Thursday 9 May 2024, 7pm Doors open at 6.45pm Lowry Galleries
The Lowry’s Artist Development and Galleries Teams have joined up once again and are pleased to present our second Scratch Nights X Galleries event.
Join us for an evening of new and experimental work from four performance, visual, media and digital artists and collectives.
Our Scratch Nights offer an evening dedicated to the development of brand-new work. A chance for artists to put early ideas in front of a live audience to see what sticks; it’s about now rather than never, it’s about the spit without the polish. You might be seeing the early beginnings of ideas that will one day turn into fully formed shows.
These informal nights bring new live work to audiences and create a supportive platform for artists to experiment, take risks, test ideas on stage, and share new work with peers and wider public.
We are delighted to present the following line-up of artists:
THE SEVERED WING by Corinne
A GENEALOGY OF BHANGRA by Amrit Randhawa
SACRED LANDS by Obeka
LANDMARKING by Georgia Rowan & Loe D’Arcy
THE SEVERED WING by Corinne
Watch me, a disabled artist confined to bed, transform into a bird. Bed confinement is extremely isolating, but I live by the woods and hear bird song from my bedroom window daily. I wish to join my feathered friends, transform into my true self and escape my confinement. The live-streamed performance will explore my limited mobility. My wings can only ‘fly ’depending on my chronic pain level. A battle between my desire to fly and the reality of my health.
Connect
Instagram: @corinnesdiary
Websites:
outsidein.org.uk/galleries/corinne
bethlemgallery.com/artists/corinne
Read More about Corinne’s work below.
About the Artist
Corinne (they/them) is a disabled queer self-portrait artist. This year marks their sixth year of spending almost every day confined to bed. Their childhood imaginary friend “Daisy” is central to their practice. Her presence manifests through their frequent inclusion of daisy flowers in their work. To escape childhood trauma, Corinne and Daisy created Daisyland, a Queer Utopia entered through a ‘Fairy Door’ on their bedroom wall. Currently they are working on an Arts Council England funded project ‘Daisyland’; a queer utopia and curatorial platform.
A GENEALOGY OF BHANGRA by Amrit Randhawa
The work will examine the story of Bhangra music in the UK and make the attempt to trace its lineage to the present day. The artist, Amrit Randhawa will be considering how Bhangra music is inadvertently a good way of documenting the social mobility of British Asians — and how within the music one can hear the journey from the working class into the middle class.
Connect
Instagram: @taxicabindustries
X: @AmritRandhawa96
Website: https://taxicabindustri.es
Read More about Amrit Randhawa’s work below.
About the Artist
Amrit Randhawa is an artist and graphic designer based in Manchester, largely exploring typographic based outcomes.
SACRED LANDS by Obeka
Sacred Lands enter a true world.
Rooted and honest expressions in past and present cultures that consist of Afro-Caribbean and Pan-African origins.
The piece showcases a sensory atmosphere using bespoke visuals, native drums, voices and choreography harnessing spirituality and the powerful identities of these lands. The multi-dynamic performance aims to capture the intricacies of the artist’s experiences and musical environments through their eyes. Challenging the perception of migration and social adaptations we have evolved in.
Connect
Instagram: @obeka_music
Instagram: @northsideprido
Read More about Obeka’s work below.
About the Artist
Jahday Ford aka Obeka is a Bermuda born musician and visual designer who transitioned into the Manchester music scene in 2016, building a native sound and rhythm distinct tohis homeland. The Me Gusta Collective Co-Founder blends native styles from Pan-African, Caribbean, and South American origins that became essential for manifesting polyrhythmic electronic beats and tempos with a mix of live and software-based drum recording. The performance will additionally feature Zambian vocalist PRIDO whose unique sound has spread far and wide featuring on BBC Introducing and Radio 6 Music.
LANDMARKING by Georgia Rowan & Loe D’Arcy
Queer landmarking: A ritualistic act of defiance
LANDMARKING draws on collective crafting and movement practices to cultivate community, identity and visibility, in a society where rural queerness is often undocumented. The process was rooted in the local queer community of Sheffield, involving discussions and workshops that have resulted in this multilayered portrayal of queerness and belonging.
Connect
Instagram: @georgiamay.___ (Georgia)
Instagram: @__very_seedy (Loe)
Read More about Georgia Rowan & Loe D’Arcy’s work below.
About the Artists
Georgia Rowan (She/Her)
Georgia’s practice is rooted in community, queerness and mental health, drawing on movement, film and craft to shed light on the complexities of lived experience. Since graduating, she has worked across contemporary and commercial dance, theatre, and film, most recently with Persona Collective and Shobana Jeyasingh Dance. She is also working towards becoming a holistic movement facilitator, combining her background in dance with training in massage.
Loe D’Arcy (They/Them)
Loe’s practice spans movement, costume and visual arts. They studied sculpture at Wimbledon College of Art for two years before moving to Trinity Laban to study dance, graduating in 2021. Loe’s queer identity and neurodivergence provides a framework for making that considers socio-political context and somatic experience. Most recently they have worked as a movement director for Dear Young Monster at Bristol Old Vic and as a costume collaborator with Julie Cunningham & Company.
Credits
Concept: Georgia Rowan in collaboration with Loe D’Arcy.
Videography: Georgia Rowan
Filmed performance: Community cast (Names TBC)
Material elements: Community cast (Names TBC)
