Wednesday, August 29, 2012
TGM
In 1948 Masaryk's name was removed from public view by the communist regime, including street signs, stations, monuments and books. In 1968 people began to place his face in the windows of shops and the walls of cafes to register their resistance to the authories.
Visit by the mayor of Ricany
A presentation organised with the year 7 students at WCC for the Mayor of Ricany, Vladimir Koren, on his first visit to Whitstable.
We presented the Mayor with a framed photograph of the human flag formation including the following text.
The Mayor signed a letter in support of naming an area in Whitstable after Masaryk and a scanned document was given to us in return, stating when Masaryk was made an honorary citizen of Ricany in 1930.
Human flag formation
We presented the Mayor with a framed photograph of the human flag formation including the following text.
The Mayor signed a letter in support of naming an area in Whitstable after Masaryk and a scanned document was given to us in return, stating when Masaryk was made an honorary citizen of Ricany in 1930.
Whitstable Community College
We delivered a series of workshops at Whitstable Community College (WCC) in preparation for a visit from the Mayor of the town of Ricany. We were programmed into the curriculum timetable of both Year 7 Geography and Art Classes. We introduced the students to the political figure of Thomas Garrigue Masaryk (founding President of Czechoslovakia) by telling the story of his four-year exile which involved him traveling around the world to gain support for the creation of the independent state of Czechoslovakia. The students created individual postcards of European flags to illustrate the different countries Masaryk visited.
We asked the students to trace the roads of Whitstable and to find a location to name after Masaryk. We asked the class to think of all the possible road endings that could occur in a town and also asked them to name roads after themselves. Our aim was to include the students in the process of naming, as a means of taking part in the making of local history. In groups the students short-listed a series of road names and after a period of deliberation, put them to a vote. Masaryk Parade was the chosen name to be introduced to the town of Whitstable by the Year 7 students.
Friday, June 1, 2012
Friday, May 11, 2012
Saturday, February 11, 2012
Saturday, November 5, 2011
Charter 77
Charter 77
17 - 20 November 2011
Whitstable Library, 31-33 Oxford Street, Whitstable, CT5 1DB. Tel: 08458 247200
Uddin & Elsey present a new video work created with the residents of Whitstable and the support of Whitstable Library to coincide with the anniversary of the Velvet Revolution 17 November 1989.
The month of November is a recognised time of year when memorial days take place, to remember events which have shaped European twentieth century history, such as the Fall of the Berlin Wall on the 9th, Armistice Day on the 11th and the Velvet Revolution on the 17th. Over the last 12 months, Uddin & Elsey have traveled to five of the European towns twinned with Whitstable. In August 2011 the artists visited Ricany in the Czech Republic which is one of the towns twinned with Whitstable. The town is located 20km east of Prague and was under Communist rule until 1989.
In response to their visit, Uddin & Elsey were inspired by Charter 77 - a written document created in response to the communist regime in 1977 and which was leaked out of the country in the decade leading up to the Velvet Revolution. The authors of the document were banned from publishing under the communist government and for this reason, the local library was chosen as a site to engage with the question of censorship and freedom of information through the public presentation of Charter 77.
Displayed alongside the video are a selection of books for the public to read and engage with during the event. The artists have collaborated with Kent Libraries to select books relating to Charter 77 in order to bring the spirit of resistance from the Czech people to the town of Whitstable. Local residents of Whitstable were invited to participate in the reading of Charter 77 and each section was recorded and edited to create a collaborative video work. Participants included a vicar, a musician, a painter, a teacher, a bookseller, a former mayor, an author and a journalist.
In the summer of 2011 Uddin & Elsey transformed the Whitstable Museum Education Space into an artist-run, pop-up language cafe. They presented the project Cafe Esperanto - Bureau de Change Sociale and filled the Museum windows with images of Thomas G Masaryk. TGM was the first president of the former Czechoslovakia and his face popped up all over Prague in both, shop and cafe windows as an act of resistance in 1968 during the Prague Spring and against the invasion of Soviet tanks. Cafe Esperanto - Bureau de Change Sociale was inspired by the quote 'To learn another language is to live another life' - TGM. On the day of the event, a local resident recognised the face of TGM in the windows and told us that his mother had taken him to see the President laid-in-state at the Prague Castle in 1938.
Charter 77 - In 1977, a written declaration was created by Czech dissidents, a group of people who were forbidden to publish. Under this regime, Charter 77 was signed by many authors, artists and actors asserting a collaborative stand against the oppressive regime. The general public was afraid to openly support the dissidents for fear of dismissal from work or school. The charter members inspired and influenced the actions which led to the Velvet Revolution in 1989. The Charter’s aim was to defend human rights, freedom of thought and of expression. These events resulted in the election of Vaclav Havel, a playwright, following peaceful student demonstrations in Prague.
17 - 20 November 2011
Whitstable Library, 31-33 Oxford Street, Whitstable, CT5 1DB. Tel: 08458 247200
Uddin & Elsey present a new video work created with the residents of Whitstable and the support of Whitstable Library to coincide with the anniversary of the Velvet Revolution 17 November 1989.
The month of November is a recognised time of year when memorial days take place, to remember events which have shaped European twentieth century history, such as the Fall of the Berlin Wall on the 9th, Armistice Day on the 11th and the Velvet Revolution on the 17th. Over the last 12 months, Uddin & Elsey have traveled to five of the European towns twinned with Whitstable. In August 2011 the artists visited Ricany in the Czech Republic which is one of the towns twinned with Whitstable. The town is located 20km east of Prague and was under Communist rule until 1989.
In response to their visit, Uddin & Elsey were inspired by Charter 77 - a written document created in response to the communist regime in 1977 and which was leaked out of the country in the decade leading up to the Velvet Revolution. The authors of the document were banned from publishing under the communist government and for this reason, the local library was chosen as a site to engage with the question of censorship and freedom of information through the public presentation of Charter 77.
Displayed alongside the video are a selection of books for the public to read and engage with during the event. The artists have collaborated with Kent Libraries to select books relating to Charter 77 in order to bring the spirit of resistance from the Czech people to the town of Whitstable. Local residents of Whitstable were invited to participate in the reading of Charter 77 and each section was recorded and edited to create a collaborative video work. Participants included a vicar, a musician, a painter, a teacher, a bookseller, a former mayor, an author and a journalist.
In the summer of 2011 Uddin & Elsey transformed the Whitstable Museum Education Space into an artist-run, pop-up language cafe. They presented the project Cafe Esperanto - Bureau de Change Sociale and filled the Museum windows with images of Thomas G Masaryk. TGM was the first president of the former Czechoslovakia and his face popped up all over Prague in both, shop and cafe windows as an act of resistance in 1968 during the Prague Spring and against the invasion of Soviet tanks. Cafe Esperanto - Bureau de Change Sociale was inspired by the quote 'To learn another language is to live another life' - TGM. On the day of the event, a local resident recognised the face of TGM in the windows and told us that his mother had taken him to see the President laid-in-state at the Prague Castle in 1938.
Charter 77 - In 1977, a written declaration was created by Czech dissidents, a group of people who were forbidden to publish. Under this regime, Charter 77 was signed by many authors, artists and actors asserting a collaborative stand against the oppressive regime. The general public was afraid to openly support the dissidents for fear of dismissal from work or school. The charter members inspired and influenced the actions which led to the Velvet Revolution in 1989. The Charter’s aim was to defend human rights, freedom of thought and of expression. These events resulted in the election of Vaclav Havel, a playwright, following peaceful student demonstrations in Prague.
Thursday, September 22, 2011
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