WE COULD WRITE LETTERS

ACE funded project commissioned by Kick Down The Barriers & Blackburn Museum

Commissioned by Kick Down the Barriers, Sana Maulvi and Jamie Holman have been writing letters exploring the roots of their friendship, collaborations and shared experiences of the town where their studio is located. The letters written over a several months prior to Covid-19; reveal the stereotypes, cliches and joyful moments they have shared. Most of all, the letters make visible Holman's unconscious bias and contribution to entrenched racism across the spaces and institutions both artists have inhabited as Maulvi and Holman record their responses to the two BBC Panorama programmes 'White Flight' that depicted Blackburn as deeply divided and segregated. These uncomfortable moments during the letters are punctuated by flashes of warmth, humour and an insight into a close friendship. The letters were due to be delivered as a performance in Blackburn Museum and Art Gallery, but as a consequence of COVID-19 and the government imposed lockdown, the performance will now be delivered on zoom with an invited audience, and simultaneously live streamed on social media platforms.

The performance lasts for 45 minutes. 

For more information on Kick Down the Barriers please visit: https://blackburnmuseum.org.uk/whats-on/kick-down-the-barriers/