UK Culture Feature Archive
Free Party in Manchester
31-03-2005 17:58
Strangeways on the case again. The only crew who continue to represent the party scene in Manchester. This collective is like a machine that dont stop, and if they say they are gonna parrty, they will. Regardless of anything that might get in their way. For example if they cant get a venue, those in the know still get to party in their basement!
So they got the venue together at the last minute, and a fine huge warehouse it was too. A bit far outta town, but not hard to find. Strangewayz setup with the projectors atop the huge van. Amazing visuals, the main projection was 60+ feet across, plus a second projector and lazers. The system seemed to be runnin as it should. The scoops pumping out enuff bass when you were close up. Although they were experiencing problems with the generator and they lost power a few times. They got this sorted out and kept the party rockin.
Save Castle Mill Boatyard
29-03-2005 21:40
This historic boatyard in the heart of Jericho is about to be closed if the planning enquiry (8th March ongoing) finds in favour of British Waterways and Bellway Homes, (yes you guessed it - more luxury apartments are being planned).
This site has been a boatyard for over 150 years, and continues to provide an essential service for residential and pleasure craft. If this closes, it will force boatowners to travel a day each way to get their MOT equivalent (can you imagine the furore if car drivers were made to do a similar thing?). It is even more essential for emergency repairs as it is the only boatyard in the region which has a crane lift to clean and repair hulls.
[ Reports: 1 | 2 ] [ Video | Boatyard pics ]
[ Campaign Website | Proposed Development | Online Petition ]
Are You Thinking What We're Thinking? Er... No
28-03-2005 14:20
Spring is in the air and with it the talk (yawn) is of elections. But all is not lost for the season also sees the return of the time honoured pastime of defacing election billboard posters. The Conservative Party, in particular, has been on the end of some widespread street level heckling,
Far from thinking of locking up refugees and throwing away the key, grassroots organisations are putting together a European wide day of solidarity with migrants and refugees on April 2nd, in recognition of the appalling and tragic circumstances that so many refugees have to endure. A significant turnout is expected in Manchester, where three separate marches are planned from the north, south and centre of the city.
Anti-racist Spray Paint | Tories Subvertised in Longsight | Nottingham | Bristol | South Wales | 'Funny Billboards' | Tory election ads - are they racist? | yes it is... | Tory Poster - How You Can Complain | SchNews - Lunatics Have Taken Over the Asylum | Demonstration Against Deportations - Manchester
Milan Fashion Week Anti-precarity Action
27-02-2005 23:33
At the end of Fashion Week in Milan, anti-precarity activists pulled off an ambitious spoof against the fashion industry and the mainstream media. The scene was set earlier in the week when protesters targeted the a cat walk show by Prada and issued a statement that there would be further protests and that the fashion show by the controversial japanese designer Serpica Naro. On Thursday another show was disrupted when eight women breached security and took over the cat walk and issued further statements over the microphone before being kicked out. Milans police contacted the press agent of Serpica Naro and warned them of the threats being made to disrupt her show which was schedualed to take place on saturday evening. The media ran a few stories and the agent for Serpica Naro was interviewed about the prospect of protests by anti-precarity activists.
Caminos de Resistencia (Paths of Resistance)
21-02-2005 20:20
Indymedia Cinema presents a five-day festival of radical and independent film from Argentina, Venezuela, Colombia, Mexico, Cuba, Bolivia, Chile, Peru and more. There will also be talks and presentations by Latin American solidarity groups, international activists, and film-makers, as well as Latin American food, drink, and music.
When: The festival takes place from Tuesday 22nd to Saturday 26th February. Programme starts daily at 7pm, and on Saturday there's a doouble session starting at 2pm. All sessions are free but donations are encouraged.
Where: RampArt Creative centre, Rampart Street (off Commercial Rd), London E1. Nearest tube Whitechapel, buses 115, 15, 25, 254, 205.
FULL PROGRAMME:
Tuesday 22:
'EYE OF THE STORM' (Argentina Indymedia Resistance Film) and 'THE TAKE' (film about a worker-occupied factory in Argentina by Avi Lewis asn Naomi Klein)
Wednesday 23:
Short films from Cuba, and 'VENEZUELA FROM BELOW' (a film by Dario Azzelini and Oliver Ressler on the latest developments of the Venezuelan Revolution) With film-makers Q&A.
Thursday 24:
'BOLIVIA BASTA' (a film about gas privatisation in Bolivia) and 'PLAN COLOMBIA' (a film about US intervention in Colombia)
Friday 25:
Two short films from visiting CIPO-RFM Mexican Indigenous activists from the state of Oxaca, plus two Zapatista films 'EL FUEGO Y LA PALABRA' and 'CARACOLES'.
Saturday 26 (from 2pm):
'TRADING FREEDOM' indymedia film on the FTAA (Free Trade Area of the Americas) and 'EL DERECHO DE VIVIR EN PAZ' (the story of the assassination and torture of popular singer and composer Victor Jara by Pinochet regime in Chile) With singer Silvia Rox singing Victor Jara. plus Peruvian film and Peruvian singer Sofia Buchuck...
Then, from 7pm:
Cuban and Colombian HIP-HOP films and Live Music: 'INVENTOS: HIP HOP CUBANO' provides a unique insight into the realities and politics of contemporary Cuba. And 'ZONA MARGINAL', a documentary about the hip-hop group Zona Marginal and their work with the communities in Colombia.
Lantern carnival workshops begin
19-02-2005 14:19
Last year's Sharrow Lantern Carnival was a huge success with hundreds of people taking to the streets of Sharrow with some truly amazing lanterns. These are constructed from willow, tissue paper, masking tape, and glue and made by both young and old people alike. The simple construction method, means that with imagination you can build anything you want.
The carnival is happening again this year on Sunday, April 3rd and there is lots of chance to get involved in making lanterns with a series of workshops happening before the event. These are open to anyone (you don't have to live in Sharrow) to build lanterns of all shapes and sizes. There will also be the chance to make costumes and instruments for a junk band. Refreshments will be available at each workshop as well as a crèche.
Victory for McLibel 2
15-02-2005 00:00
This morning (15th February) the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg declared that the notorious and long running McLibel case was in breach of the right to a fair trial and right to freedom of expression. The McLibel 2 (Helen Steel & Dave Morris) had launched legal proceedings against the UK government arguing that the marathon 'McLibel trial' which lasted 313 days - the longest trial of any kind in English legal history - and UK libel laws, breached the European Convention on Human Rights Article 6 (right to a fair trial) and Article 10 (right to freedom of expression).
Press Release | Nottingham cellebrations | Campaign's website
Projectile festival in Newcastle
03-02-2005 21:27
PROJECTILE is a major event taking place between 11th - 13th February 2005 in central Newcastle. The festival will feature rare and radical films. The evenings will have music and entertainment, the daytimes will have talks and discussions between the films. It will also be an occasion where anarchists and left libertarians from all over the UK can get together, and where those interested in ideas can find out much more. Check out what is happening (.pdf summary) | Films | Talks and Discussions | Anarchists in Academia Conference | Cabaret
"Films to hound the anarchist consciousness": a report from projectile
Painting with the Zapatista in Scotland
02-02-2005 21:06
“The art world belongs to everybody. It is not just for the illuminated that have access to the so-called temples of art. It’s like the history made by the people and now it is up to us to make worlds where many worlds fit, to paint them, to sing them, to write poems to the free men and women and to sing and sing. Let the words and the music and the poems and the colours announce that art belongs to everybody and is for everybody, like this world, like these dreams, like freedom!”. Gustavo C. P.
[Edinburgh Chiapas Solidarity Group | Glasgow Zapatista Solidarity Group | Indy UK Zapatista section | IMC Chiapas | Indy Scotland ]
DIY Culture in Birmingham
25-01-2005 12:06
Sunday included workshops on permaculture,subvertising and practical experience in low impact dwellings over at the Nursery secret garden, plus real progress was made on setting up a Birmingham Indymedia website - contact Indy Brum to find out how to get involved.
Full schedule of events
Reports: [ 1 ] [ 2 ] [ Photos ]
Videos: [ DIY Chip-fat Vehicle Conversion ] [ Urban Explorations ]
Links: [ The Nursery ] [ Stuffit.org ] [ InjusticeFilm.co.uk ] [ United Families & Friends Campaign ]
The Crime of Filming Repression in Palestine
20-12-2004 11:41
Kelly Minio-Paluello (23), a community activist from the USA and a member of Britain's National Union of Journalists, was brutally arrested by Israeli Border Policemen while filming a peaceful demonstration on Tuesday outside Ramallah, in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. She is currently being held in Hadera Detention Centre awaiting deportation. She has not been told why she was arrested or when she will be deported or informed of her rights.
Update: Kelly was deported on 24 December, and is now back in the USA.
Autonomous Spaces in 2004
15-12-2004 03:15
This last year has been a pretty active and productive year for the social centres movement in the UK...
At the begining of the year, the Wombles occupied 93 Fortess Rd for several months before moving into the ex-Grand Banks in Tufnell Park. Both occupations saw successfully resistance against eviction and were highly successful and popular. After eviction in August the wombles took a break to concentrate on the 'Beyond ESF event' but they'll be back in 2005.
Perhaps also to return in 2005, Use Your Loaf, an ex-bakery in Deptford which had been occupied as a centre for social solidarity since summer 2002, but was finally evicted in September. Currently without a building, the collective has remained active and are having a xmas party this coming Friday.
Also having a party on the Friday 17th AND Saturday 18th Dec, the 'rampART' in East London [details] . The building opened around six months ago and has been host to a wide variety of political and cultural events. To celebrate and raise funds to cover bills, there is a two day festival with bands, workshops, DJs, fashion show, VJs, films etc. Full details on www.rampart.co.nr
Oxford enjoyed a series of three short lived squatted social centres using the name OCSET. All were quickly evicted but there will certainly be another openned in 2005.
Brightening up the bricks
09-12-2004 19:09
[photos: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | latest]
[ stencils tutorial | OSI | Wooster collective | war graffiti ]
Buy Nothing Day
06-12-2004 18:06
Saturday the 27th November was buy nothing day, and to celebrate, a bunch of people from the Manchester based "do summat collective" got together to encourage people to think about consumerism. They made and distributes a zine and also gave tips on how to get stuff for free in manchester. A free shop was set up - with food and plenty of cakes, as well as free clothes and toys
The folks involved said they were surprised at how well it went. Families, old couples, kids and youths all came and had some cake, or took some clothes and a flyer or zine.... and within just one and a half hours everything, including the actual clothes rail, had gone.
There was some more fun and frolicks as people played anti-consumer games in a number of shops - from hide and seek in selfridges - to stuck in the mud in diesel.... Reclaiming consumer space and having some fun.
Report|BuyNothing Christmas|Trade Free Zone Declared In Cambridge!
Protests at Band Aid Whitewashing Poverty Issues
18-11-2004 09:37
On the 14th November outside the recording studios in Hampstead where "Do They Know It's Christmas" - Band AID 20 (named after the 20-year anniversary of the original) was being re-recorded, demonstrations took place by protesters arguing that Band Aid is little more than a screen "whitewashing the real issues behind world poverty". Shouts of 'real aid, not band aid', 'don't whitewash Africa' and boo's were audiable over the screams of fans and onlookers. One protester was arrested for handing out leaflets explaining the reasons for the protest - [read full report].
Protesters from the Dissent! Network, organising against the G8 Summit, argue that the song is obnoxious, patronising and out of date with the real situation in Africa
"This isn't about creating a record to support people in Africa- this is a kodak moment for Bono, Midge Ure and for Blair to manipulate public opinion and push through a destructive economic agenda to serve Western economic interests."
As Britain gears up for the G8 summit next July, Blair's government together with Bono and Geldof are doing everything they can to convince the public into believing that real action is being taken on issues such as Climate change and poverty in Africa.
The original Band AID single produced in 1984 raised £9.5 million. The 2003 G8 summit in Evian cost £400 million. The security budget for the 2005 summit in Scotland is set at £150 million. The war in Iraq has so far cost the UK taxpayer £80 billion pounds and rising. The continuing loss of life due to poverty and war is unquantifyable.
International development campaigners - the World Development Movement (WDM) - also condemned the lyrics as promoting a "negative and inaccurate picture of Africa and its problems." The organisation, which has been campaigning on issues effecting Africa for over 30 years and was one of the founders of both the fair trade movement and Jubilee 2000, drew attention to several lines in the song which it described as "patronising, false and out of date".
Director of WDM, Mark Curtis said on Tuesday 14th: "The song perpetuates the myth that Africa’s problems can somehow be blamed on lack of rainfall and failed harvests. It conjures up an image of a continent inhabited entirely by starving children with flies on their faces sitting in the sunbaked bed of a dried up stream."
"African poverty is not an unfortunate accident of geography and climate. It is largely the result of damaging policies such as free trade forced on Africa by rich countries."
Several initiatives are now underway to re-write the lyrics - upload your own, or send lyrics or recorded audio files to doyouknowitscapitalism@yahoo.co.uk
Stop Ethnic Cleansing
19-08-2004 11:03
Links: [Traveller Support][East Anglia Social Forum]
Calls for rally at Paynes Lane, 22nd August: [1][2]
International solidarity with the people in Venezuela
16-08-2004 01:39
On the 15th of august, the International Day of Solidarity with the Bolivarian Revolution of Venezuela, protesters took to the streets and meadows of Edinburgh to inform the public about the importance of the co-inciding referendum on the president in Venezuela in the struggle against neoliberalism, privatisation, exploitation and globalised trade competition.
In the distributed leaflet, the activists state, that they will support a Global Day of Action on October 12th, 2004. [reports and pictures: 1 | 2 | call | video]
Other international solidarity events happened in London during the week before the referendum [report] in the RampArt social centre, [video], protests took place in support of the Bolivarian Revolution in front of the embassy in The Hague, Stockholm, London [report | pics | video], Amsterdam [1|2], Mexico, Dominican Republic.
Oxton Festival to go ahead
29-07-2004 23:00
Sheffield Summer Festivals 2004
06-07-2004 14:01
Saturday 3rd July saw another event in Sheffield's festival season with Peace In The Park - a free festival set-up to try to raise some money, to raise consciousness and show solidarity with social struggles in Sheffield, the UK and around the world. The 'festival season' officially started two weeks ago at Heeley City Farm.
Despite the changeable weather, many local folk attended the event and many local campaign groups were present including the Sheffield Palestinian Solidarity Campaign, Sheffield Against The War and Sheffield Indymedia, Nether Edge Against the War, Earthed. The Sheffield Social Forum hosted the first Democracy Cafe, a space for political discussion with great food provided by New Roots. A music stage and several tents provided some lively sounds and there was also a healing field for chilling out. A wide range of underground films were shown throughout the day in the 'Video Yurt'.
Proceeds of the Festival will go to Sheffield ASSIST - a local charity providing advice and support for refugees and asylum seekers in the area - and WaterAid - an international non-governmental organisation dedicated exclusively to the provision of safe domestic water, sanitation and hygiene education to the world's poorest people.
Next weekend sees the multi-cultural Sharrow Festival and Abbeyfield Park Festival which will both be supported by Sheffield Indymedia.
Social Centres Go From Strength To Strength
20-05-2004 17:11
On Friday 21st, Londons latest squatted social centre, the 'Ramparts', opened it's doors with a screening of 'Indefensible', the indymedia film about last years DSEi protests in East London. Yet another social centre opened in Oxford as a new squat was opened for the second OCSET social centre (the previous one having been evicted a couple of weeks earlier after a short but productive existance). In Scotland, a temporary social centre sprung up in Glasgow at the begining of May, with a prepacked daily schedule of events and workshop until the end of June.
On the 17th, the latest Wombles social centre, the ex-Grand Banks in Tufnell Park, successfully resisted the bailiffs first attempt to reposses the building and the social centre remains open.
There are many other autonomous social centres that have been established much longer, such as the Sumac centre in Nottingham, 56a and Use Your Loaf in South London, 1in12 in Bradford, LARC and Freedom in East London, the Autonomous Centre of Edinburgh, Kebele in Bristol, the Cowley Club in Brighton and the Peoples Information Centre in Hebden Bridge, all of which need your active support.
Recent articles in IMC-UK newswire:
Grand banks resistance | Oxford's latest social centre | Use Your Loaf events | Printworks Social Centre (Glasgow) | The Ramparts, new london space | Proposals for social centre in Leeds: 1|2|3 | Efforts to build up social centre in Aberdeen 1 | 2
More information:
London Social Centres Network | Full list of Social Centres in Britain | Radical Routes network | Social Centres Search
