CCA Highlights – July/August 2019

From art tackling cultural imperialism to a rare screening of a cult horror, CCA's summer programme is as diverse as it is delightful

Feature by Ben Venables | 03 Jul 2019
  • VDA Sonic Seance The Gathering. 2019

Anger, solidarity and resistance runs through Sonic Séance: The Gathering (until 28 July). With a varied programme of dance, performance, video and workshops, the range of exhibits address cultural imperialism and its dominance over all aspects of people's lives – particularly the feeling of being spoken for by somebody else. Together the events look both forward and back: from ancestral heritage and ritual to female empowerment and afro-futirism.

Included in the programme is a Reading Group discussion of Robin DiAngelo's White Fragility: Why It's so Hard for White People to Talk about Racism on 7 July, led by activist and dancer Letitia Pleiades; there's a choreographic repertoite with Mele Broomes (4 Jul), whose work investigates contemporary African Diasporic dance; artist Ashanti Harris and poet Audre Lorde bring a collection of writings in Reading Seance: Your Silence Will Not Protect You (14 and 21 Jul). The Gathering ends with a closing party on 27 July.

There's 893 hours to enjoy the latest work from Carrie Skinner. let the music play on and on and on and on and on and on and on (13 July-18 Aug) is a playful exploration about the experience of attending a gallery. Making use of different technologies, let the music... continues Skinner's 2017 project the waves of the air, there is dancing out there, which spoke of singing and dancing as a distraction from – or a salve for – our feelings of loss. The performance focuses on the psychological aspect of an event including such detail as our gestures, as well as broader themes about how events occupy different spaces. It is also accessible online from 12 July. 

A collaboration between artists Ruth Impey, Najma Abukar and Küche – a social business specialising in community dining and special catering events – presents Glasgow with its very own crockery set. Küche Home and Hospitality Launch (Fri 12 Jul) showcases a thirty-piece tableware set inspired by traditional Somali pottery and design. The unique crockery collection really does belong to all of Glasgow too, quite literally: a sample will remain on display in the CCA foyer and is available for community events, dinners and public use until the end of August.

For film and horror fans, Matchbox Cineclub and Sad Girl Cinema are pairing up to screen Der Fan (21 Jul). The cult German classic follows a teenager's hero worship of her favourite singer, but when they finally meet an adolescent obsession has only led the girl to a dangerous liasion. There's a discussion afterwards chaired by Claire Biddles, with her Sad Girl Cinema colleague Bethany Rose Lamont, artist Liz Murphy and The Skinny's own Jamie Dunn. Together they make for an expert panel to talk through Der Fan's themes of pop culture, consumerism and insatiable desires gone awry.

Matchbox Cineclub is also putting on a Weird Weekend towards the end of the season (30 Aug-1 Sep), following the mini-festivals successful debut last summer. Though the full programme is to be announced, Matchbox's team delight in one-of-a-kind events as Cage-a-rama and KeanuCon (curated tributes to Nicolas Cage and Keanu Reeves respectively) demonstrate. For Weird Weekend the producers are currently scouting the globe for some of the strangest films ever made – many of which will premiere in Scotland for the first time. 

http://www.cca-glasgow.com