Emancipation Acts, a Photographic Documentation

Emancipation Acts Drummers

Emancipation Acts

Emancipation Acts

Project lead: Glasgow Life in association with African Caribbean Cultures Glasgow

Join us for the inaugural Scottish celebration of Emancipation Day, celebrated annually across the Caribbean. Make your way around locations in Glasgow’s Merchant City as we bring to life the story of the city’s role in Caribbean slavery using drama, dance and music. Find out why the Gallery of Modern Art would not exist but for the slave trade. Tread the path taken by wealthy Glasgow merchants on their return from the slave plantations. Hear about the abolitionist movement and the Glaswegians who supported emancipation.

Directed by Alan McKendrick, inspired by an original idea from African Caribbean Cultures Glasgow and historian Stephen Mullen’s book It Wisnae Us.

30, 31 July, 1 August

Tickets are FREE and can be booked online here, by calling 0141 353 8000 or in person at the City Halls Box Office.

FREE WORKSHOPS - Get Involved

To mark the 2014 Commonwealth Games, we are inviting you to take part in creative workshops based on themes around slavery and emancipation. You will gain skills in your chosen art form, meet people from different cultural backgrounds and learn about Glasgow’s links to the slave trade and its abolition.

You can choose from dance, drama, photography, carnival costume making, singing and percussion all with an African or Caribbean theme. Your workshops will be lead by experienced, professional artists.

All workshop participants will be invited, if they wish, to participate alongside our professional cast in Emancipation Acts. If they simply wish to be part of the workshops, they are welcome to do that.

Emancipation Acts is a series of site specific performances in Glasgow’s Merchant City bringing to life the story of the city’s role in Caribbean slavery using drama, dance and music.

We are particularly looking for people from an African or Caribbean background. However, ALL nationalities are welcome and our aim is to bring people together so non African & Caribbean participants are also essential.

Time Commitment

If you are a workshop participant your time commitment is 12 hours between mid June and the end of July. That equates to 6 workshops of 2 hours on average.

If you are participating in the professional performances you must be available for rehearsals at various times from 19 July until the dress rehearsal on 29^th July and performances on 30^th, 31^st July and 1^st August. You will be told what that rehearsal schedule is in week 2 of your workshop and YOU decide if you want to join the performance. If you don't, you will simply continue with your weekly workshops.

How we can help?

If you are on a low income we can help with the cost of public transport to get to and from workshops and rehearsals. Childcare will also be provided at each workshop for those who need it. You need to let us know in advance that you require childcare.

Interested?

Get in touch if you are interested in taking part in this exciting set of workshops. For more information, please contact Anne McLaughlin on anne@emancipationacts.com or call 07729 858 157.

Emancipation Acts will be written and directed by Alan McKendrick.

Paid sessional workers required

We are looking for 1 Support Worker and 1 PVG holder for each of our workshops to start asap. Workshops are on Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 6pm to 8pm. We will also have more hours available during the rehearsal and performance periods from 21 July to 1 August.The roles are as follows:

PVG Holder childcare worker

We will be providing childcare at each of our workshops to enable parents to fully participate. Your role will be to keep children occupied whilst the workshop is in session. You will be in the same room as the workshop participants. We will provide an arts and crafts pack and you will have an assistant supporting you. Sessions last 2 hours and you will be paid £10.00 per hour. Contact Anne on 07729 858 157 or email anne@emancipationacts.com to apply.

Support Worker

We will be providing childcare and transport costs at each of our workshops. Your role is to support the childcare worker and to deal with administrative duties. You will set up the arts and crafts area, keep records of attendance at the workshops and pay transport costs where applicable. You will require to collect a float each week and have the childcare area set up before the workshop start time. Therefore this role, which is paid at £7.50 per hour will be for 2.5 hours per session. Contact Anne on 07729 858 157 or email anne@emancipationacts.com to apply.

The Glasgow 2014 Cultural Programme is a national celebration. Culture 2014 will showcase dance, theatre, music, visual arts, comedy and much more in the run up to and after the Commonwealth Games, with Festival 2014 transforming the Host City at Games time.  The Cultural Programme is a partnership between the Glasgow 2014 Organising Committee, Glasgow Life, and Creative Scotland through National Lottery funding.

FREE African Drumming Workshops - Emancipation Acts

Enslaved Africans did not sit back and accept their lot as slaves. They rebelled in whatever way they could, no matter how small, until they won their emancipation. One of the ways in which they did this was to keep African culture alive including drumming, very important to African culture. This was seen as a threat because keeping a common culture alive meant slaves were far more likely to unite and fight back. It was so much of a threat that slave owners on St Kitts banned the use of drums altogether.

We're running weekly African drumming workshops starting Tuesday 24th June in Glasgow and through joining in you could be learning how drumming became an important part of emancipation celebrations.

Our workshop leader is Erick Mauricia, a very well known musician, dancer and choreographer. He co founded The Ayawara Ensemble. If you’ve seen a Glasgow based African percussion and dance group, then it was probably them. There is nobody better to give you the holistic approach to drumming that ensures you come out of the workshop with more than some knowledge of African culture, more than the therapeutic benefits of drumming and more than a new musical skill. You will get all 3!

You can simply participate in the workshops for their own sake, or you can also go on to perform in theatre project 'Emancipation Acts', which will take place in the Merchant City July 30th-August 1st as part of the Commonwealth Games celebrations - you choose.

We expect participants from a wide range of countries and cultures so if meeting new people from different backgrounds and sharing something special is your thing, you've come to the right place.

If you need help with travel costs we can cover it. And we can provide childcare if we know we need it. We also provide the drums!

www.emancipationacts.com

Dates of workshops: (NB pre booking is essential.)

Tuesdays as follows
24th June, 6pm - 8pm
1st July, 6pm - 8pm
8th July, 6pm - 8pm
15th July, 6pm - 8pm
22nd July, 6pm - 8pm
One other date tba

Venue for workshops

Maryhill Community Central Halls, Maryhill Road

If you need help with travel costs we can cover it.

And we provide childcare.

Email anne@emancipationacts.com for more information.

FREE Singing Workshops - Emancipation Acts

How did plantation slaves keep their spirits up when life was so bleak and harsh? They sang. And eventually singing became not just a way of keeping going emotionally but a way of passing on coded messages. We're running weekly singing workshops starting Wed 25th June in Glasgow and through joining in you could be learning how song became an important part of emancipation celebrations.

Our workshop leader will be Noel Bridgeman. Noel is an arts practitioner specialising in community based music and singing projects. (He also manages the annual West End Festival Parade in Glasgow each year.)

You can simply participate in the workshops for their own sake, or you can also go on to perform in theatre project 'Emancipation Acts', which will take place in the Merchant City July 30th-August 1st as part of the Commonwealth Games celebrations - you choose.

We expect participants from a wide range of countries and cultures so if meeting new people from different backgrounds and sharing something special is your thing, you've come to the right place.

If you need help with travel costs we can cover it. And we can provide childcare if we know we need it.

www.emancipationacts.com

Dates of workshops: (NB pre booking is essential.)

Wednesday 25th June, 7.30pm - 9.30pm (note the later start time, all others start at 6pm)
Wednesday 2nd July, 6pm - 8pm
Wednesday 9th July, 6pm - 8pm
Wednesday 16th July, 6pm - 8pm
Wednesday 23rd July, 6pm - 8pm
One other date tba

Venue for workshops

Waverley Care, 12 Queens Crescent, Glasgow, G4 9AS

If you need help with travel costs we can cover it.

And we provide childcare.

Email anne@emancipationacts.com for more information.