list.co.uk/aroundtown Previews | AROUND TOWN
MINI FESTIVAL ARIKA EPISODE 8: REFUSE POWERS’ GRASP Tramway, Glasgow, Fri 21–Sun 23 Oct
There’s little doubt that the mini festivals organised by Edinburgh-based promoters Arika are among the most essential works being presented in Scotland; not in terms of their slim popular appeal, but in the depth of thought which goes into their challenging and resolutely political lineups, a dazzling convergence of music, performance art, activism and academia.
Their purpose isn’t summed up simply. ‘It explores the messy, unruly and ungovernable ways queer, trans and women’s anti-racist, decolonial, anti-deportation and prison abolitionist struggles imagine themselves, their social entanglements with each other, the worlds they want to live in and the ways they bring those worlds about, now and in the future,’ says co-organiser Barry Esson of the themes of this eighth instalment. Among many highlights, Esson selects an in-conversation
event with black American transgender former convicts and prison reform activists Miss Major (pictured) and CeCe McDonald; a performance by New York writer, performer, artist and DJ Juliana Huxtable; and ‘Against Inclusion’, a talk featuring Maria Galindo of ‘fiercely incredible Bolivian anarcha- feminist street movement’ Mujeres Creando, plus writers and organisers Dean Spade and Eric A Stanley. There will also be a strong music strand, with Huxtable hosting a club night at the Art School. ‘How do communities most affected by the prison industrial complex organise themselves socially without resorting to the logic of punishment and exile?’ ponders Esson. ‘How can we work to dismantle rather than reform the repressive structures of violence that cause the most harm? How can we think, organise and bring about entirely different societies? And do those societies exist already, even if only in part and under duress, in everyday practices of abolition, entanglement and care?’ Few pieces of art any of us are likely to see this year will be quite as relevant. (David Pollock)
1 Sep–3 Nov 2016 THE LIST 43
Swedish bars Calendar (cid:54)(cid:82)(cid:192)(cid:183)(cid:86)(cid:3)(cid:37)(cid:68)(cid:85)
Knitting Club - Every Tuesday from 7pm. Clothes Swaps 14th Sept – bimonthly. Open mic – Every Sunday from 8pm. Saturday sessions
Hemma
Beer Pong Thursdays – Starting 8th Sept Joseph Pearce
JP’s Jogging Club – Every Tuesday from 7pm.
Akva
Student Wednesdays - Beer n’ pong, , Xbox, board games, discounts and much more starting September. Burger and a pint of Pilot Beer for only £10 - Sun, Mon, Tue from 6pm.
Victoria Singles night – 1st October.
Check out the full calendar at bodabar.com