DUENDE - don’t they?
Who gets to make art, how and why? How might it embolden feminist, anti-racist world-making?
The project
Amelia Donkor, storyteller and performance artist, leads a project that deals with the themes of art, embodiment, race, gender & collective struggle.
Who gets to make art, how and why? How might it embolden feminist, anti-racist world-making?
The project will integrate an auto-ethnographic approach, acknowledging Amelia’s experience as a Black mixed heritage woman as well as participant observation and interviews.
This cross-methodological approach sits at the heart of the project, allowing for an expansive and strongly feminist exploration and interrogation of art, racial justice, accessibility, and care.
Header image: Amelia Donkor
Conference event
DUENDE - don’t they? Panel Discussion
Date: Wednesday 13th July 2022
Time: 16:45 - 17:45
Location: Virtual
Description
In this panel, Amelia Donkor, an artist and storyteller, leads a discussion dealing with the themes of art, embodiment, race, gender & collective struggle. Talking to collaborator and co-creator Rachel Valentine Smith, they ask: Who gets to make art, how and why? This is in conversation with DUENDE, their performance piece and care space shared in May 2022 at Mountview. DUENDE was inspired by Federico Garcia Lorca’s 1928 lecture ‘Theory and Play of the Duende’ but soon became a response piece to the white, straight hierarchy of making art. Amelia & Rachel will also be joined by activist and DUENDE audience member Edward Adonteng, to share and challenge how a pedagogy of care might support an anti-racist feminist praxis in the theatre.
DUENDE- don’t they? Radical arts practice on and off the stage.
Panelists
Amelia Donkor
Amelia is an actor, writer and facilitator blending creative arts and community building. She trained at LAMDA (The London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts) and has worked across theatre & television, as well as leading corporate training, voice workshops and women's circles. Amelia is passionate about story-telling and discovering new ways to learn and liberate. As a Black mixed race British woman, Amelia grounds her academic practice in lived experience and her work focuses on racial justice and gender consciousness. Amelia is currently studying for an MA in gender, culture and media at Goldsmiths and is on an enlightening journey of decolonising the heart, body and mind.
Edward Adonteng
Edward is currently studying an MSc in Political Thought at SOAS. His work focuses on the cultivation of revolutionary humanist, anti-colonialist thought/practice and the commitment towards building a praxis for decolonisation in the 21st century. His recent bachelor’s dissertation, “Bridging Anti-Colonial Thought: To what extent is Fanon’s anti-colonialist political thought a development of theories of the Harlem Renaissance and Negritude Movement?” was published in December 2021. Outside of academia, Edward is a horticulturist, poet, writer and part-time curator.
Rachel Valentine Smith
Rachel is a director, artist and facilitator working across the UK and internationally. She works as Associate Artist at Clean Break as well as studying for an MA in Art & Politics at Goldsmiths. Her work includes reimaginings of the classics, regular collaborations with emerging and established writers from the UK, Kosovo, Afghanistan and Lebanon, and cross discipline events and installations. Rachel was co-artistic director of The Faction ensemble for six years and directed work commissioned by New Diorama Theatre, Stephen Joseph Theatre, The Lowry and the British Council.