POW! festival will present an afternoon of events related to Turner Contemporary’s widely praised exhibition currently showing, We Will Walk, on March 8.
The festival is Thanet’s major multidisciplinary arts festival celebrating International Women’s Day. It returns to Ramsgate, Margate and Broadstairs between Friday, March 6 and Sunday, March 15. The 2020 festival theme is Re-imagining the Future.
We Will Walk events:
Place, Space and Who – panel discussion, 2pm – 4pm
Place, Space and Who – a panel discussion on representation and diversity inspired by Barbara Walker’s monumental charcoal wall portraits of five women from the African Diaspora living in Kent, currently showing in Turner Contemporary’s downstairs exhibition space.
Panelists include women who feature in the portraits, Sharon Rowe, Bernadette Hawkes, Anisa Marshall and Amira Bulale alongside singer-songwriter Denai Moore and international author Ayishat Akanbi. The panel will be chaired by Ayaan Bulale.
Freedom Road – live performance, 4.30pm – 6.30pm
A live music performance called Freedom Road which honours through music those who sought a better future, travelling the road to freedom through protest or migration. It will feature Jazz, Soul and Spiritual songs associated with the US civil rights movement, performed by the Jessica Lauren Band with vocals from Sabina Desir and cello by Francesca Ter-Berg.
Freedom Road is an immersive experience built around archive audio, powerful images and music.
The audience will hear the narrative told through some of the most important music of the last century, beginning with spirituals of solace, direct protest songs and songs of affirmation and black pride. They will also hear audio from Angela Davis, talking about her lived experience. Composer and keyboard player Jessica Lauren has worked closely with Vocalist Sabina Desir respectfully re-interpreting music that quite literally changed the world.
The performance also features an art installation of civil rights activists by Karen Vost.
The complete line-up for POW! Thanet 2020 can be see at powthanet.com