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New Leeds exhibit will showcase four decades of film and video
The exhibit will explore how we can strengthen bonds and connections between people, in times when communities have found themselves increasingly fractured and isolated
Four decades of artist’s film and video will be showcased in a thought-provoking new exhibition at Leeds Art Gallery this Autumn.
Opening on Saturday, September 25, Radical Reel is a group exhibition and season of screenings and events celebrating 40 years of moving images from its renowned collection.
Drawing connections between cinema, performance, television and the internet, Radical Reel reflects the revolutionary development of this art form as it has undergone rapid technological and social change.
The displays on the ground floor galleries feature a group of celebrated artists whose work explores a range of social themes and urban issues from community, identity, inequality and the environment.
Kickstarting a series of monthly screenings in the White Gallery, Rosalind Nashashibi’s Hreash House 2004 is an intimate portrayal of an extended family in Nazareth, Israel.
Shot over 24-hours during a period of political and social turmoil, the camera’s focus on the mundane aspects of the family’s everyday life invites us into their world of enclosure and confinement, prompting us to consider the ways we interact with our environment as well as with each other.
Elsewhere in the Lyons Gallery, the earliest video is displayed alongside more recent acquisitions.
The gallery was the first UK public gallery to acquire Suzanne Lacy’s work and her pioneering video Whisper, The Waves, The Wind (1983-84) was the first moving image work to enter its collection.
Calling attention to participation, memory and ageism, it documents a performance involving 154 women over the age of 65 who were invited to talk simply and honestly about their lives.
Acquired through the joint initiative of the Valeria Napoleone XX Contemporary Art Society to support the acquisition of significant works by female artists, Martine Syms’ two-channel video A Pilot for a Show About Nowhere 2015 juxtaposes found footage from the internet, film and television to investigate the relationship between media, identity and representation.
Blending YouTube clips of old and current television shows, it draws attention to the consumption of images that erase or make invisible black bodies, voices and narratives.
Radical Reel culminates with Harold Offeh’s Reading the Realness (2020 - ongoing), the gallery’s most recent acquisition made possible by the Contemporary Art Society’s Rapid Response Fund.
Featuring members of Leeds Art Gallery’s Youth Collective and its forum for older communities Meet and Make, Reading the Realness re-enacts panel discussions from popular television and radio chat shows to explore contemporary media debates and how we can better understand ourselves and each other.
Seen together, these works explore how we can strengthen bonds and connections between people, in times when communities have found themselves increasingly fractured and isolated.
This is a timely opportunity to think about the status of film and video in our current climate of online streaming and escalating screen time and a reminder that there is a type of art that was made to be seen on screens all along, albeit one that relies on scale, space and physical experience.
Councillor Jonathan Pryor, Leeds City Council’s executive member for economy, culture and education, said: “Leeds has a rich and fascinating history in the fields of both film and artistic ingenuity and it’s exciting to see Leeds Art Gallery displaying some of its world class collection from across the decades in this new exhibition.
“It’s always wonderful to see the gallery finding new and innovative ways to engage and inspire visitors and being part of showcasing the city’s incredibly diverse and exciting cultural offering.”
Radical Reel opens on Saturday 25 September 2021 and continues until January 2 2022.
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Number 10 North is officially ‘open for business’ and here’s why it’s so important for Yorkshire
Number 10 North has officially 'opened for business' this week, and Andy Burnham has now explained his key reasons for launching it.
You may remember that earlier last month, Andy Burnham revealed he had intentions to create a Number 10 North if he was to become Prime Minister, with the new base expected to be a 'dominant driver of the UK's economy' once it was officially up and running... and now, fast forward to today, Number 10 North is officially 'open for business'.
Operating from Heron House in Manchester city centre, as previously reported on by The Manc, Number 10 North will be the Government’s new 'situation room for growth'.
It also brings the 'levers' of local economic growth and devolution together under one roof for the first time ever.
With the Prime Minister expected to work from Number 10 North each week, so that decisions about the country’s economic future will no longer exclusively be made in Westminster, and with other ministers also working from there on a regular basis, the Government says the move underlines its determination to 'do things differently'.
Number 10 North has officially 'opened for business' / Credit: gov.uk (via Wikimedia Commons)
Now that Number 10 North has officially opened, Andy Burnham has explained why this move is so important for Yorkshire and the north as a whole.
"For 40 years, power and resources have been sucked into the centre, and too many communities have felt forgotten, without the attention and investment they deserve," explained Andy Burnham.
"Number 10 North will change that by putting more power into every postcode across the entire country. It will be the situation room for making Britain better, the place we use to get power out of Westminster, into the hands of people at a local level, so that they can turn things around.
"The days of Whitehall resisting devolution are over, for good."
Featured Image - The Manc Group
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Pints of Knowledge, Callum Campbell’s fastest-growing event, is coming to Leeds city centre this summer
Clementine Hall
The pub night that's packing out venues across the UK is coming to Leeds.
Let us introduce you to Pints of Knowledge, a phenomenon founded by Callum Campbell that has built a social media following of more than 160,000 people.
This is different to your average night out, it's a chance to meet new people and spark interesting conversation all in the relaxing surroundings of a pub.
The event has attracted thousands to its unique mix of expert talks, conversation and community in pubs across the UK.
Image: Supplied
And if you're looking to get in on the action then you're in luck, because Pints of Knowledge is arriving at The Wardrobe on Sunday 9 August.
So, what can you expect? From landmark legal history and the hidden pressures behind big systems to the evolving language of gaslighting and radical cinema, Sunday's Leeds programme will demonstrate exactly why Pints of Knowledge has struck such a chord with audiences across the UK.
Founder Callum Campbell, who has spent more than a decade producing live events across Britain, said bringing the concept to Leeds was the natural next step - and we're so happy he thought so.
Image: Supplied
He said: "I've always wanted to bring Pints of Knowledge to more cities across England, and Leeds has such a strong appetite for ideas and conversation. Watching this grow has been amazing, and I can't wait to bring it here.
"As more people look for experiences beyond a traditional night out, Pints of Knowledge offers something different: expert speakers, thought-provoking conversations and the chance to meet new people, all in the relaxed surroundings of a pub.
"People still love going to the pub, but they're looking for more from the experience. Pints of Knowledge is about hearing incredible stories, asking questions, meeting interesting people and leaving having learned something new."
Image: Supplied
The Pints of Knowledge programme at The Wardrobe will look like this:
12pm - Human rights lawyer Mahnoor Omer presents '10 Legal Cases that Changed History'.
2pm - Georgina Shute asks 'Why billion-pound systems are built by people who can't finish their to-do lists'.
4pm - Isobel Logan explores 'Gaslighting: The Evolution of a Concept Across Art, Relationships and Politics'.
6pm - Angelos Koutsourakis will examine 'Third Cinema, The Global South & Climate Change'.
Campbell added: "One hour you can be unpacking landmark legal cases, the next you're hearing about the psychology behind gaslighting, before finishing the day exploring cinema and climate change. That's what makes Pints of Knowledge different.
"This is just the beginning. We've seen an incredible response across the UK, and we're excited to build on that by bringing Pints of Knowledge to more cities across the country.”
Pints of Knowledge takes place at The Wardrobe in Leeds on Sunday 9 August, and you can get your tickets here.
Georgina Pellant -
24th September 2021 
