Creative Interruptions: Festival of Arts and Activism
Venue: BFI, Southbank LondonCurators: Professor Sarita Malik
Date: 17th June 2019 -
Rose Butler, Beyond the Wall (Artistic Collective), Raghavendra Rao KV, Moushumi Bhowmik, Adeyemi Michael, Ngozi Onwurah, Ken Fero, David Cotterrell
The Creative Interruptions: Festival of Arts and Activism (17–18 June 2019) at the BFI Southbank showcased an interdisciplinary exhibition and event series funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council.
The exhibition explored how marginalised communities use creativity to challenge dominant narratives and social exclusion. It featured permanent installations, timed screenings of films, and participatory workshops.
Organised around the project’s core research strands, the exhibition focused on global issues like conflict, borders, and memory. David Cotterrell’s Mirror IV: Legacy, a central video installation, presented monologues from Rwandan actors questioning how violence is remembered across generations.
The festival transformed the BFI into a space between a contemplative cinema and an active gallery. Some works were static, while others were timed screenings designed to ensure viewer engagement. Live elements included a performance of a Bengali song by Moushumi Bhowmik.
