Reading Group RE(SE)A(R)CH with Meera Shakti Osborne

When either the political or the scientific discourse announces itself as the voice of reason, it is playing God, and should be spanked and stood in the corner” – Ursula K. Le Guin, Bryn Mawr Commencement Address (1986)

Join us for an interactive reading group with Meera Shakti Osborne as we explore questions about how we learn in spaces without authority and (re)searching for a common language in relation to youth resistance movements in London.

Meera’s practice as a youth worker and artist is rooted in exploring how youth work can be expansive beyond the institutional structures, we operate in. They are interested in the process of learning, exploring if learning is an accumulation of information remembered and questioning how we process information and how it impacts how we exist in our everyday lives.

Youth movements exist in different ways today than in the past. This reading group will focus on people’s lived experiences through watching Mustafa Abu Ali’s film Scenes of the Occupation from Gaza (1973) and reading June Jordan’s poetry Apologies to all the People in Lebanon (2005) alongside text by Ursula K. Le Guin and Skye Arundhati Thomas and the Newsreel Collective film Divide and Rule – Never!

This reading group is designed to support uncertainty, questioning and feelings. It is a peer-led space for thinking and learning together. It is a space for constructive disagreements and critical engagement that is always based on mutual respect, interest, and care. It is open to all and expertise on the text is not required.

Extracts will be read together in the group. You don’t need to read them in advance, but you can find access to the full resources below.

This reading group is part of iniva’s Research Network programme Contested Sites. It is supported by funding from Freelands Foundation.

Accessibility

If you have any access requirements, please email us in advance at info@iniva.org and we will do our best to accommodate. Extracts of the texts will be provided on the day.

Biography

Meera Shakti Osborne is an art practitioner and youth worker from north London. Meera’s work focuses on collective healing through creative self-expression. Their practice engages with accessibility and confidence building in both formal education settings and casual encounters. In recent years Meera has focused on questions around history making, the ethics of collaboration and processes that allow for flexing, glitches and love.

Meera is currently a LOEWE Foundation / Studio Voltaire resident artist. Recent exhibitions include department of Unruly histories, Cubitt Gallery (2023). Meera has worked with Nottingham Contemporary, iniva, Newbridge Project, Peckham Platform, Focal Point Gallery, The Gap Arts Project, The Drawing Room, Reprezent FM and is a visiting lecturer at UAL. Meera graduated in Design at Central School of Speech and Drama in 2015 and Cairo Institute of Liberal Arts and Science in 2018.

Resources

• Scenes of the Occupation from Gaza (1973) by Mustafa Abu Ali
• Apologies to All the People in Lebanon (2005) by June Jordan
• Bryn Mawr Commencement Address (1986) by Ursula K. Le Guin
• Remember The Details by Skye Arundhati Thomas
• Divide and Rule – Never!(1978) by Newsreel Collective

Image: Pani Puri Finding Each Other ©Meera Shakti Osborne, 2023.