Programme
- Screening: London as a Village 2017 (22 mins.) by Takumã Kuikuro
A documentary directed by Takumã Kuikuro, a filmmaker from the Brazilian Xingu territory, and produced by People’s Palace Projects. The film draws on Takumã’s month-long residency in London in 2015 and reflects his experience of the metropolis through the lens of an indigenous way of life. Screenings at 12.30pm and 3pm.
- Discussion - Global Challenges: indigenous experiments in cultural exchange
The Xingu is a protected area of more than 2.6 million hectares in the Brazilian Amazon region and home to 16 indigenous peoples, including the Kuikuro. Through the creation of an artistic residency centre in their village last year, the Kuikuro are exploring new ways in which indigenous peoples can bring the evolving experiences of first millennial life to contemporary debates about Brazilian economic and social development in the third millennium. With Paul Heritage (Artistic Director, People’s Palace Projects, and Professor of Drama and Performance, QMUL), Prof. Jerry Brotton (Renaissance Studies, QMUL), Leandro Valiati, one of Brazil's leading cultural economists and Visiting Professor in the Economy of Culture at Queen Mary, and Yamalui Kuikuro (Indigenous Researcher, Xingu Indigenous Territory). From 1.30-3pm.
- Xingu Ensemble
Try out the virtual reality experience developed by creative coder Clelio de Paula, inspired by his journey into the indigenous territory of Xingu. From 1-5pm.
- Interactive photogrammetry workshop with Factum Foundation
Photogrammetry is the science of making measurements from photographs. It is used for mapping the exact positions of surface points – for example, in cultural heritage research and preservation/replication of major artefacts. In this workshop, Factum Foundation´s work using this and other 3D imaging techniques in the Xingu will be discussed alongside a practical demonstration of how to generate a 3D model. TICKETED EVENT, from 10.30am-1pm. 15 places only.
Book your place at: https://tinyurl.com/ybk97s7h
People’s Palace Projects is an arts research centre in the Queen Mary Drama Department, directed by Paul Heritage, that creates partnerships with artists, academics, activists and audiences to ask how our worlds are transformed through creativity and the arts. Over the past 20 years that enquiry has taken it all over the world, working in theatres, prisons, schools, universities, galleries and on streets, with local communities from the East End of London to Burkina Faso: but it is in Brazil that PPP has forged the most provocative and revelatory moments of exchange that have always been at the heart of its enquiry. This project brings together three of PPP’s Associates in partnership with Factum Foundation and the Indigenous Kuikuro People of the Upper Xingu (AIKAX).
In May 2017, Takumã collaborated with Adam Lowe, British digital technology artist and director of Factum Foundation, and Jerry Brotton, a scholar in cartographic history at Queen Mary, in his village in the Xingu region of Brazil as part of an exchange programme curated by Heritage in partnership with AIKAX. The Xingu, Mato Grosso State, is a protected area of more than 2.6 million hectares and home to 16 indigenous peoples, including the Kuikuro. The artists and researchers worked together, using advanced digital technologies to enable the community of the Ipatse village, Takumã’s home, to create 3D maps of their territories and cultures. Takumã and Factum Foundation used a 3D Faro laser scanner to record vulnerable aspects of Kuikuro cultural heritage including images, sounds, graphics, artefacts and architecture. The project explored new ways in which indigenous peoples can bring the evolving experiences of first millennial life to contemporary debates about Brazilian economic and social development in the third millennium.
London as a Village is a 22 minute documentary, directed by Takumã and produced by People’s Palace Projects with support from Brazil’s Ministry of Culture. It draws on his month-long residency in London. Two phases of the Xingu research exchange in 2017 were funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council, Newton Fund and Global Challenges Research Fund. PPP is core funded as a National Portfolio Organisation of Arts Council England and by QMUL.
This event is programmed by Queen Mary University of London, a Tate Exchange Associate.
Photo Thiago Jesus
Photo Thiago Jesus
About Queen Mary University of London
Queen Mary University of London is a global university which is committed, through its recruitment, teaching, and public engagement activities, to enhancing the lives of the people of east London and beyond. Our collaborative projects with community organisations focus on building resilience, inviting reflection on shared challenges, and encouraging community cohesion in one of the most diverse areas of the UK. Queen Mary has a long history of working with arts and culture to benefit local communities and address complex global challenges. The People’s Palace, opened by Queen Victoria in 1887, was originally a community venue where people of the East End could enjoy dance classes, organ recitals, donkey shows and art exhibitions, as well as gain skills in what are now known as the ‘creative industries’ – tailor’s cutting, woodwork, photography, and needlework. Today, Queen Mary continues to harness the radical power of art to change the world. Our arts and cultural activities embody Queen Mary's values of diversity, inclusion, and community engagement.