BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:-//wp-events-plugin.com//7.4.7//EN TZID:Europe/London X-WR-TIMEZONE:Europe/London BEGIN:VEVENT UID:8719@artinliverpool.com DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20240516T190000 DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20240516T190000 DTSTAMP:20240426T151500Z URL:https://www.artinliverpool.com/events/video-odyssey-wowfest-your-local -arena-george-orwell-part-v/ SUMMARY:Toxteth TV: Video Odyssey: WowFest: Your Local Arena: George Orwell (Part V) DESCRIPTION:\n\n\n\nYOUR LOCAL ARENA – GEORGE ORWELL’S NINETEEN EIGHTY FOUR\n\n\n\n\n\n\nWriting on the Wall presents: Film Screening and Panel T alk\n\n\n\n\n\n\nYour Local Arena: George Orwell (Part V)\n\nGeorge Orwell  said about his classic dystopian novel Nineteen Eighty-Four\, ‘I do n ot believe that the kind of society I describe necessarily will arrive\, b ut I believe that something resembling it could arrive.’ This event\, p roduced in partnership between WoWFEST: FAHRENHEIT 2024 and Your Local Are na\, asks: just how close are we to Orwell’s vision — or are we alread y there?\n\nIn 1984\, BBC’s Arena ran a series of programmes about the l ife of George Orwell. Part V begins with the tragic death of his wife Eile en in March 1945. Overcome with grief and despairing of the future\, Orwel l retreated to Jura\, a remote Hebridean island. Here\, crippled with tube rculosis and isolated from the world\, Orwell wrote his last novel\, Ninet een Eighty-four\, a nightmare vision of a totalitarian future. Orwell expl ained that ‘The scene of the book is laid in Britain in order to emphasi se that the English-speaking races are not innately better than anyone els e and that totalitarianism\, if not fought against\, could triumph anywher e.’ So\, are we awake\, resisting or sleepwalking into the darkness once again\, as imagined by Orwell?\n\nCome and watch this classic film about one of the country’s finest writers and listen to a talk afterwards abou t how near we are to a nineteen eighty-four-type world. Speakers: Dolan C ummings\, Director of the Manifesto Club\; Director of English PEN Daniel Gorman\; and freedom of speech expert Sara Whyatt. The event will also i nclude a new poem inspired by the film by Francesca Beard.\n\nFrancesca B eard is also hosting a workshop exploring the themes from 1984\, in which attendees will stand up to Big Brother through creative expression. The w orkshop facilitates connection through spoken word poetry and making a non sense of doublespeak by playing with language and improvisational story-te lling techniques. It will take place on Friday 17th May\, 11am – 1pm at Toxteth Library.\n\nYour Local Arena is a Lucy Hannah &\; Speaking Vol umes co-production featuring BBC Arena’s film archive. Funded by Arts Council England.\n\nYour Local Arena is a unique project featuring iconic films from the archives of BBC TV’s Arena\, the pioneering cultural docu mentary series. It includes new poems inspired by the Arena films and pane l talks to explore the continuing relevance of the Arena archives today. T he Your Local Arena concept was developed by Lucy Hannah and Speaking Volu mes\, with Arena’s award-winning director/editor Anthony Wall as creativ e consultant\, and funded by Arts Council England.\n\nDolan Cummings is a director of the Manifesto Club\, a civil liberties group that defends fre edom in public spaces and civic life. In particular\, the club challenges the growing control of public spaces and informal life by state officials and private management companies. Dolan is also a novelist and essayist\; his latest book is The Pictish Princess.. and other stories from before t here was a Scotland. Born and raised in Glasgow\, he now lives in Kendal\, Cumbria. More about his work can be found at www.dolancummings.com.\n\n\ n\n\n\n\n \;\n\nDaniel Gorman is the Director of English PEN\, one of the world’s oldest human rights organisations\, championing the freedom to write and the freedom to read around the world. Prior to English PEN\, Daniel was Executive Director of Shubbak\, Europe’s largest festival of contemporary Arab culture. Daniel is also a co-founder of Highlight Arts\ , who have organised UK-based international arts festivals and events sinc e 2007\, including projects working with writers in Pakistan\, Iraq\, Leba non and Syria\, and was director of Firefly International. Daniel has writ ten for the Guardian\, Irish Times\, N+1 and many others.\n\nSara Whyatt  is a campaigner and researcher on freedom of artistic expression around th e world. She headed PEN International’s freedom of expression programme for over twenty years before becoming a freelance consultant in 2013. For over ten years she has been providing her expertise to organisations inclu ding UNESCO\, the Council of Europe and the Swedish Arts Council\, and adv ises smaller local and national groups on promoting creative freedom. She is currently heading the research programme for Oslo-based Freemuse which monitors and campaigns on attacks against artists\, cultural workers and t he censorship of the arts worldwide.\n\nFrancesca Beard is a poet who has worked in over twenty-three countries through her work with the British C ouncil. She facilitates creative projects with a range of age groups\, fro m babies and their carers in libraries to people living with dementia in c are homes. Recent commissions include poems for The British Geological Sur vey\, Wiki Media and Wellcome. She has been artist in residence with B3 Me dia at The Banff Centre\, Canada and The Mixed Reality Lab\, Nottingham Un iversity. Her solo shows\, Chinese Whispers\, How to Survive A Post-Truth Apocalypse and Confabulation\, were made in conversation with scientists a nd researchers\, supported by Arts Council England. She comes from Malaysi a and lives in London.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nVideo Odyssey\, Toxteth TV Studios\, 37-45 Windsor St\, Liverpool L8 1XE \n\nThursday 16th May\, 7pm  \n\n £5\n\n*These are difficult times. We know some people may struggle to aff ord full price tickets. If you would like to attend this event but can’t afford to\, please contact info@writingonthewall.org.uk. All queries wi ll be treated in confidence.   \n\nIf you would like to purchase a gi fted ticket for someone who can’t afford it\, please buy directly from t he event page and we will offer your ticket out.    \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\ n\nEVENT DETAILS\nDate: May 16\, 2024\nTime: 7:00 pm\n\n\n\n\n\n BUY TI CKETS\n\n\n\n\n\n ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.artinliverpool.com/wp-content/upload s/2024/04/Your-local-arena-1984.png CATEGORIES:Film LOCATION:Toxteth TV\, 37-45 Windsor St\, Liverpool \, L8 1XE\, United Kingd om GEO:53.394028;-2.969774 X-APPLE-STRUCTURED-LOCATION;VALUE=URI;X-ADDRESS=37-45 Windsor St\, Liverpoo l \, L8 1XE\, United Kingdom;X-APPLE-RADIUS=100;X-TITLE=Toxteth TV:geo:53. 394028,-2.969774 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VTIMEZONE TZID:Europe/London X-LIC-LOCATION:Europe/London BEGIN:DAYLIGHT DTSTART:20240331T020000 TZOFFSETFROM:+0000 TZOFFSETTO:+0100 TZNAME:BST END:DAYLIGHT END:VTIMEZONE END:VCALENDAR