Last week, EH*V welcomed 67 new Interns to our collective who are all working on a theme or topic close to their hearts. One such group is the EH*V Arts Intern Team whose work will shed light on myriad artistic mediums and genres. Every Monday, the team will share their recommendations in their genre for the this week. Please get in touch if you'd like to get involved!
Brittany Roberts - EH*V Dance
My dance recommendation for this week is ‘Artificial Things’ by Stopgap Dance Company, directed by Sophie Fiennes and choreographed by Stopgap’s Artistic Director Lucy Bennet. Watch the film here;
Artificial Things is the debut work of the new Artistic Director Lucy Bennett. Under her direction, Stopgap Dance Company broke away from its previous repertoire model and became an integrated dance company that devises original works for international touring. This exciting step-change will continue to make Stopgap a unique and fascinating company.
Lucy Bennett visualises dance through a cinematic spectrum. She puts emphasis on allowing the audience to observe the nuances of each dancer and become absorbed in the remarkable dynamics that their interactions create. The starting point of her devising process is the personal experiences that her dancers bring to the studio. These stories give Lucy’s work originality and a human quality, making it appealing to audiences who want to see intriguing personalities on stage.
About Brittany - Having initially studied modern languages at university, I decided to retrain as a community dance artist and am now mid-way through my postgraduate diploma at Trinity Laban Conservatoire for music and dance, specialising in inclusive community practice. I am also training to teach English as a foreign language and volunteering as a content creator for the Girls Friendly Society.
Alice Chambers - EH*V Theatre
Play recommendation: ‘Nine Night’ by Natasha Gordon (premiered at the National Theatre)
About Alice: Having completed an English Literature degree at university, I am currently training on the MFA Theatre Directing course at Birkbeck. I am about to start an assistant directing placement at Birmingham Rep. At the moment, I am part of the Painkiller Director Pool and the New Normal/ New Writing Festival 2020.
Emma Lake - EH*V Fine Art/ Art History
‘Obliteration Room’ by Yayoi Kusama
This week has been characterized by ‘uncertainty’. International students in the US face having to leave as their studies move online, and in Europe EU leaders stand divided over the 750bn euro pandemic recovery fund. Uncertainty is often paired with anxiety. The artist Yayoi Kusama uses art as a therapeutic practice to concentrate her anxieties. Kusama’s ‘Obliteration Room’ began as a completely white interior constructed to look like a domestic space. The public then transformed the space by placing colourful polka dot stickers on any available surface. In lockdown, through creative activities and processes like Kusama’s ‘Obliteration Room’, one can start to find vibrancy and order within chaos.
About Emma: I am a multimedia artist studying Fine Art and History of Art at the University of Edinburgh. I work predominantly in installation and through the amalgamation of visual imagery and sound I explore the fluctuant nature of sexuality, identity, gender roles and mental health. I also run alongside three other Edinburgh students ‘Conference for Change’ which is an annual conference dedicated to discussing a pervasive social issue based in Edinburgh.
Maya Chawla : EH*V Audio
Podcast recommendation: 1619 (Nikole Hannah-Jones, New York Times)
A fully three-dimensional powerhouse of podcast journalism, 1619 was released in 2019 to mark the 400th anniversary of the arrival of the first ship of the trans-Atlantic slave-trade into America. Artfully told and intricately tied to present-day politics, this podcast points slowly but firmly towards the importance of intersectionality, given the context which has been provided to us in history. As of 2020, Hannah-Jones has been awarded a Pulitzer Prize for her work.
About Maya: I have just graduated from senior school and am due to begin a Drama foundation-year course at Fontainebleau School of Acting in September. I later hope to study Anthropology at university, but more recently have been volunteering at my local hospital radio station, and working at an Amazon depot.
Sanaa Estibal - EH*V Film
This week, I want to recommend the film Wadjda by Haifaa al-Mansour. Wadjda is a young girl living in the outskirts of Riyadh.
She wears jeans, listens to rock and dreams of owning a bike in order to compete with her friend Abdullah. However, bicycles are strictly restricted to men as they are considered to be a threat to girls’ virtue. Wadjda is determined to get her way. Released in 2012, this is the first feature film shot entirely in Saudi Arabia and the first feature-length film made by a female Saudi director. It won numerous awards at film festivals around the world.
About Sanaa: I’m a 3rd year undergraduate, studying Arabic & Spanish at Oxford. I was born in Paris and raised in France, Mexico and Uruguay. I love travelling, cinema, theatre, literature and music. I was lucky enough to start acting professionally at the age of six and have been keeping it up ever since. You can spot me in the new Netflix series “Caliphate” where I speak in bad Swedish and cry my eyes out. Anyway, I hope you enjoy my movie recommendations as much as I enjoy making them !
Josie Moir: EH*V Visual Art
Art recommendation: @aboutnatlife on instagram. Natasha Cummings is a Jamaican designer whose work has been rapidly gaining popularity for a while, and her recent Portrait a Day series is a stunning mix of perfect composition, beautiful imagery, and rich colours; every design is a stand-alone work of art, but together, the series displays incredible and consistent creative talent.
About Josie: I am a second year at Oxford and a huge art lover. With EH*V, I am interested in learning about and promoting the work of forgotten or unheard women* artists throughout history, as well as highlighting contemporary talent.
Jess Bollands - EH*V Music
Recommendation: Gal Pals Quarantine Bops Spotify Playlist - lots of fun tunes to start the week with! Gal Pals is a queer dance party for womxn, trans and non-binary folks who run regular club nights (and online virtual dance parties throughout lockdown) Follow them @galpalsclub & playlist here: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/11bS3Fm4hUNjT9UJrWJotr?si=uj0UWB3lSuOe4Jf95CJehA
About Jess: I studied English at Oxford and graduated in 2018. I now live in London and work at a music PR company & and am a pop artist myself, gigging and releasing music as Jess Fitz. At Oxford I sang in all woman* a cappella group The Oxford Belles and also founded all woman* student band Sisters of Funk. I continue to champion women* in my band and creative team today. @jessfitzmusic
Rosie Richards - EH*V Arts
Recommendation: My absolute favourite practitioner is Pina Bausch and Cafe Mueller is, in my opinion, one of the most incredible pieces of choreography that I have ever seen. Pina Bausch directs her dancers by asking them to fully embody the emotion of their character’s story. This piece follows the interaction of a blind character with the world.
About Rosie: I studied Theology and Religion at the University of Oxford and am currently doing an MA in Arabic and Near and Middle Eastern Studies at SOAS specialising in gender and diaspora studies. During my undergraduate I was the President of the Oxford Alternotives, a mixed a capella group and acted, choreographed and directed a variety of theatrical productions. If I had to choose an artform it would be theatre but also I love them all!