Kent dance artists Sidonie Carey Green and Tom Tegento are bringing a series of events to Thanet, Dover and Folkestone as part of a project they say is aimed at “connecting local communities and those who have experienced forced migration.”
The Body-as-Data Project will include creative dance, walking and surveillance technologies, culminating in a film to be screened in the autumn.
Sessions will take place to explore the themes of migration through dance and movement and aim to connect communities in Kent which are affected by migration. The ‘body-as-data’ refers to the process of surveillance technologies at digital borders.
The organisers say: “This project will connect local communities who have experienced forced migration and we will come together to mobilise the border of the Kent coast from Margate to Folkestone.”
In 2022 Sidonie and Tom developed a project exploring Tom’s experience as a refugee arriving from Eritrea and researching what role surveillance technologies could play in performance. This culminated in a solo performance on Margate beach which was captured on film by drone.
The Body as Data workshops and walks are set to begin on Saturday 1st June in Margate and will run through to Sunday 30th June in Folkestone.
01/06/24 – MARGATE: Crate Space workshop with Tom Tegento and Surya Chandra
02/06/24 – Walk from Margate Beach with Tom Tegento and Surya Chandra
07/06/24 – MARGATE: ARK workshop with Falle Nioke and TBC
08/06/24 – Walk from Walpole Bay Tidal Pool with Falle Nioke and TBC
12/06/24 – DOVER: Samphire Project workshop with Farida Yesmin and Surya Chandra
12/06/24 – Walk from St Margaret’s Bay with Farida Yesmin and Surya Chandra
19/06/24 – DOVER: Napier Barracks workshop with Farida Yesmin and Josephine Carter
20/06/24 – Walk from The Warren with Farida Yesmin and Josephine Carter
29/06/24 – FOLKESTONE: Open Quarter workshop with Tom Tegento and Josephine Carter
30/06/24 – Walk from Folkestone Beach with Tom Tegento and Josephine Carter
Organisers say: “Each workshop and walk is facilitated by a team of local artists with lived experience of forced migration, and we invite anyone who has experienced forced migration to join our workshops and walks. We also invite expressions of interests from people whose values align with ours and would like to be involved.
“We still witness division and unease surrounding the narrative of migration and this project seeks to provide a space for conversation within communities and multiple narratives to be heard.
“From the walks, a film will be created using drone technology to capture local migrant and community participants drawing their own border across the Kent coast, to highlight how the border is constructed, offering an alternative mobilised version of the border which was created by those it denies.”
The film will be screened in September and October in the spaces it was created.
Get Involved
For more information or to get involved, contact The Body As Data team at [email protected] or Instagram @thebodyasdataproject, and in one or two sentences state why you would like to be involved.
Arts Council England has funded the project which is co-commissioned by Counterpoints Arts in partnership with groups at Napier Barracks, Glenwood House, ARK, and The Samphire Project.
