Screened the documentary of the project Youth Visions we created two years ago, a collaboration between myself and Sebastian Fuller who was working with Youth Development Alliance in the Northeastern region of Ghana. We merged my arts practice with his public health work to create a new model of disseminating the HIV/AIDS prevention material. We worked with two different schools, one in a village and one in a city to create a mural and a performance. Participants also went on a radio programme hosted by DJ Kimo of URA Radio Bolgatanga, Part of the project was documenting the process with the students who helped film their work. It was delayed two years but finally thanks to the work of filmmaker Malina de Carlo the footage was edited and a story created from the piles of footage.
Returning to show the film was intense. A 10-day tour that included screenings in three different locations, including an outdoor projection on the side of the school in the village of Kongo, where dry thunder came overhead whilst the movie played to a host of villagers who arrived to see the event... (pic above)
Most of our students were in their last year of school when we ran the project so after two years many had moved to other cities, gone to university, gotten married and had kids and so forth.. But we did have a couple attend, one student Lucy bused into Accra for four hours to attend a screening. She wore the Youth Visions t-shirt we gave them on the last day, it was stark white and new, she had saved it for the two years awaiting our return as we had promised we would. This really filled me with happiness to be able to return and deliver an impressive film marking a great project. Our facilitators flew in from California and China to be there for this as well! Was intense all around...
Read more about the project here: link
See photos here: link
Movie will be screened at the Brunel University School of Arts Postgraduate Researching the Arts Conference on Wednesday May 19, 2010 throughout the day. link
