Study Day Approaching the Scar Emii Alrai

A key part of Emii Alrai’s research and work on her Future Collect commission A Core of Scar has been exploring landscapes across the United Kingdom, having travelled from the very north of Scotland to Land’s End on the Cornish coast. For Emii’s second study day we will take an excursion to the Gordale Scar, a hidden gorge in the Yorkshire Dales National Park, and a key research site in Emii’s work towards her commission.  

As we approach the scar, we will discuss the links between body and landscape and consider the histories written into different terrains. By engaging in conversations with the landscape, we will explore the links and parallels between land/body and human/body, exploring their shared histories, ruptures, and shifting narratives. What does it mean to reclaim representation in the landscape and how can we create space for diasporic bodies in our relationship with the land?

We will be providing transport from Leeds Train Station to the National Park and will provide refreshments on the day.

The exact schedule of the day is still being determined and will be made clear to all participants ahead of time, but we ask that all participants are available from 9 AM – 6 PM on the day. We will be joined by Emii as well as other artists and thinkers who will lead us through a collective reflection and conversation as we move through the landscape.

How to apply

We have limited spaces (12) for this excursion. This event is open and free to the public but we want to ensure that those who attend would find this beneficial to their thinking, research, and creative practice.  

Our definition of creative work here is intentionally broad: this event is open to everyone who is thinking creatively about these themes, those who work within the arts sector and also outside of it!  No portfolio or previous professional work is required to attend, just a keen interest in the themes being explored.  

If you are interested in taking part please submit a short expression of interest by 24th June 2022,  briefly telling us (in 300 words or less):  

• What interests you about this study day? 
• How does it relate to what you’re feeling/ thinking about and exploring creatively?  

Please send your response through the form here: https://forms.gle/bkvxJgQDDKZ7u8xQ8  

We’ll get back to everyone by the 1st of July to confirm the capacity for the event. We will be prioritizing spaces for those based locally in/around Leeds. 

If you have any questions please email Anahi@iniva.org  

Access

We are planning to walk around for around 3-4 hours, with plenty of breaks along the way. The planned route will be friendly to all walking abilities and is not planned to be strenuous. We will share the exact route with all participants ahead of the day.

We are able to arrange BSL interpretation and can cover other access needs such as childcare for the day for any participant. Please indicate any access requirements on the form linked above.

Bursaries: We have some funds available for those who want to attend the day but are unable to due to lack of funds. For example, this can cover train/ bus/ other transportation to and from Leeds if you are travelling from around West Yorkshire or beyond. If you would like to request a bursary please get in touch with Anahi at Anahi@iniva.org for more info and state this on your form. 

We will be joined by Emii as well as other artists and thinkers who will lead us through a collective reflection and conversation as we move through the landscape. A final programme of the day will be published closer to time.  

Artist’s bio

Emii Alrai (b.1993, Blackpool) is an artist based in Leeds. Her practice is informed by inherited nostalgia, geographical identity, and post-colonial museum practices of collecting and displaying objects. Focusing on ancient mythologies from the Middle East alongside personal oral histories of Iraq, she weaves together narratives by forging artefacts and visualising residues of cultural collision. Alrai creates monumentally-scaled installations which play on museological displays and dioramas. She draws attention to the clash between the polished aesthetics of imperial museums and the states of ruin which befall archaeological artefacts and their landscapes of excavation. Alrai’s art often contains elements which appear broken or unfinished. In this, they point towards moments of rupture and of diasporic separation from homeland. Their incompleteness asks the viewer to imagine archaeological sites as spaces of active memory. 

Future Collect is generously supported by Art Fund, Arts Council England and Esmée Fairbairn Foundation. 

Image credits:  Image taken by Emii Alrai on a trip to the Gordale Scar, 2022. Courtesy of the Artist.