Southbank Centre featured free events, 14- 20 October 2019

These are some of the selected free events taking place at The Southbank Centre. Click on the event title for further information.

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Exhibition: Another Me

19 Sep – 3 Nov 2019| Open daily: 10am – 11pm | Exhibition Space, Level 1, Royal Festival Hall

The exhibition will close at 5pm for private events on the following dates:
Thu 17 Oct, Tue 29 Oct and Thu 31 Oct

DJ and young dancers

Unlock your preconceptions at this year’s exhibition of works entered into the Koestler Awards for arts in criminal justice, curated by Soweto Kinch.

Over 150 artworks, including music, poetry, paintings, drawings and sculpture, speak of their makers’ concerns, hopes and dreams, illuminating the breadth of talent in UK prisons and other secure settings.

Mercury-nominated and MOBO-winning Kinch, one of the most versatile young musicians in both the British jazz and hip-hop scenes, has used his curatorship to put music at the forefront of the exhibition for the first time.

Kinch comments, ‘As a composer and performer I’m often drawn to works with a powerful sense of narrative, and those which challenge myths and stereotypes.’

Another Me challenges expectations and illustrates what goes on beneath the surface of the human psyche, inviting visitors to reassess their perceptions of people who have spent time inside.

Another Me is the 12th exhibition produced by Koestler Arts in partnership with Southbank Centre.

Literature: Fantastical Futures: Folk Tales from the Earth

12 Oct 2019 – 20 Oct 2019| Run times may vary | Royal Festival Hall, White Room, Level 1

DJ and young dancers

Create visionary fiction in a three-day writing course for ages 18 – 25, led by award-winning writers and poets Farzana Khan, Selina Nwulu, Sai Murray and AHHA AHHA.

Explore themes of folktales and fairy tales and reimagine possible futures, plus get the opportunity to perform your work as part of our Poetry International festival.

Work on new pieces and build existing relevant work, develop your writing, editing and performance skills and receive mentoring and skill-sharing from award-winning writers and poets.

Selina Nwulu is a writer, poet and essayist. She has written for and been featured in outlets including The Guardian, New Humanist and Vogue and has toured her work internationally.

She was Young Poet Laureate for London 2015 – 2016. Her first chapbook collection, The Secrets I Let Slip, was published in 2015 and is a Poetry Book Society recommendation.

Sai Murray is a writer, poet, performance and graphic artist of Bajan/Afrikan/English heritage. His first poetry collection, Ad-liberation, was published in 2013. His novella, Kill Myself Now: The True Confessions of An Advertising Genius, was published in 2008.

Long-listed for a Jerwood Compton Poetry Fellowship in 2017 and 2019, Murray has had poetry and short stories in anthologies including The Fire Next Time, Closure and Dance The Guns to Silence.

Farzana Khan is a writer, director, cultural producer and award-winning arts educator, and the co-founder and director of Healing Justice London, creating spaces for healing through arts practices for marginalised communities.

Khan was the creative and strategic director at Voices that Shake, a project that brings together young people, artists and campaigners to develop creative responses to social injustice.

AHHA AHHA is a writer, mentor and performer from E1, London, who does youth and care work, on the frontlines, in the shadows, and is in the process of centring queerness in everything.

AHHA AHHA assumes apocalypses, trusts in youth, and wants to create and destroy worlds with youth (the future). AHHA AHHA is interested in strategies for appearance and disappearance of hurt bodies. AHHA AHHA is interested in tongues untied, in human and non-human becoming.

Dance: Autumn Vibes October Social Tea Dance

Wednesday 16 Oct| 1.30pm | Royal Festival Hall , The Clore Ballroom, Level 2 | Free

Get ready to rhumba, tango, waltz and more with our expert DJ.

There’s no need to bring a partner, and everyone is welcome – from the more seasoned dancer to complete novices.

Exhibition: A 21st-Century Ferlinghetti: Opening Event

Wednesday 16 Oct| 7.30pm | National Poetry Library, Level 5, Blue side, Royal Festival Hall | Free, but ticketed

Join in and raise a glass to poet, painter, activist and publisher Lawrence Ferlinghetti in his 100th year

Be among the first to see the new exhibition, which celebrates Ferlinghetti’s poetry, publishing and painting, and highlights his significant role in Beat culture and 20th- and 21st-century literary activism.

Come along to hear counterculture writer Barry Miles and art critic Rozemin Keshvani in discussion with curator David Thorp.

Contemporary poet Leo Boix reads his newly commissioned work in response to the life and work of Ferlinghetti.

Exhibition: A 21st-Century Ferlinghetti

16 Oct 2019 – 17 Nov 2019 |National Poetry Library, Level 5, Blue side, Royal Festival Hall| Free

Come along to this exhibition celebrating Beat poet, publisher, painter and activist Lawrence Ferlinghetti, who marked his 100th birthday this year.

On display are examples of Ferlinghetti’s visual work Pyramids in the Sand, which is exhibited for the first time in the UK. Also on show is Ferlinghetti’s lithograph The Sea Within Us V (What Islands?), donated by the artist to the National Poetry Library collection to mark this occasion.

Explore archival video including Chris Felver’s film Ferlinghetti: A Rebirth of Wonder. You can also delve into audio and ephemeral materials, including a letter written by Ferlinghetti, from the National Poetry Library collection.

As part of the exhibition, contemporary poet Leo Boix has been commissioned to write new work in response to Ferlinghetti’s life and work.

Spoken Word: Friday Lunch: Miss Jacqui

Friday 18 Oct 2019 |1pm | Royal Festival Hall, Central Bar, Level 2 | Free

The spoken word artist and songwriter who found the spotlight after performing at the 2012 Paralympics opening ceremony wants us to break the rules for a reason.

A wheelchair user herself, Miss Jacqui creates music to help her listeners see the world differently, and to feel confident in being themselves.

She says, ‘When you are a minority in a minority in a minority, you have no choice but to stand out.’

Her debut EP Perception is about working with the cards you are dealt, and gives us a glimpse into what it means to be black woman with a disability.

Location and times

Buses and underground

Waterloo and Waterloo East stations in the South of the river Thames and Embankment station in the North provide good underground and rail services. The area is served by many bus routes. Click here or the image below for directions.

Disclaimer: WISE16 publish public notices from London Borough of Southwark with the aim to encourage participation. Please visit Southwark Council’s website for further in