Rich Mix Cultural Foundation : Associate Artist 2010 - 2020
Rich Mix, is a remarkable independent arts venue, institution and charity, based just off Brick Lane in East London, known for its mission to be the place where all of the communities of the world, living in London, come together to make and experience art. Rich Mix has generously supported my poetry, theatre, performance art, exhibitions and curatorial practises since 2010. In that time I have performed or curated events on over 50 different occasions, including two exhibitions and two plays amongst many poetry readings and nights of performance.
Interview for Raised at Rich Mix with Ava Szajna-Hopgood - March 26th 2020
https://richmix.org.uk/raised-rich-mix-interview-with-european-poetry-festivals-steven-fowler/
Dostoyevsky Wannabe celebration and Launching I WILL SHOW YOU THE LIFE OF THE MIND at Rich Mix - February 22 2020
Sometimes you have to use material to hand, and in performing, be careful to allow out the theatrical and histronic, but not necessarily disturbing. But sometimes in doing that, the balance is relative to the audience’s taste, shall we say. I spent the whole performance saying to myself you’re being too nice, keep it calmed. Not sure how it came out. I munched a lot of blue and whites. Read a bit. Sold a few copies of my book, a new book Im quietly happy with but realise again is quite miserable https://www.amazon.co.uk/Will-Show-Life-prescription-drugs/dp/B0849T1PRK All the videos of the other brilliant readers at www.theenemiesproject.com/dostoyevskywannabe
European Poetry Festival Camarade at Rich Mix October 17, 2018
Nearly 200 people came to this event. That’s gratifying, having run events in this space of Rich Mix since May 2010, and this taking place in october 2018. It was the best attended event in that space. 27 poets from 20 countries showed off new collaborations. I met new friends, some of whom had travelled in from Spain, Greece, Latvia, and spent lovely hours with old friends, from across Europe, but many of whom live in London. It was a collective, as before with the Camarade events, bonding between those making the works and witnessing them.
The actual work was a little different than normal, a little more mixed, but many of the poets, 5 in fact, were giving their first ever readings, as I’d met them through their work in different fields, around poetry, me feeling the poetry in their work, or through courses I’d run at a few different institutions. This created a valley peak feel to the outputs, which can be better, at times, to offer contrast in not only rhythm, but style. But it was a captivating mass, energised, intense, various, experimental. And it bodes well for the project, The European Poetry Festival, and it’s next full festival coming in April 2019. www.europeanpoetryfestival.com/eurocamarade
The Oldest Sports July 3, 2018
A strange, balmy, intimate and fun night. A chance to celebrate fight sports, something ive always been around, very passionate about, with other poets and writers who share that love. It felt very much like a disparate but unified group of artists playing with the same material, often tangential and weird, and so really beautiful for that. A wee bit quiet, being world cup and summer times, but perhaps better for that, being notably ours. Some great performances worth watching up here http://www.theenemiesproject.com/pugilistica/
European Poetry Festival 2018 - April 7th 2018
A remarkable event where 32 poets in 16 pairs from 25 countries presented brand new collaborations of literary performance, made especially for the night to a packed Rich Mix near Brick Lane in London.. The grand event of European Poetry Festival with over 150 people in attendance.
Poem Brut at Rich Mix III - March 17th 2018
A remarkable eveningcelebrating the visual, visceral, messy, handwritten and colourful in poetry with new unique commissions from writers exploring alternate ways of making literature.
The third Poem Brut event at Rich Mix featured new work from Lavinia Singer, Julia Rose Lewis, Julia Schuster, Christian Patracchini, Mischa Foster Poole, Ruhi Parmar Amin, Andre Bagoo, Saradha Soobrayen
The University Camarade III - February 10th 2018
Writers’ Centre Kingston presents a special showcase event which asks pairs of Creative Writing students from different Universities in the UK to collaborate on short new works of poetry or text, for performance. The primary participants are students writing with poets they've never met before, who study within a different institution, this project allows them to expand their practise, knowledge and networks, and evidences Kingston University's desire to break ground with outgoing initiatives for its students and young writers in general. The innovative collaborative methodology also allows participants to include experimentation early in their writing careers, and perform to a large audience in the heart of London https://www.writerscentrekingston.com/richmix/
Poem Brut at Rich Mix II - January 13th 2018
A special event to close Hard to Read : an exhibition by SJ Fowler
Featuring new performances by Paul Hawkins, Imogen Reid, Christian Patracchini, Patrick Cosgrove, Mischa Foster Poole, SJ Fowler and more.
Featuring the launch of SJ Fowler's Aletta Ocean's Alphabet Empire with Hesterglock press.
HARD TO READ - Collected Paint Poems, Poet Portraits & Pansemia of SJ FOWLER // Rich Mix Gallery
December 9th 2017 to january 14th 2018
with a special view performance event on January 13th 2018! (click for more info on speakers and performances)
Once we understand excess, then we can get really simple.
Robert Rauschenberg
From the gallery "Collecting together the art poetry of SJ Fowler, this solo exhibition aims to pose several questions of the poem as a concrete, visual thing in the world. What is in the shape of a letter and what images do words recall? What is the meaning of colour in poetry and text upon the page, and white space? How does the situation of a poem change its meaning? Why is composition not a concept that applies to a medium that is innately visual? In literature, why has content overwhelmed context? Why has product dominated process? HARD TO READ poses these questions and answers them poorly, playfully, with over 40 original works drawn from multiple publications and previous exhibitions - works that interrogate handwriting, abstraction, illustration, asemic and pansemic writing, scribbling, crossings out, forgotten notes, strange scrawls - the odd interaction between paper and pen, and pencil, and coloured words that randomly collide with image recalling words."
Poem Brut at Rich Mix - November 25th 2018
The Poem Brut explores the language art, the art of poetry – handwriting, abstraction, illustration, asemic and pansemic writing, concrete poetry and more. This is an examination of words that are meant to make you squint, to battle for legibility, rather than you be able to pinch and extend your thumb and forefinger against the page to get a closer look. A celebration of scribbling, crossings out, forgotten notes, strange scrawls - the odd interaction between paper and pen, and pencil, and the colours that randomly collide. It is a project about the page as a block, about geometry, about lines that sever meaning, about inarticulate shapes, about minimalism and collage. It is about making, gesturing towards the handmade, the amateur, the outside, liquid and wood, ugliness, toilet wall draughtsmanship and mess. It is a response to being called an artist in the poetry world, and a poet in the arts world. https://www.poembrut.com/richmixi
The 2017 / 2018 Rich Mix Associate Artist scheme
So lucky to be part of this newly developed scheme with Rich Mix. I've been working with them for 7 years now and this wonderful endeavour will really boost my work I am sure. I've been an associate artist for a few years now but this new scheme takes the programme to a new level
From Rich Mix "We’re delighted to introduce our six Associate Artists for 2017-18. These organisations and individuals are working closely with us to deliver creative programmes throughout 2017 and beyond, with public-facing events, new commissions and learning and engagement programmes with young and local people. They have been selected because they represent the breadth and depth of our artistic programme, working across the artistic disciplines and with diversity at the heart of what they all do. https://www.richmix.org.uk/news/introducing-our-associate-artists-2017-18
The Associate Artists are Arts Canteen, Baluji Shirivastav OBE and Inner Vision Orchestra, Dash Arts, Numbi and SJ Fowler. Sixth associate artist Tomorrow’s Warriors and Nu Civilisation Orchestra is joining Rich Mix as our first ever resident orchestra. Artistic Director Oliver Carruthers explains that"[they] are all artists we’ve had the privilege to work with over the years, and we think they deliver outstanding work. That’s why we wanted to change our relationship a little bit, so that we can offer more support to them with our building, resources and time."
Poet and playwrite SJ Fowler responded "without the generous, agile and mindful support of Rich Mix I simply would not have been able to evolve as an artist in the way I hope I have over the last seven years. To be an associate artist in 2017 is an immense opportunity, I'm proud to be associated with the place and staff, and what it stands for." Find out more about our Associate Artists here. https://www.richmix.org.uk/about-us/associate-artists"
Mayakovsky : a play at Rich Mix for #Revolution17 - June 9th 10th 11th 2017
A new piece of experimental theatre exploring the life and death of one of Russia's greatest poets. Mayakovsky was commissioned by Rich Mix Arts Centre as part of their centenary commemoration of the Russian Revolution, #Revolution17, in cahoots with the brilliant Dash Arts. Mayakovsky is part of a night of new theatre entitled Land of Scoundrels.
From a blog about the production "What I've tried to do, with this play, is fulfil the dictum that a good work of art can only create the opposite effect of its intention - that is I set out to lie based on truth, so that the audience would feel truth based on lies. It was a generous process - ground up, collective, energetic, exciting. And I think, amidst the obvious density of the play, people to get the gist.
The experience of writing and directing Mayakovsky (for the Land of Scoundrels night of theatre, at Rich Mix Cultural Foundation, for the Revolution 17 season, which opened this past Friday June 9th) has been a privilege, especially to be commissioned to do so. And It has not yet worn off, the experience of having good actors perform words I’ve mangled, and there is something undoubtedly intoxicating about theatre, as a practise, way beyond poetry and something before performance. It is so fundamentally collaborative, reactive, uncontrollable, inaccurate … it’s entirely alive and human, and the smallest change or development or gesture – be it physical or linguistic or intellectual – can shift entire narratives of meaning. It is a playground in that sense, in begins in failure and needs trust. These are things I am attracted to..." Read more www.stevenjfowler.com/mayakovsky
South Korean Enemies Project - June 3rd 2017
Such a great group evening curating and performing with South Korean poets in collaboration. Check it out proper here http://www.theenemiesproject.com/southkorea "Saturday night was the big event at Rich with loads of pairs. Kiwan recorded my heartbeat live, then his own, merged them with a live coding programme the audience could see before I sounded out the consonants our our alphabet and he did the vowels, while I held the camera. Was peachy. All the pairs were great in fact and we went out afterwards to solidify our new poet friendship over tapas. What more can one ask for?"
The second European Poetry Night - May 6th 2017
"One of the best events I’ve put on for awhile, one of the best Enemies ever by all accounts. Over 130 people packed into Rich Mix, 13 new collaborations from 26 poets from over 12 nations across Europe. It was intense, energetic, original and still open, welcoming, engaging. Having organised two events the two nights previous on the same continental theme, taken everyone visiting London to dinner the night before, to show a wee bit of all too rare London hospitality, and then having a collaboration on myself, it would be fair to say in the buildup, I was busy. In the end it was smooth as you like. www.theenemiesproject.com/epn"
The second English PEN Modern Literature Festival - April 1st 2017
An extraordinary day at Rich Mix, surrounded by around thirty poets and artists, the remarkable staff of English PEN, a handful of volunteers and all told, over a few hundred people watching on. I arrived around noon, to soundcheck and set up the theatre space where the performances would take place, and i left the building, conversations still beginning and growing behind me, around eleven hours later. Exhausting, physically, of course, but resonant in every way, from the originality and range of approaches to the deliberately overwhelming task facing the English writers, to the evocation of those we were celebrating, always somehow present, both comforting and confrontational to ourselves. All the performances can be seen on the site here http://www.theenemiesproject.com/englishpen and I would urge a perusal of this resource, it carries some of the spirit of this very special, very intense day. More here too www.stevenjfowler.com/englishpen
The second University Camarade - February 25th 2017
The future is in good hands if this event is any indication. Though ostensibly about pairing students across the country, and allowing them to experiment / collaborate / create new friendships, what it is really about is giving a platform to younger poets who might be locked into the boundaries that come with being a 'creative writing' student or in a university. It's just a way to discover people, to see them shine, and they were really remarkable on this occasion, all 22 poets, from all over the UK. A really resonant evening, all the videos are here www.theenemiesproject.com/unicamarade worth watching.
Fiender: a Swedish Enemies Project - January 28th 2017
This event was a return to the Camarade Harry Man and I put together at the Stockholm International Poetry fest last November, but this time, in enemies project style, pulling in 20 poets in all, 3 from swedeland, and a 100 people to witness the 10 new works. It was a fun evening, full of energy. All the videos www.theenemiesproject.com/fiender
RICH MIX: Access All Areas : January 17, 2017
A nice little chat with the Rich Mix folk, chatting about some of the new plans I've got with the amazing arts institution coming this 2017! https://www.richmix.org.uk/blog/rich-mix-access-all-areas-sj-fowler
SJ Fowler is a poet and artist whose accomplishments could outweigh those of most artists double his age. His work has been translated into 21 languages; he has been commissioned to create work for BBC3 Radio, Somerset House and The British Council, and has taught at Kingston University, Tate Modern and The Poetry School, but name but a few. With so many events lined up for 2017 at Rich Mix, we felt it was only right we caught up with him to find out more about the man himself and his work.
In your own words…who are you, and how would you describe you work?
I’m a writer and artist. I’m interested in what I take to be the truly contemporary, that is often called experimental, and I’m an associate artist of Rich Mix, having performed and curated events here since 2010. It has been my home in many ways, I’ve had so many beautiful nights in Venue 2!
What’s your favourite part of working at Rich Mix?
Maybe the staff. Sounds trite but I’ve performed or put on well over 300 events, worked with a lot of venues and very few can match the level of personal investment, hospitality and unpretentious industry of people working at Rich Mix. I’m always treated with such gentle respect, nothing is too much.
What was your favourite song of 2016?
I didn’t expect that question. I think it came out at the end of 2015, but maybe John Grant – Black Blizzard. I don’t have one really.
What was your favourite film of 2016?
Again I don’t tend to have favourites but maybe, off the top of my head, I liked Embrace of the Serpent. Jungle Book was pretty great too, Fred the Pig and The Pangolin live long in my memory.
What was your highlight of 2016?
The most satisfying personally was the first English PEN Modern Literature Festival which I curated at Rich Mix on April 2nd 2016. I asked 30 writers to each write about a fellow writer, but one supported by English PEN, currently at risk in their own nations. English PEN are the writers’ charity and for such a long time I had wracked my brain as to how my skills could be of any use to their genuinely extraordinary work. This, in a tiny way, was such a magnificent day, so full of energy, reflection and heartfelt solidarity, that I felt sure, for perhaps one day, I wasn’t completely wasting my time. It was so good it’ll happen again on April 1st 2017, at Rich Mix.
What are you looking forward to in 2017?
Aside from the above, I’m happy to be presenting a new short play for Rich Mix’s centenary of the Russian Revolution program. It’ll be alongside 3 other playwrights, four mini-plays in one night, over three evenings in June. It’s about the poet Vladimir Mayakovsky, a hero of mine. It’ll be very weird.
The Night-Time Economy special view in London - July 28, 2016
A lovely evening celebrating the exhibition Kate Mercer have produced this year, photography and poetry beautifully balanced, after visiting Newport, coming to London, with a good few dozen folk down in the basement gallery of Rich Mix, near Brick Lane, on one of the hottest days of the year. Great to have Nia Davies, Ghazal Mosadeq and Marcus Slease read too, all with new works responding to the themes of our work. Visit www.theenemiesproject.com/nighttimeeconomy and www.stevenjfowler.com/nighttimeeconomy
The Nighttime Economy: an exhibition in Rich Mix Cafe Gallery July 17th to 30th 2016
A new exhibition in collaboration with photographer Kate Mercer exploring the often fractious energy and environment of Newport, Wales' nightclubs and pubs.
"Conceived and created in close collaboration between photographer Kate Mercer and poet & artist SJ Fowler, this exhibition will play off the complimentary possibilities for expressive abstraction in both visual and linguistic mediums, all centred around the complexity, energy and intensity of Newport on Friday and Saturday nights."
Great readings from visiting poets including Nia Davies, Marcus Slease and Ghazal Mosadeq, and more information on the exhibition in general, in both its London and Newport guises, can be found here http://www.theenemiesproject.com/nighttimeeconomy
The Poetry School Camarade - July 17th
Some of London's most interesting literary & avant-garde poets, all associated with the Poetry School, presented brand new collaborative works in pairs, premiered for the night. www.poetryschool.com
Grand to collaborate again with Prudence Chamberlain and launch our new collaborative poetry collection The House of Mouse. Visit http://www.theenemiesproject.com/poetryschoolcamarade for all the videos.
The first ever European Poetry Night - May 14th 2016
The first ever European Poetry Night as part of European Literature Festival in 2016.
An amazing evening with some of the most exciting contemporary poets from all over Europe, as over 20 poets travelled to London to share brand new collaborative poems, premiered on the night and written for the occasion, in pairs, across languages, styles & nations. These are the best and brightest, from Iceland to Turkey, from Ireland to Russia, from France to Slovakia – a unique evening of modern literature which will show the power of 21st century poetry in the literary and avant-garde traditions, and the possibilities of collaboration, to bring out that power. It was a unique live experience to well over a 100 in attendance. Curated by SJ Fowler. Visit http://www.theenemiesproject.com/epn for all the videos and more information
Rich Mix 10 Year Anniversary Camarade - May 2nd 2016
Lovely to be invited to present a Camarade event, where poets write new collaborations in pairs, to celebrate the 10 year anniversary of Rich Mix as part of the festival of events and general festivities put on for the occasion. I owe Rich Mix so much, and without it, there'd be no Camarade and Enemies project I think. The event was wonderful, with 10 new works, all of which complimented in their difference and compelled in different ways. Great to get such a nice audience too, on a rainy bank holiday Monday at 6pm. A grand birthday for us all. All the videos www.theenemiesproject.com/richmixcamarade
The University Camarade - April 23rd 2016
A wonderful, positive evening with new collaborations from student, and inherently young, poets, from six universities across the UK. I decided to curate this event for multiple reasons - to show that collaboration is immensely helpful for the development of young poets (into interesting directions anyway), to show that creative writing programs deserve more respect for the quality they can produce, to get past the supposed 'competition' between creative writing departments and to begin to inculcate communities between young writers, or at the very least, to make them feel there are communities out there for them, that people do want to hear and value their more innovative ideas. The works on display were genuinely brilliant, across the board, the event had been taken so seriously by all 20 poets. Everyone felt it had a been a grand success and will likely happen againwww.theenemiesproject.com/unicamarade
The English PEN Modern Literature Festival - April 2nd 2016
An amazing one day festival, where nearly 30 English writers celebrated 30 writers at risk currently supported by English PEN with brand new poetry and performance artworks. Videos of every performance along with articles about the festival's aftermath and organisation are available here www.theenemiesproject.com/englishpen
Óvinir: The Enemies Project - Iceland, in London, at Rich Mix - January Saturday 30th 2016. An amazing evening to a standing room only crowd, featuring brand new collaborations written in pairs and in collectives from over 20 poets active on the contemporary London scene, and Andri Snær Magnason, Ásta Fanney Sigurðardóttir, Valgerður Þóroddsdóttir & Eiríkur Örn Nörðdahl visiting from Iceland.
January Saturday 30th 2016 - Ovinir: an Icelandic Enemies project
A hugely successful event, with over 120 in attendance for a standing room only evening, featuring four visiting Icelandic poets and a host of locals collaborating too. www.stevenjfowler.com/iceland
I had the pleasure of collaborating with Ásta Fanney Sigurðardóttir. A work full of raw energy, a desire to confront, to amuse, to inculcate awkwardness alongside humour. A product too, as often the best collaborations are, of a growing friendship, and an immediate kinship between Asta and I, one felt from the first moment we met, owed to the project. We created a kind of performance triptych, from the invasive performance, to the poem and song, to the metadialogue and humour valve. I've rarely been so satisfied with a live work, all owed to Asta's brilliance.
An ambitious celebration of contemporary Italian & British poetry and art in London, the Nemici project brought together Italian poets from all over Italy and all over Europe, to work in collaboration, as pairs, with a series of British poets.
November Saturday 7th 2015 - Nemici: an Italian project
Featuring multiple newly commissioned collaborations, premiered on the night, with both visiting poets and those local to London.
I collaborated with Alessandro Burbank for the event, performing a new work that explored inter-language mishearing, Italian enthusiasm and the camera as a fourth wall.
All the performances from the event are available, along with further information, here: http://theenemiesproject.com/nemici
Scratch showing Friday 16 October, 7.30pm Saturday 17 October, 2.30pm & 7.30pm BOOK NOW http://www.richmix.org.uk/whats-on/event/dagestan/ - Cast - Robin Berry Steve North Gareth Tempest Maya Wasowicz Written by SJ Fowler Dramaturgy by Russell Bender Produced by Penned in the Margins Thanks to Rich Mix for supporting the development of Dagestan through rehearsal space
Dagestan - a play: October 16th & 17th 2015
A scratch performance of my debut play, Dagestan, produced by Penned in the Margins, directed by Russell Bender and starring Robin Berry, Maya Wasowicz, Steve North and Gareth Tempest.
An article I wrote for the Rich Mix blog on the play and it's purpose http://richmixlondon.tumblr.com/post/131017660468
More information here http://www.stevenjfowler.com/dagestan
Held on July 31st 2015, the Enemies project celebrated contemporary Croatian poetry with a reading at the Rich Mix Arts Centre in Brick Lane, London. Poets Damir Sodan, Tomica Bajsic and Maja Klaric were joined by a host of British based poets, who presented new collaborations to celebrate their visit.
July Friday 31st 2015 - Croatian Enemies project
Featuring multiple newly commissioned collaborations, premiered on the night, with both visiting poets and those local to London.
All the performances from the event are available, along with further information, here: http://www.theenemiesproject.com/croatia
Gelynion: a Welsh Enemies project / Enemies Cymru was an exploration of contemporary Welsh poetry through the potential of collaboration on a seven date tour from May 19th to June 5th 2015. www.theenemiesproject.com/gelynion Gelynion aimed to bring together communities of writers that might not otherwise collaborate, from all four corners of Wales, generously supported by the Arts Council of Wales & Poetry Wales.
June Friday 5th 2015 - Gelynion: a Welsh Enemies project
Closing out the Gelynion tour of Wales, an event in London.
I collaborated with Nia Davies, Zoe Skoulding, Eurig Salisbury, Joe Dunthorne and Rhys Trimble for the event, reading excerpts from our various on tour collaborations.
All the performances from the event are available, along with further information, here: http://www.theenemiesproject.com/gelynion
Supported by Arts Council Wales.
The premiere performance event of Feinde: an Austrian Enemies project. Taking place in the main space of the Rich Mix Arts Centre on May 8th 2015, this event showcased eight brand new collaborations from the best of 21st European avantgarde poetics, including the collaborations between the four visiting Austrian poets and their core collaborative counterparts.
May Friday 8th 2015 - Fiende: an Austrian Enemies project
Featuring multiple newly commissioned collaborations, premiered on the night, with both visiting poets and those local to London.
I collaborated with Jorg Piringer for the event, performing a new work mourning the 2015 election results via Shakespeare and newspaper destruction.
All the performances from the event are available, along with further information, here: http://www.theenemiesproject.com/feinde
Supported by the Austrian Cultural Forum.
Held on April 14th 2015 at the Rich Mix in London, a host of Mexican poets and writers on the first night of the London Bookfair collaborated with their British counterparts in an original evening of literature, read and discussed as part of the groundbreaking Enemies project.
April Tuesday 14th 2015 - Enemigos: a Mexican Enemies project
Featuring multiple newly commissioned collaborations, premiered on the night, with both visiting poets and those local to London.
I collaborated with Amanda de la Garza for the event, performing a new work via video and book eating.
All the performances from the event are available, along with further information, here: http://www.theenemiesproject.com/enemigos
Supported by British Council, Conaculta and the London Bookfair
Held on March 28th 2015, Wrogowie celebrated the great modern tradition of Polish & British experimental poetry alongside innovative collaborative practise, in a unique evening of 21st century European poetry. An exchange between the increasingly familial nations of Poland and England that featured 16 of the most dynamic poets from those nations.
March Saturday 28th - Wrogowie: a Polish Enemies project
Wrogowie: Celebrating the modern tradition of Polish & British experimental poetry, an exchange between the increasingly familial nations of Poland and England. I collaborated with Milosz Biedrzycki for the event, performing a new work that celebrated our shared friend Tomaz Salamun with a choral reading involving the audience.
All the performances from the event are available, along with further information, here: http://www.theenemiesproject.com/wrogowie
Supported by the Polish Cultural Institute, London.
Kakania Part 1 of 4 - at the Rich Mix There has been no one city's culture, at one singular time in modern history, more widely influential on contemporary thought than that of Habsburg Vienna a century ago.
November 25th 2014 : Kakania
Kakania, in it's first year, saw 5 events, over forty new commissions, two original publications and an array of contemporary artists. It aimed to not just to evoke the Habsburg era, but to envelope it, to transpose it. To relive it in new colours. Kakania in it's first incarnation began in November 2014 at the Rich Mix. It was new artists making new work, paying their debt to that remarkable period of Austrian history in the writing, performance and artworks they were, and are, making.
All the performances from the event are available, along with further information, here: http://www.theenemiesproject.com/kakania-events
The Covers project: SJ Fowler covers Tom Raworth, as part of the Day of the Deaded celebration reading at the Rich Mix arts centre in London. The poem is taken from the Enemigos anthology http://coversproject.wordpress.com/
October 31st 2014 : Day of the Deaded
This event celebrated Día de Muertos in London; and featured a series of original commissions intended to gather friends to remember the dead in an evening of colour, sound, performance and poetry where our squeamish fear of endless nothing was inverted, and the celebrations of doom provoked, excited and enticed.
All the performances from the event are available, along with further information, here: http://www.theenemiesproject.com/enemigos
100 poets, 50 pairs, one day. Starting at 12 noon and finishing late at night, Camaradefest is a unique annual one day explosion of dynamic collaboration in contemporary avant garde and literary poetics.
October 25th 2014 : Camaradefest II
Camaradefest presents 50 brand new collaborative works involving 100 poets working in pairs over one day. A unique festival of collaborative poetry, Camaradefest is a showcase of the breadth and depth of 21st century literary and avant garde poetry and the potential of collaboration in the poetic arts. Camaradefest began at 12 noon and finished late into the night at the Rich Mix Arts Centre in Brick Lane, London, and brought together poets from around the world. Free to attend, it brought over 500 people in attendance.
All the performances from the event are available, along with further information, here: http://www.theenemiesproject.com/camaradefest
September 28th 2014 : MOPHA: a collective
How would you describe the space around a horse? Or lift a watermelon with your voice? This experimental variety show is the result of 5 artists and poets approaching the edges of language through miniature plays, live sound effects, language games and improvisation. Expect bad jokes, fractured speech, aberrant theatre and words under pressure.
Mopha is an art-performance-poetry collective formed by Patrick Coyle, Emma Bennett, SJ Fowler, James Wilkes and Tamarin Norwood. Mopha pools and mutates the live practices of six adept performers with backgrounds in poetry, sound art, live art and sculpture to create collaborative, site-responsive performances. http://mopha.weebly.com/
Yes But Are We Enemies? an Irish Enemies project was a multinational project about collaboration and innovation in contemporary poetry with a six date tour across the breadth of Ireland, Northern Ireland and England. Featuring six core poets, each reading on the tour they were joined by numerous pairs of locally based poets.
September 27th 2014 : Yes But Are We Enemies?: an Irish Enemies project
Closing out the Yes but are we Enemies? tour of Ireland.
I collaborated with Christodoulos Makris for the event, performing a new work that explored found text and the fourth wall.
All the performances from the event are available, along with further information, here: http://www.theenemiesproject.com/ybawe
Supported by Arts Council Ireland and Arts Council Northern Ireland.
Held at the Rich Mix Arts Centre in London on July 26th 2014, 6 touring poets and a host of local writers came together for the final date of the Auld Enemies project in general, the only English date of the project.
July 26th 2014 : Auld Enemies: a Scottish Enemies project
Closing out the Auld Enemies tour of Scotland.
I collaborated with Ryan Van Winkle, Colin Herd, Ross Sutherland and nick-e melville for the event, reading a selection from our various on tour collaborations.
All the performances from the event are available, along with further information, here: http://www.theenemiesproject.com/auldenemies
Supported by Creative Scotland.
Held on June 28th 2014 at the Rich Mix Arts Centre, over 20 poets came together to celebrate the poetry of Tim Atkins and the launch of his collected Petrarch poems from Crater press.
June 28th 2014 : Illuminations #2: Tim Atkins
Bringing to light the work of poets and artists from generations present or past that seem to be fundamentally overlooked, out of sync with their talent or influence, or in order to reinvent their legacy in the present moment, the Illuminations series brings together contemporaries to celebrate the work of single individuals or movements.
All the performances from the event are available, along with further information, here: http://www.theenemiesproject.com/illuminations
May 10th 2014 : Kiddy Kamarade: a children's Enemies project
Poet Lucy Sheerman and her 10 young collaborators film-tell George Méliès' classic A Trip to the Moon, creating ten short chapters of poetic narration that draw on found test from astronautics, astronomy and astrology.
Kiddy Kamarade saw a child friendly collaborative poetry event, where our carousel of poets, provided ideas and inspiration for making word-art between parents and children, as well as children and children. It was a chance for kids and familities to try out our imaginative techniques -- and have a chance to show off what they created! Activities included arts and crafts, performance/story-telling/charades, music and movement, and the afternoon concluded with some collaborative performances by adults and children.
More information available here - http://www.theenemiesproject.com/kiddykamarade
Held on March 15th 2014, at the Rich mix arts centre in Shoreditch, London, Fjender (part of the Enemies project www.weareenemies.com) celebrated cutting edge avant garde poetry from Europe, centred around contemporary Danish poets. At the heart of the reading were 3 original collaborative works between the visiting Danish poets and British based poets.
March 15th 2014 : Fjender: a Danish Enemies Project
Featuring multiple newly commissioned collaborations, premiered on the night, with both visiting poets and those local to London.
I collaborated with Morten Sondergaard for the event, reading a brand new work exploring pharmaceuticals and altered states.
All the performances from the event are available, along with further information, here: www.theenemiesproject.com/fjender
Supported by the Danish Embassy in London and the Danish Literature Agency.
As part of the Enemies project (www.weareenemies.com) Wrogowie celebrated contemporary Polish poetry in collaboration with British poetry on February 8th 2014 at the Rich mix arts centre in London. Six pairs of poets premiered original collaborative works specifically for this event. Supported by the Polish Institute and SSEES.
February 8th 2014 : Wrogowie: a Polish Enemies project
Wrogowie: Celebrating the modern tradition of Polish & British experimental poetry, an exchange between the increasingly familial nations of Poland and England. I collaborated with Piotr Gwiazda for the event, reading an original work made of found quotes, on death and moths.
All the performances from the event are available, along with further information, here: http://www.theenemiesproject.com/wrogowie
Supported by the Polish Cultural Institute, London.
Held on November Saturday 16th at the Rich mix arts centre in London, the Enemies project presents Slovakian poetry celebrated the best in contemporary avant garde and literary poetry, from dynamic presses and in collaboration, as part of the ongoing Enemies project. www.weareenemies.com/slovakia.html
November 16th 2013 : Enemies: Slovakia
Featuring multiple newly commissioned collaborations, premiered on the night, with both visiting poets and those local to London.
All the performances from the event are available, along with further information, here: http://www.theenemiesproject.com/slovakia
Supported by The Centre for Information on Literature (www.litcentrum.sk)
The Camarade poetry festival was a unique one day explosion of dynamic collaboration in contemporary avant garde and literary poetics. On October 26th 2013, at the Rich Mix arts centre, near Brick Lane, London, 74 poets aligned in 37 pairs, each writing an original collaborative work, written specifically for the festival and premiered on the day.
October 26th 2013 : Camaradefest
Camaradefest presents 50 brand new collaborative works involving 100 poets working in pairs over one day. A unique festival of collaborative poetry, Camaradefest is a showcase of the breadth and depth of 21st century literary and avant garde poetry and the potential of collaboration in the poetic arts. Camaradefest began at 12 noon and finished late into the night at the Rich Mix Arts Centre in Brick Lane, London, and brought together poets from around the world. Free to attend, it brought over 500 people in attendance.
All the performances from the event are available, along with further information, here: http://www.theenemiesproject.com/camaradefest
Gilles de Rais / Estates of Westeros exhibition Tue 22 October -- Sat 26 October Free / Lower Café Gallery Modernist art meets avant-garde poetry. SJ Fowler, Ben Morris and David Kelly invert the myth of Gilles de Rais through Jimmy Saville, and turn the fantasy of Westeros into a housing estate in an exhibition which explores the groundbreaking possibilities of collaboration, when allied to experimental publishing practises.
October 21st 2013 : Exhibition - Gilles de Rais & the Estates of Westeros
"Modernist art meets avant-garde poetry. SJ Fowler, Ben Morris and David Kelly invert the myth of Gilles de Rais through Jimmy Saville, and turn the fantasy of Westeros into a housing estate, in an exhibition which explores the groundbreaking possibilities of collaboration, when allied to experimental publishing practises. Released in 2013 as books-in-boxes by Like This press, the visually stunning illustrations and line drawings are exceptional examples of successful aesthetic fusion through concept, even in fundamentally different mediums."
an Enemies exhibition - Gilles de Rais / The Estates of Westeros David Kelly / Ben Morris / SJ Fowler http://www.weareenemies.com/estatesgillesexhibition.html Tuesday October 22nd - Sunday 26th in the Rich Mix Arts Centre Café Gallery http://www.richmix.org.uk/venues/spaces/cafe-gallery/ The Enemies project presents poetry & avant-garde illustration exhibited in the unique 'bearpit' café gallery of the Rich Mix Arts Centre.
an Enemies exhibition - Gilles de Rais / The Estates of Westeros David Kelly / Ben Morris / SJ Fowler http://www.weareenemies.com/estatesgillesexhibition.html Tuesday October 22nd - Sunday 26th in the Rich Mix Arts Centre Café Gallery http://www.richmix.org.uk/venues/spaces/cafe-gallery/ The Enemies project presents poetry & avant-garde illustration exhibited in the unique 'bearpit' café gallery of the Rich Mix Arts Centre.
Enemigos was held on May Thursday 30th 2013 at The Rich Mix Arts Centre in London, England. This unique collaborative poetic enterprise between two of the world's metropolis' began with a host of British poets reading their work, written or adapted for the project, followed by versions of a selection of those poems in Spanish, not translated but transliterated, depending on the methodology, means or style of their opposite number in Mexico city.
May 30th 2013 : Enemigos: London to Mexico city
Featuring multiple collaborations, all drawn from the Enemigos anthology, new works by poets from Mexico City and London.
I collaborated with Noelia Diaz for the event, who helped me read my work with Amanda de la Garza, from the Enemigos anthology.
All the performances from the event are available, along with further information, here: http://www.theenemiesproject.com/enemigos
May 18th 2013 : Electronic Voice Phenomena
EVP is a commission from Mercy and Penned in the Margins for a unique touring show of avant garde performance, music and poetry that was followed up with individual performance commissions, spanning May 2013 to November 2015. http://www.electronicvoicephenomena.net/
There was a tour of the UK in May 2013, nine dates in all, finishing at the Rich Mix, which was memorable www.stevenjfowler.com/evp
Held at the Rich mix arts centre in London, this final performance of SJ Fowler's Electric Dada closed the headline gig of the acclaimed national Electronic Voice Phenomena tour. http://www.electronicvoicephenomena.net/index.php/electric-dada/ www.sjfowlerpoetry.com
Held on the 22nd of March 2013, as part of the wider Reel Iraq festival which commemorated the ten year anniversary of the invasion of Iraq by evidencing the resilience and diversity of the arts in that country, a poetry reading was held at the Rich mix arts centre, in Brick lane, London.
March 22nd 2013 : Reel Iraq poetry
An event I curated in support of Highlights Arts.
"Marking a decade since the invasion, Reel Iraq will celebrate the resilience and diversity of the arts of the country with film, music and poetry from Iraq. Join us for a rare opportunity to hear Iraqi poets presenting new translations of their works, alongside a host of UK poets reading specially commissioned new works hand-picked by Maintenant. Supported by the British Council, Cultures of Resistance, the International Arab Charity and others.
Held at the rich mix arts centre on February 9th 2013, the fourth in the Camarade series and the first event of the Enemies project (www.weareenemies.com) saw thirteen pairings of British and European poets read original avant garde and literary poetry collaborations for a remarkable evening of contemporary poetic performance.
February 9th 2013 : Camarade IV
A huge Camarade with a few hundred people in attendance and inspiring performances all round. A very happy way to begin the Enemies Project relationship with the Jerwood Charitable Foundation., with an atmosphere of pluralism and ingenuity, a program that everyone was so enthusiastic about.
All the performances from the event are available, along with further information, here: www.theenemiesproject.com/camarade
A week after the news that Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, Maria Alyokhina and Yekaterina Samutsevich of the Russian punk collective, Pussy Riot, were sentenced to two years in prison, over 30 contemporary poets came together at the Rich mix arts centre in Brick Lane, London for a unique evening of readings intended as an act of solidarity through the medium of poetry, and a celebration of the courage and spirit of fellow writers of this generation.
August 29th 2012 : Poets for Pussy Riot
An event protest the imprisonment of Pussy Riot in Russia. An event that featured an extraordinary amount of poets, all of whom presented new works in response to the call and hundreds of people in attendance, showing the depth of feeling on this issue for the London poetry and art community surrounding the Enemies project and the other partners in this venture.
All the performances from the event are available, along with further information, here: http://www.theenemiesproject.com/pussyriot
July 7th 2012 : Camarade III
The third instalment of the Camarade series featured original poetry read by collaborating pairs of European poets.
It featured Iain Sinclair & Tom Chivers / Allen Fisher & Philip Terry / Jeff Hilson & Robert Shepherd / Chris McCabe & Tom Jenks / Tim Atkins & Harry Gilonis / Simon Barraclough & Isobel Dixon / Emma Bennett & Holly Pester
All the performances from the event are available, along with further information, here: www.theenemiesproject.com/camarade
March 31st 2012 : Enemies - a celebration of contemporary avant-garde poetry
A unique celebration of European avant-garde poetry, bringing Sound & Visual poets together from all over the continent in collaborative performances and an ambitious free artfair for a wholly original night of cutting edge contemporary poetry. Free facsimiles of concrete and visual poetry were available from stalls manned by the poets and artists, available for exchanging and collecting completely free, while performances from the world of both poetry and music interspersed the evening.
Performances from the event are available, along with further information, here: www.theenemiesproject.com/camarade
February 11th 2012 : Camarade II
For the first Enemies project event of 2012, 11 pairs of Britain’s most vital poets read original collaborations written specifically, in partnership, for this evening. Featuring Sean Bonney & Keston Sutherland / Chris McCabe & Tom Jenks / Sophie Collins & Sam Riviere / Colin Herd & Patrick Coyle / Maria Fusco & Andrea Brady / Richard Barrett & Nathan Jones / James Davies & Stephen Emmerson / Philip Terry & Jeff Hilson / Tim Atkins & Carrie Etter / Katerina Kashchavtseva & Lucy Harvest Clarke / Peter Jaeger & Marcus Slease
All the performances from the event are available, along with further information, here: www.theenemiesproject.com/camarade
As part of the biggest event in the Maintenant poetry series, 23 poets read at the Rich mix centre near Brick Lane in London on October 15th 2011. Poets from Russia, Macedonia and Latvia joined 9 pairs of British poets in a memorable evening of performance and poetry. www.maintenant.co.uk
October 13th 2011 : Camarade
The very first ever Camarade event. The 61st took place in January 2016. The Camarade series explores collaboration exclusively between poets, taking the form of events which pair writers to produce and premiere new collaborative poems or artworks, to be performed live. It has been the flagship Enemies project event, with multiple pairs at each reading, sharing their work in short bursts, drawing in large audiences, inculcating an open, communal and engaging aesthetic.
All the performances from the event are available, along with further information, here: www.theenemiesproject.com/camarade
Held at the Rich Mix Arts Centre on June 18th 2011 The Enemies project began its long relationship with Slovakian poets thanks to the Literature Centre Slovakia. The reading featured Mila Haugova, Ivan Strpka, Marcus Slease, Colin Herd, Tamarin Norwood and others. www.theenemiesproject.com
June 18th 2011 : Enemies: Slovakia
New commissions and new collaborations from visiting and local poets and artists. Featuring Michael Zand, Ivan Strpka, Marcus Slease, Mila Haugova, Colin Herd, Tamarin Norwood & more.
All the performances from the event are available, along with further information, here: www.theenemiesproject.com/slovakia
Supported by The Centre for Information on Literature (www.litcentrum.sk)
Held at the Rich Mix Arts Centre in London on March 31st 2012, the Maintenant: a celebration of avant garde poetry project saw original performances of Sound poetry and Sonic art alongside a unique visual poetry fair & exchange which featured work made specifically for the event by over 70 contemporary European poets.
April 9th 2011 : Enemies: Lithuania
"A poetry event featuring some of the most exciting writers emerging in Europe, challenging the linear notions of poetry as a closed medium, Donatas Petrošius, Gabriele Labanauskaite and Tomas S. Butkus from Lithuania, read in tandem with three of the UK’s most vibrant poets, Chris McCabe, Tim Atkins and Holly Pester."
One of the very first Enemies project's with an international focus, four Icelandic poets collaborated with four British counterparts for two free events in London in November 2011. The events were vastly important for the development of the collaborative nature of the Enemies project, no doubt helped by the brilliance of a new generation of Icelandic poets.
November 27th 2010 : Enemies: Iceland - nýr skáldskapur
Four Icelandic poets collaborated with four British counterparts for another free events in London in November 2011. The events were vastly important for the development of the collaborative nature of the Enemies project, no doubt helped by the brilliance of a new generation of Icelandic poets - Bryndís Björgvinsdóttir and Eiríkur Örn Norðdahl amongst them.
Performances from the event are available, along with further information, here: www.theenemiesproject.com/iceland
September 25th 2010 : Enemies: Norway
The second international Enemies event, it featured new collaborations from Paal Bjelke Andersen & Sean Bonney, Endre Ruset and Sam Riviere, Audun Mortensen & Jeff Hilson, Agnes Lehoczky & Jenny Hval.
“It is not as though reading or poetry from nations outside of England have great currency or proliferation, but with these readings we aim to introduce the most interesting, vital and incisive poetry being written by a new generation of poets,”
May 29th 2010 : Enemies: Romania
The first ever international Enemies project, featuring contemporary Romanian poetry - Elena Vladareanu, Ruxandra Novac and Adrian Urmanov.
"Challenging, caustic and resolute, their poetry retains the dark humour so prevalent under dictatorship with the utterly modern vernacular of a generation that has come to fruition post-1989. Attacks on misogyny, sexual repression, political idealism and linguistic correctness are interspersed with exactingly crafted free poetry, literary and resounding, distinct for it’s energy and image, and despite a textual tendency to the climactic, this reading will remain very much literary in style. Performing as part of a national tour, this is a chance to see the brightest young talent from a distinct and vivid European poetical tradition."