Anniversary — an act of memory
solo, collective and multi-lingual recitations from memory of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
Monica Ross and Co-Recitors
Arnolfini, 16 Narrow Quay, Bristol BS1 4QA
Friday 03 and Friday 17 February - Video Screening 11am- 6pm
acts of memory 2009-2010
Monica Ross and Co-Recitors
A selected document of the first 30 recitations, the video acts of memory 2009-2010 marks a half way point in the Anniversary series, which began in response to the shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes by police in London in July 2005. The film includes more than 200 people reciting Articles in 30 languages in contexts from the House of Commons to Brighton Seafront.
Arnolfini is inviting people from across Bristol to take part in Act 40, a collective recitation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Learn a small part of the Declaration and recite it in public, in your own language, as part of this unique performance. Everyone welcome. For more info and if you, your group, or organisation would like to take part, please contact:
VIVID 140 Heath Mill Lane, Birmingham B9 4A
There will be an introductory talk on Saturday 17th March, and a Collective Recitation on Saturday 31st March.
Please visit VIVID for more details and if you, your group or organisaton would like to take part please contact:
Nicola Lowery nicola@vivid.org.uk
All Events Are Free
Anniversary ― an act of memory is a performance series in 60 acts focusing on the importance and relevance of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) and features solo, collective and multilingual recitations from memory of the entire UDHR by Monica Ross and Co-recitors. First performed solo by Ross to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the Declaration in 2008, to date more than 350 Co-Recitors of all ages from different communities have memorised and publicly recited articles of significance to them in more than 40 languages including Act 36, a recitation primarily in British Sign Language, at BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art as part of Wunderbar Festival 2011. The UK Tour 2011-2013 began in May 2011 and marks a new phase of the project, taking Acts 31-60 to different contexts throughout the UK from May 2011 – 2013, beginning with Act 31, a collective recitation for Brighton Festival 2011. Acts 01–38 have taken place in a range of cultural and social contexts, including collective recitations on Brighton Seafront, Scarborough Library, with Sheffield Socialist Choir in Sheffield Town Hall, and solo recitations in Mikhail Karikis’s Xenon:an exploded opera in venues including Kings Place Theatre, London and the Whitstable Biennale 2010, and in the film Xenon by Mikhail Karikisand David Bickerstaff, 2011.
Each recitation is shaped by the producers and co-recitors who deliver it. While the text and its aspirations remain the same, the different voices reciting in different languages make each performance specific to its context and community and nuanced, inflected and impassioned by the individuals who commit themselves to reciting the Articles from memory. The artist and co-recitors draw on oral traditions where memorisation and spoken repetition produce an embodied form of reproduction which is at once an act of witness and one of taking responsibility for the transmission of knowledge. The emphasis is not on perfect recall but on the attempt to remember and the difficulty of fulfilling the Declaration’s call to keep it ‘constantly in mind,’ especially when under pressure.
The essence of Anniversary — an act of memory is on performance as a live and generative medium. Every recitation is recorded using photography and video, edited in consultation with the co-recitors and posted on you tube as an open archive www.youtube.com/actofmemory
Anniversary — an act of memory UK Tour 2011-2013 is produced by Michelle Hirschhorn. If you would like to take part or host a recitation please contactproducer@actsofmemory.net to discuss.
- images from Acts 01-28 ( 2008-2010) photos: Alex Delfanne, Bernard G Mills, Joel Chester Fildes, Georges Torode
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights was proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly on 10 December 1948. The world’s most translated document it is available in over 380 languages, Plain English and Signed Versions.
Anniversary — an act of memory is endorsed by Amnesty International UK and the British Institute of Human Rights
Anniversary — an act of memory UK Tour 2011-2013 is supported by Arts Council England
