Iniva and the Stuart Hall Foundation are delighted to announce that collective Squirrel Nation has been awarded the second Stuart Hall Library Artist’s Residency, a funded opportunity that builds on Professor Stuart Hall’s unique contribution to intellectual and cultural life.
Selected through a hugely popular open call, the collective Squirrel Nation will be in residence at Iniva’s Stuart Hall Library from February to April 2018. The three members of the collective – filmmaker Erinma Ochu, visual artist Caroline Ward and curator Bianca Manu – will explore the evolution of diasporic identities and how a sense of belonging or isolation is shaped in the context of cultural and social locations, and technology.
Taking the archival material as a starting point, Squirrel Nation will use social media and modern technologies to develop a forward-looking approach to explore how individual experiences of diasporic communities today relate to the experiences of previous generations. By finding cultural ‘touchpoints’ between the generations, Squirrel Nation will create an artistic intervention to rethink the politics of blackness, diversity and inclusion.
The Stuart Hall Library Artist’s Residency is an annual funded opportunity established in partnership between Iniva and the Stuart Hall Foundation. Building on the distinct connections between both organisations, the three-month residency allows a visual artist the space to think about some of the key themes related to the work of Iniva and the Foundation, including: the language of the diaspora, culture, identity and archiving.
About Squirrel Nation
Squirrel Nation is an international collective comprised of visual artists, writers, designers, sound artists, scientists and curators who create experimental works across a range of settings. The core members are filmmaker Erinma Ochu, visual artist Caroline Ward and curator, Bianca Manu.
Caroline Ward is a deaf visual artist and experience designer, trained originally in fine art and film. She is interested in intersectionality and the crossovers between nature-culture and technology. She has innovated future experiences at BBC and as Digital Associate for The Space. She is currently studying at The Royal College of Art.
Erinma Ochu is a filmmaker and writer, originally trained as a neuroscientist. She’s interested in the afterlives of creative practice and what remains from creating or experiencing intersectional work. She recently held a Jerwood fellowship with Manchester International Festival, attached to Yael Bartana’s What if Women Ruled the World. She teaches at The University of Salford.
Bianca Ama Manu is a curator and producer invested in exploring socio-political, environmental, new media and identity matters. Working between London, UK and Accra, Ghana, past work includes the Wellcome Collection and The Netherlands Embassy, Ghana. Her current role is as curator for Nubuke Foundation, an arts foundation in Accra.
Website: squirrelnation.co.uk