DJ

Performances

KAZ is an independent storytelling project by artist and harpist Karen Okpoti. Through surrealist short stories a girl explores an imagined world and develops a visual, sonic and movement language with her natural, mythical and emotional environment. Each episode expands into several short stories with several multimedia outputs.

Vanessa Downie is a diasporic choreographer, blending contemporary movement with ancestral rhythm; everyday gesture with ritual. Her work is authentic, layered, Afrofuturistic, shaped by ancestral research and lived experience; it is deeply personal and fiercely political.

Chiara Martina Halter is a contemporary dance artist who creates multidisciplinary works that merge live-performance with installation art. She is particularly interested in creating immersive, multisensory spaces that focus on presence and attribute a lifelike quality to pre-recorded materials while discussing topics of social relevance.