A global community engaged art project responding to international crises.
Valley Highlights
The Conference of the Birds is an ancient epic poem by Sufi poet Farid ud-Din Attar. Co devised by Simon Sharkey, Erica May Wood and Fraser MacLeod. It tells the story of the assembly of the birds, in a time of existential crisis.
The birds embark on a journey and search for the “Simorgh,” a mythical majestic bird which has been likened to the phoenix. They are led by the wisest bird through seven valleys to find the Simorgh and enlightenment. Each Valley has a challenge and an exploration into who we are and what we can become.
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This Conference is a conference of artists and communities gathered as an international collaborative that created a global network to explore new forms of engagement, creation, performance, and online digital experiences. It was a direct response to the challenges we face when dealing with the impact of Covid19 and the climate crisis on a personal, economic, environmental, political, local, national, and international scale.
The Gathering
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As artists who work with community, and care deeply about the world and its citizens, we gathered to find innovative ways to connect, to create, and to try and make sense of the pandemic and climate crises.
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Guided by Indigenous thought leadership, digital and design thinking, and creative engagement, we – upwards of 200 artists from seven countries responded to the framework of the ancient Sufi poem to chronicle our journey through new existential crises.
BANGLADESH
Theatre Cycle: Arts, Action, Change is a non profit organisation based in Bangladesh and working in holistic approaches regarding the performance arts, since its inception in 2019. They apply the performing arts, especially Theatre, as a panacea for the people of Bangladesh and the global world. Theatre Cycle will be creating film, theatre and installation artworks in response to the twin crises of Covid and Climate Emergency.
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To follow the creative journey of this country click HERE.
BRAZIL
Nucleo De Artes Integradas, based in Rio, Brazil, are an award winning collective of artists who emerged from Favelas across Brazil and now create work for social impact and commentary. The collective is made up of some of Brazil’s most exciting artists and works within community settings as well as internationally. They will be creating art in and with communities who have been devastated by Covid and Climate crises.
To follow the creative journey of this county click HERE.
CANADA
Founded in 1975 as the In-Definite Arts Society, the National accessArts Centre (NaAC) is Canada’s oldest and largest disability arts organization – and in 2020, became the country’s first multidisciplinary disability arts organization.
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Today, the NaAC supports more than 300 artists living with developmental and/or physical disabilities through on-site studio supports and workshops, and an even broader community of Canadian artists with disabilities through immersive programs delivered online.
To follow the creative journey of this county click HERE.
CHILE
Teatro Club Social develops performing arts projects that work with collective memory and address the socio-cultural tensions that have arisen in contemporary Chile. They have previously worked with people that are in prison, with groups of older people and migrants, and are now exploring in cross generational settings. The pandemic has hit hard in the older generation and is deliberately distancing youth from their elders-exploring the challenges with this group will create some ground breaking art that is inter-generational.
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To follow the creative journey of this country click HERE.
GHANA
“Dzolali Theatre House” in Ghana is led by Peter Atsu Adaletey, a film and theatre director who founded the company to reach and empower artistes in Ghana.
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DZOLALI will reach into townships, ghettos and found spaces to deliver a multimedia response to the stimulus of the poem.
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To follow the creative journey of this country click HERE.
INDIA
The Yuva Ekta Foundation is a not for profit Trust based in New Delhi, India, that works at the intersection of Youth & Governance, through the Social Arts. With a focus on Social Justice and Empowerment, the Foundation creates safe spaces for creative expression and co-learning, as it builds bridges between marginalized and privileged young adults.
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Taking forward the Vision of the Foundation, the Conference of the Birds, India, will reach out across the country, to bring traditional, contemporary, participatory and cross media art forms together, as it explores the stories of vulnerable communities, both rural and urban, during the pandemic.
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To follow the creative journey of this country click HERE.
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SCOTLAND
Bangladesh Association of Glasgow. BAG host a wide range of cultural events in Glasgow, reaching across multiple diverse communities and celebrating the diversity of communities. BAG will be creating a short film and an album of bangla/celtic fusion tracks and sounds in response to the crises their communities are dealing with.
To follow the creative journey of this county click HERE.
GUIDING BIRDS
Conference of the Birds is the brainchild of Erica May Wood and Simon Sharkey who wanted to resist the covid compulsion to migrate live arts onto the internet and make sense of the challenges ahead. They quickly recruited others to the fold.
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To find out more about our Guiding Birds click HERE.
COP26 - GLASGOW
Conference of the Birds at COP26 in Glasgow allowed the Scottish and Canadian contingents to come together in person to share their work, showcase the work of all the participants around the globe and lead a conversation around adaptation as it relates to Indigenous thought leadership, disability activism and the arts ability to impact change. And – to create live and digital installations around pledges to combat climate crisis.
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To find out more about our Guiding Birds click HERE.
GLOBAL MURMURATIONS
We invite you to join our global community of artivists and share some of your work.
To access the community click HERE.
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