Those speaking tomorrow at
St Stephen Walbrook (6.00pm) as part of
Grief & Hope: reflecting on the Refugee Crisis are:
Michael Takeo Magruder is a visual artist and researcher who works with digital and new media including real-time data, digital archives, immersive environments, mobile devices and virtual worlds. His practice explores concepts ranging from media criticism and aesthetic journalism to digital formalism and computational aesthetics, deploying Information Age technologies and systems to examine our networked, media-rich world.
Dionne Gravesande is Head of Church Advocacy at
Christian Aid. She is responsible for leading the organisation’s work with church leadership on key global policy and advocacy issues. This work is embedded in the organisation’s mandate to expose the scandal of poverty and to challenge and change unjust structures and systems that work against the interest of the poor and marginalised.
Christian Aid is the official relief, development and advocacy agency of 41 sponsoring churches in Britain and Ireland. Christian Aid is also part of the global
ACT Alliance family - a coalition of 137 churches and faith-based organisations working together in over 100 countries.
Revd Richard Carter is Associate Vicar for Mission at
St Martin-in-the-Fields. He was ordained in 1992 and has been a full time priest at St Martin’s since 2006. He has special responsibility for the education programme, international links and hospitality of the church and links up with the Connection at St Martin’s for services, events and to lead the Spirituality Group. Before coming to St Martin’s Richard was Chaplain to the Melanesian Brotherhood in the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu and Papua New Guinea.
David Glasser is Chairman and Chief Executive of
Ben Uri Gallery (Museum of Art, Identity & Migration). The Ben Uri Collection has
over 1300 works by nearly 400 émigré artists and artists of primarily European Jewish descent, including major work by Frank Auerbach, David Bomberg and Mark Gertler.
During Lent we are hosting an art installation by Takeo entitled
Lamentation for the Forsaken, 2016. In this work, Takeo offers a lamentation not only for the forsaken Christ, but others who have felt his acute pain of abandonment. In particular, he evokes the memory of Syrians who have passed away in the present conflict, weaving their names and images into a contemporary Shroud of Turin. He writes that, "The Shroud, of course, is itself an image—an ‘icon’ in Pope Francis’ words—better known by its photographic negative than its actual fabric. Takeo’s digital re-presentation participates in and perpetuates this history of reproduction. But the real miracle isn’t the Shroud itself, it’s our capacity to look into the eyes of the forsaken—and see our Saviour."
We wish to use Takeo's installation to generate debate and response to the refugee crisis and therefore have organised ‘Grief and Hope: reflecting on the refugee crisis'.
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Martyn Joseph -
Still A Lot Of love Round Here.
