MAACAL: Statues Also Breathe

Catharsis Arts Foundation in collaboration with Obafemi-Awolowo University and 108 students, 2022

This exhibition presents a collaboration between Obafemi-Awolowo University, 108 students from all across Nigeria, and the families of the Chibok girls who were kidnapped by Boko Haram in 2014. 

Inspired by the iconic terracotta heads of Ife, it was initiated by artists Prune Nourry and Ade Bantu and seeks to raise awareness on the plight of the missing girls, and to highlight the diversity of Nigerian culture. . . .

On Thursday I visited MAACAL - Museum of African Contemporary Art Al Maaden, an art gallery  I first read about in FTWeekend Life&Arts, not long after first visiting Marrakech in 2023.

The main exhibit presents itself straight away after entering:

Statues Also Breathe, exhibition view, Art Twenty One, Lagos, Nigeria
 ©Dohdohndawa Photography/DDD Studios

A short but touching film in the gallery bears testimony to the fact many 'school girls' are still absent. Repetition is standard method in design. In today's manufactured world you might think what is so special about this? Until you are there physically, and walk through them. You see each one, a who: unique, an individual, a person taken away from where they belong.

As a white man from NW England, there was a moment when I realised: I was on the same continent where this had happened and is ongoing. Searching Youtube reveals other related videos concerning the exhibitions. It's strange watching them again as a check on their availability. A short video of an event to launch three new installations earlier this year is worth watching. Unfortunately, my phone failed until I got back to Marrakech, so I've no photos. I've three works in mind though.

I walked there, and back after trying to sort a taxi with a lovely couple from Germany and their son. Some taxis are limited to carry three persons. This is what arrived. The sun, even behind clouds that day, and flights taking off from the airport helped my sense of direction. The girls, seeking an education, did not have these means of navigation.

The garden at MAACAL was small but lovely. I hope to return one day, and well before then . . .

"Jason and the adventure of 254" c/o Wellcome Collection

"A work by artist Jason Wilsher-Mills is displayed at the Wellcome Collection ahead of the opening of a solo exhibition at the London museum. "Jason and the adventure of 254" reimagines the gallery space as a hospital ward and features huge sculptures, illustrations and interactive dioramas that draw on the artist's experience of becoming disabled at the age of 11.

The exhibition's title alludes to 2.54pm at Pinderfields Hospital, Wakefield, on August 1 1980, when Wilsher-Mills watched from his hospital bed as his parents were told he was suffering from an autoimmune condition brought on by a bout of chicken pox.

The free exhibition opens tomorrow (21st March) and runs until January." p.2.

INDIVIDUAL
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      INTERPERSONAL    :     SCIENCES               

HUMANISTIC  --------------------------------------  MECHANISTIC      

 SOCIOLOGY  :    POLITICAL 

|

GROUP

	'Figure in the bed', 2024, part of Jason and the Adventure of 254, an exhibition by Jason Wilsher-Mills at Wellcome Collection. Gallery Photo: Benjamin Gilbert. Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0).

Body of work, Artist relives diagnosis, Financial Times, 20 March 2024, p.2. 

Previously - 'beds'

Int. Congress on Evidence-based Parenting Support (6-8 June 2023)

CALL FOR ABSTRACTS

Abstract submissions date for the International Congress on Evidence-based Parenting Support (6-8 June 2023) has been extended to 23 December 2022. This global initiative will focus on effective evidence-based parenting support. It will bring together academics, policymakers, practitioners, consumers and service providers to advance research, policy and practice in the field of parenting and family intervention. This international collaboration aims to create global impact that will benefit parents and children now and for the next generation.

We welcome your insights from research, policy and practice that address a wide range of themes. See more on the themes: https://www.i-ceps.pafra.org/submission

Exciting news for submissions from low- and middle-income countries. The organising committee is pleased to offer free registration for the 20 top ranking abstracts from these countries.

Submissions close: 23 December 2022

More guidelines on abstracts: https://www.i-ceps.pafra.org/submission

Regards, Maria Battaglia

BEd, GradDip Ed&Pub, MComms Communications Officer Institute of Child Protection Studies Australian Catholic University Pronouns: she/her

Level 1, 232 Victoria Parade East Melbourne VIC 3002 Monday to Friday P: 03 9230 8732 E: Maria.Battaglia AT acu.edu.au W: www.acu.edu.au/icps W: safeguardingchildren AT acu.edu.au T: @ACU_ICPS L: Institute of Child Protection Studies

I-CEPS Congress (hosted by PAFRA) W: https://www.i-ceps.pafra.org/ Twitter: @PAFRA_Official LinkedIn: ICEPS2023 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ICEPS2023

I acknowledge the Traditional Owners of the lands on which I live and work, and their continuing connection to land, sea and community. I pay my respects to Elders past, present and emerging.

HIFA profile: Maria Battaglia is Communications Officer at the Institute of Child Protection Studies, Australian Catholic University. https://www.i-ceps.pafra.org/ E: Maria.Battaglia AT acu.edu.au 

My source: https://hifa.org/