Study Day desire lines Maria Amidu

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When Maria Amidu was working on her Future Collect expression of interest, she discovered during a conversation with fellow writer and artist Alinah Azadeh, that they had independently been thinking about the phrase ‘desire lines’ for new work. This serendipity and other parallels in their life stories are the genesis for Maria’s invitation to Alinah for this event. Join us for this Study Day, which will start as a walk along the East Sussex coast, and be followed by a discussion at Towner Eastbourne. Alinah Azadeh is Writer-in-Residence at Seven Sisters Country Park and along the Sussex Heritage Coast until October 2023. 

The Future Collect study days are envisaged as moments to come together and think through ideas collectively through gathering, reading, conversation, and workshops. This event is part of the Future Collect programme. See more information here.

iniva will provide lunch and refreshments throughout the day. We have bursaries available for those who want to attend and may need to travel to Eastbourne to take part (please check the access note). 

How to apply

There are a limited number of spots for this excursion (20). This event is open and free to the public, however, due to the nature of the day being research and conversation led, 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 themes in the artists’ work, those who are in the arts sector, and also outside of it!  No portfolio or previous professional work is required to attend, just a keen interest in what is being explored.  

If you are interested in taking part please submit a short expression of interest by May 15th, 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/Yicn8kzJzWQxFQBK9 

We’ll get back to everyone by the last week of May to confirm capacity for the event.  

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

Access 

We are planning to walk for around 2 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 have a budget available to make this event as accessible as possible – this can include BSL interpretation, transcription services, and funds to cover childcare or care costs. If you require any of these please make a note of this in the form above. This will in no way affect how we choose participants.

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 things such as a train/ bus/ other transportation to and from London. If you would like to request a bursary please state this on your form. After receiving all of the expressions of interest we will allocate all of our funds in accordance to the needs of the group to ensure we are able to support as many people as we can with our budget. 

Artist Biographies 

Alinah Azadeh is a visual artist, writer, performer & cultural activist. She uses text, audio, & live practices to create poetic narratives that activate spaces, amplifying untold or overlooked stories. She is writer-in-residence at Seven Sisters Country Park/Sussex Heritage Coast & project lead on We See You Now (2019-22), a decolonial literature-focused project, evoking the trans-global imaginary of the iconic coastal area through live & audio works, involving creatives of global majority heritage, funded by Arts Council England & South Downs National Park Authority. Their work will be showcased at Brighton Festival, with plans for a public programme, subject to funding, announced in May.

Using the metaphors of the rapidly shifting chalkland, Alinah has produced and curated 14 new works exploring biodiversity, geology and overlooked legacies of empire set within the Sussex Coast area, interweaving stories of migration with reflections on climate and cultural justice. 

As well as currently completing her artist memoir, In the Skin of a Stranger, and working on commissions for her residency, she is researching the botanist John Evelyn for a new commission for The Royal Society’s Places of Science. Alinah is a Changing Chalk Associate Artist for Writing Our Legacy/The National Trust and an alumni of Julie’s Bicycle’s Climate, Culture, Action programme, Colour Green. www.alinahazadeh.com

Maria Amidu’s artistic concerns are influenced by the complexities of the relational – between people, and between people and place. Through writing, printmaking, artist’s books, audio visual works and sometimes glassmaking she tries to substantiate what might be going on in collective situations, paying specific attention to what is hidden, obscured or unspoken.

The artist has developed projects with museums, galleries and other cultural organisations including: Watermarks (2021), Metal Culture; “Where are we?” (2020) Mid-Sussex, District Council; edge/threshold/brink (2018), Nuit Blanche Toronto; Act, Campaign, Petition, Reform, Lobby, Argue and Soit droit fait come est desire (Let it be done as it is desired) (2015); Houses of Parliament; Workforce (a work in progress) (2014), National Maritime Museum; a moment of your time (2013), People United in association with Turner Contemporary; Betty, Pat, Diane, Ivy, Lynette, Bonney (2011), Parramatta Artists’ Studios; Dolphin Loves Disco (and other favourite words) (2012), PEER; 21st Century Reporter (2005), Foundling Museum; Tribute (2002), Arnolfini and Bristol Royal Children’s Hospital; Finders, Keepers (2001), Horniman Museum & Gardens; and …a moment caught in three dimension(s) (1999), 198 Contemporary Arts & Learning. Her work is in several public and private collections including the Parliamentary Archives (UK), V&A, Arnolfini Collection Trust, and Limerick National Drawing Collection.

Maria studied glass and ceramics at West Surrey College of Art and Design, Farnham and the Royal College of Art, London. She is currently undertaking doctoral research  in the School of Arts & Humanities at the Royal College of Art and the title of her project is Making that remembers: a correspondence between emotion and material.

Image credits: Maria Amidu