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

In response to the shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes by Police in London on 22 July 2005, the artist Monica Ross decided to try and learn the Universal Declaration of Human Rights by heart and first attempted to publicly recite the Declaration, from memory, in the performance rightsrepeated — an act of memory at Beaconsfield, London in November 2005.

The Anniversary — an act of memory series of recitations began with a solo recitation by Ross, marking the 6oth anniversary of the Declaration,  during the British Library exhibition Taking Liberties: The Struggle for Britains Freedom and Rights on 7th December 2008. The intention of the Anniversary — an act of memory series is to carry out 60 solo, collective and multi- lingual recitations of the Declaration, from memory, with individuals and communities in tandem with cultural and social events and in alliance with organisations, campaigns and anniversaries whose intentions and significance resonate with those of the Declaration.

To date, 25 solo, collective and multi-lingual recitations have been produced in collaboration with individuals, independent groups, cultural and educational organisations.  173 co-recitors of all ages have memorised and recited one or more of the 30 Articles in 26 languages, including: Arabic, Armenian, British Sign Language, Catalan, English, Finnish, French, Galician, German, Hindi, Japanese, Korean, Irish, Italian, Macedonian, Polish, Portuguese, Punjabi, Russian, Serbian, Spanish, Swahili, Swedish, Tagalog, Turkish and Welsh.

In 2010, Anniversary — an act of memory is also presented within Act 2 of XENON: an exploded opera by Mikhail Karikis

photos: Alex DelFanne, Bernard G Mills, Joel Chester Fildes L-R: The British Library, London 2008, Free Word Centre, London 2009, Institute for Advanced Legal Studies, London 2009, The Basement, Brighton 2008, British Institute of Human Rights Conference, London 2009, The Whitworth, Manchester 2009, The New Academic Building, LSE, London 2010, Beaconsfield, London 2009, Phoenix Arts, Brighton 2009, Committee Room 11, House of Commons, London 2009, Peace Messenger Festival, Brighton and Hove Lawns 2009, The Womens Library, London 2009, The British Library, London 2008, The Great Hall, Dartington 2010, The Whitworth, Manchester 2009

Anniversary — an act of memory is endorsed by Amnesty International UK and the British Institute of Human Rights