Broadcasting the archive #9 – Middlesbrough
Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art presents a week of conversations, workshops and site visits organised with Broadcasting the Archive in collaboration with Emily Hesse from New Linthorpe. These events consider questions surrounding housing, women’s rights, inequality, regeneration, and other topics of local urgency.
Broadcasting the Archive is a project that activates the Arte Útil archive, which consists of case studies of ‘useful art’, or art as a tool or device. Curators Gemma Medina and Alessandra Saviotti have been delivering a programme of events in partnership with various art organisations to ensure that the Arte Útil archive is a source of inspiration for both art professionals and all other potential users aiming to contribute to social change.
During their residency in Middlesbrough, Medina and Saviotti work with local people to explore the relevance of the Arte Útil archive in this context. The week begins on Tuesday 25 October with a reflection on Arte Útil. Wednesday’s sessions examine themes associated with women’s rights, particularly what it is to be a woman in Middlesbrough. On Thursday, the focus shifts to housing, especially problems related to accommodation for disenfranchised groups in Teesside. The week culminates on Friday with a trip to Liverpool to engage with participants in the Granby Four Streets project, an example of a creative response to issues in a community.
SCHEDULE
Tuesday 25 October
10.00am – 1.00pm: Arte Útil movement and criteria
2.00pm – 5.00pm: Using the Arte Útil archive
Wednesday 26 October
10.00am – 1.00pm: What is it like to be a woman in Middlesbrough?
2.00pm – 5.00pm: Edit-a-thon: addressing the lack of Wikipedia pages on women in Middlesbrough
Thursday 27 October
10.00am – 1.00pm: Meeting with the North Ormesby Neighbourhood Development Trust
2.00pm – 5.00pm: Presentations by Sarah Charalambides, Helen O Malley and Henry Mulhall (Goldsmiths, University of London), Adelita Husni-Bey (artist) and Anna Santomauro (University of Wolverhampton)
Friday 28 October:
08.00am – 20.00pm: Learning from Granby Four Streets Regeneration project
Broadcasting the Archive workshop at Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art
Tuesday, 25 October, 2.00pm – 5.00pm
Sound and video documents, interviews, guided tours through some projects, workshops and seminars are the materials and formats employed by Broadcasting the Archive to mediate the Arte Útil archive. In this workshop, Broadcasting the Archive discusses a selection of files from the Arte Útil archive following the various criteria that define Arte Útil. The session focuses on case studies that address gentrification processes and the use of public space as a ‘common good’.
Edit-a-thon at Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art
Wednesday, 26 October, 2.00pm – 5.00pm
Middlesbrough has recently been in the spotlight for being ‘the worst place to grow up as a girl’, as indicated by a study conducted by Plan International UK in conjunction with the University of Hull. The report issued by these organisations generated a lot of buzz on social media, where #girlwhogrewupinboro has taken over Twitter and Facebook, and many women who were born in the area have spoken up in argument with it.
To respond to this topic, Broadcasting the Archive promotes an Edit-a-thon to increase female representation on Wikipedia – tends to be low – focusing on women from Middlesbrough. Inspired by many Wikiprojects dedicated to ensuring coverage of women’s biographies, the Edit-a-thon creates new entries dedicated to individuals from the area working in the fields of politics, art, sports and beyond. The Edit-a-thon takes as a reference the Organisers Kit produced by Art+Feminism available online.
Housing symposium at Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art
Wednesday, 27 October, 2.00pm – 5.00pm
Gresham, an area in central Middlesbrough, hit the headlines early this year due to the particularities of the living quarters for asylums seekers sent there by Jomast on behalf of G4S and the Home Office. Yet Gresham has often been in the spotlight for its poor accommodation conditions, and housing has always been a key issue in Middlesbrough. Through presentations by artists and researchers, this symposium addresses themes around urban regeneration, politics and human rights that shed light on questions raised by Gresham and similar locations.
You are welcome to join in the whole residency or take part in some of the workshops, free of charge. Email: mima@tees.ac.uk or call 01642931232
