RSVP below for this in person event.

Watch 23 August (2023, 24mins), a new work by artist Simina Neagu. The short film explores the history of the 4th World Festival of Youth and Students which took place in Bucharest, Romania in 1953.

In the spirit of recuperating a hopeful, partly utopian story of transnational solidarity for future generations, the story is told through the perspective of two activists – John La Rose, from Trinidad, and Paul Joseph, from South Africa, who forged a life-long friendship after meeting at this anti-colonial and anti-imperialist festival.

The screening is followed by a conversation between the artist and Nadia Joseph.

Simina Neagu (b. Romania) is an artist, curator and writer based in London. She works primarily with text that takes the shape of digital works, publications, events, exhibitions, installations and more recently, moving image work. Often informed by her own experience of migration, her projects have explored structures, collectivity and multiple, overlooked histories. Between 2022-2023, she is an Artist Associate at Open School East in Margate.

Nadia Joseph is the daughter of veterans of the South African liberation struggle. She herself worked for the Anti-Apartheid Movement in London and remains an active campaigner around issues of social justice. She has written on politics and on cinema. She currently works as research and content lead for the Anti-Apartheid Legacy, at New Beacon Books and as co-facilitator for Education Through Culture. She lives in London, a city that she loves.

This event is co-presented with Open School East in a year-long partnership.

Images: (Stills, Detail) 23 August (2023). Courtesy of Simina Neagu.