Creative and civic futures

Guilt by association: Race, culture and criminalisation

In a recent controversial conspiracy case in Manchester, several Black teenagers were found ‘guilty by association’ after prosecutors used social media messages and references to drill lyrics to build a group case against them, claiming they were all affiliated to a ‘gang’. This event reflects on the effects of conspiracy and joint enterprise laws in racializing and criminalizing particular communities and cultures, and on how these laws increasingly raise questions about fairness and justice as they relate to the prosecution of young Black and Asian men. Chaired by Prof David Olusoga, speakers included Prof Eithne Quinn, the University of Manchester Chancellor Nazir Afzal, founder of Kids of Colour, Roxy Legane and Jan Cunliffe, Director of JENGbA. This event was presented in partnership with the Global Inequalities research beacon.

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From Bristol to Manchester: History and memory in our cities

The tearing down of the statue of Edward Colston in June 2020 prompted national and international conversations about public memorials. Is it ok to remove statues in our public spaces? How do we decide? Who should be part of the conversation? Hosted by David Olusoga this event explored events in Bristol since the removal of the Colston statue and the outcome of a recent Manchester City Council led consultation into statues and public memorials in the city.

The panel included Ray Barnett, Head of Collections and Archives at Bristol Museums, Dr Sadia Habib of The University of Manchester and Dr Joanna Burch-Brown of the University of Bristol.

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Making history in the age of Black Lives Matter

This online event saw Professor Olusoga in conversation with students and staff from the History Department at The University of Manchester. They explored the role of public historians in the context of the Black Lives Matter movement and decolonising the curriculum.

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Supporting Manchester’s language communities: Language maintenance and revitalisation

This panel discussion and Q&A on language endangerment, maintenance and revitalization was presented in partnership with the Linguistic Diversity Collective (LDC).

The panel was chaired by LDC’s Dr Serge Sagna and comprised of Professor Julia Sallabank (SOAS), John Claughton (WoLLoW initiative), John Wilson (WoLLoW and Head of Modern Languages at Cheadle Hulme School), Munira Alsusa (Headteacher at Manchester Arabic School) and Dr Leonie Gaiser (University of Manchester).

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Katputli Utsav: A festival of traditional Indian Arts

A celebration of the skill, talent and culture of the Kathputli Colony, from New Delhi, India - the largest community of street performers in the world. With performances ranging from dance to puppetry, and a panel including Ruth Daniel (CEO, Artistic Director, In Place of War), Vijay Maitri (community leader and a theatre artiste) and Dr Simon Parry (senior lecturer in Drama and Arts Management), this event is presented by the Humanitarian and Conflict Response Institute in partnership with Creative Manchester and the University of Manchester Social Responsibility Fund.

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British Muslim Women in Cultural and Creative Industries

A symposium on Muslim women creatives, held in partnership with MACFEST. Dr Saskia Warren, an author and a Senior Lecturer in Human Geography discusses key findings from her new book British Muslim Women in the Cultural and Creative Industries and explores how religion and faith interrelate with other indexes of difference, reshaping work-lives and the changing morphology of society, culture, and public life.

Raabia Hussain, an award-winning adventure filmmaker and activist from Manchester, shares her experience as a filmmaker and how she inspires and helps people especially from the ethnic minority, to represent themselves in front of and behind the camera.

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