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- Convenors:
-
Emilie Flower
(University of York)
Zihan Karim (Institute of Fine Arts)
Shohrab Jahan (Institute of Fine Arts, Chittagong)
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- Discussants:
-
Jamal Awar
Mohammad Resyad Ghifari (SOAS University of London Alumni)
- Format:
- Roundtable
- Sessions:
- Friday 4 July, -
Time zone: Europe/London
Short Abstract
A roundtable about art, civic space and political imagination with moving image and installation artists and researchers, Emilie Flower, Shohrab Jahan and Zihan Karim presenting a series of multimodal artworks made apart and alongside one another in Bangladesh and England over the past 5 years.
Description
Artworks rarely produce measurable results, but their role in keeping deliberative space open is assumed to be critical for sustaining democratic freedoms and civic space (Mouffe, 2008; Kester, 2010; Nussbaum, 2010). In the recent possibilist turn, art is positioned as having a central role in generating the situated and plural political imaginations that will enable sustainable futures and solidarities to be formed (Duncombe and Harrabye, 2021; Glaveanu 2021). Examples of how these symbiotic relationships will be produced, and what they will look like when they occur are less well described. Given the multimodal forms social art takes - appearing and disappearing within online and offline conversations and dispersed across different locations over extended periods - these forms are hard to see or account for, with implications for anthropologists entangled in the process of documentation and 'sense' making.
In this roundtable moving image and installation artists and researchers, Emilie Flower (University of York/ Pica studios), Shohrab Jahan (Chittagong Institute of Fine Arts/ Jog Art Space) and Zihan Karim (Chittagong Institute of Fine Arts/ Jog Art Space) will discuss a series of experimental projects and artworks made apart and alongside one another over the past 5 years. When considered together, they evidence how artists generate political imagination, unsettle prevalent logics and open space. The conversation will begin with a film-based presentation from each artist followed by a conversation referencing a series of artworks devised within research at Goldsmiths University and the Centre for Applied Human Rights at the University of York (www.developmentalternatives.net).
Accepted contributions
Session 1 Friday 4 July, 2025, -Paper short abstract
Political and social transformation begins with the ability to imagine alternative realities. This paper examines how artistic expression serves as an act of resistance—reclaiming narrative agency from colonial structures used by colonial powers to maintain ideological dominance.
Paper long abstract
Colonialism extends beyond military conquest and economic subjugation—it is a narrative project that redefines history, culture, and identity to serve the coloniser’s vision . As Frantz Fanon noted, decolonization is not just political but also psychological and cultural, requiring the colonised to restore their own sense of history and self. This paper examines how art serves as an emancipatory tool in postcolonial societies, enabling the colonised to reclaim their voices, reconstruct their histories, and reimagine their futures. The ability to imagine alternatives is the first step toward structural change, making art an indispensable tool in the struggle for decolonisation.
Drawing on examples from film, literature, and visual arts, the paper argues that artistic expression is not merely an aesthetic practice but a profoundly political act—one that fosters civic space, nurtures political imagination, and resists hegemonic control. Whether through metaphor, storytelling, or visual symbolism, art creates an intangible space for dialogue and reflection where citizens can question authority, envision justice, and build solidarity. In postcolonial contexts, this imaginative space becomes a breeding ground for civic engagement and alternative futures, essentially trying to “catch smoke” – making tangible the otherwise intangible aspirations for freedom and dignity.
In sum, this study contributes to the discourse on cultural resistance by demonstrating how decolonial artistic practices challenge dominant narratives and inspire new political possibilities. It invites scholars, artists, and activists to consider how their work can function as an intervention in the ongoing struggle for representation, justice, and autonomy in postcolonial societies.
Paper short abstract
Spice Jam was a one-time curated fusion music show exploring how sound and the metaphor of spice evoke cultural memory, sensory belonging, and public imagination. This paper reflects on curatorial practice, affect, and the symbolic layering of flavor in sonic encounters.
Paper long abstract
This paper explores Spice Jam, a one-time curated music show at Grow Hackney that brought together diverse artists to perform fusion music inspired by the metaphor of spice—its sensory qualities, cultural symbolism, and layered histories. Drawing from sensory ethnography and affect theory, the project reflects on how sound and flavor intersect as vehicles of cultural memory, identity, and belonging. Each musical act was designed not only as entertainment, but as a multisensory dialogue—where rhythm, texture, and improvisation mirrored the way spices blend, contrast, and carry meaning across geographical boundaries.
As the curator, I reflect on how the metaphor of spice shaped the curation process: not only in genre or instrumentation, but in how the audience was invited to listen—to feel the complexity, hybridity, and cultural movement in the music. From Hindustani ragas fused with jazz to Afro-Latin rhythms, rock music, and West African energy, Spice Jam created a space where everyone actively participated in imagining and re-imagining the past and the future simultaneously. The show became a civic gesture—a temporary but powerful space of cultural encounter, where the intangible work of art fosters imagination, connection, and collective reflection.
This paper invites a rethinking of curatorial practice as a form of cultural storytelling, where the metaphor of spice does not just flavor the sound. Additionally, it deepens the way we listen, sense, and belong.