More there is always more

More there is always more - Week update

This week many changes occurred

First, I returned to Marle's Feed for updates and writing. Last week, I let go of Instagram to update on my weekly progress to recentralise my thoughts on my main blog. I started this blog back in 2012. There are probably more than 400 entries dealing with projects such as Positive Money and the Money workshop, Footpaths Leicester, The Green Festival of Making and Mending as well as Leicester Fixers, plus plethora of other writings. I did not write much about the Breaking the Silence Initiative at Quetzal. Though I intend to update the blog with past entries.

The return was motivated by conversations with my uncle, Emile Biti Abi, author and thinker, recently published author Joyce Henry and my dear friend and artist Kajal Nisha Patel from Lightseekers. I thought let's consolidate and integrate all my writings on one central platforms.

The second important change is dealing with all my emails and online communication with collaborators on the Monday. The move was inspired by re-skimming through Tim Ferris 4-hour Work Week. The move allowed me to do more focused and productive work laying foundation for new upcoming projects.

More changes happened at many other levels, letting go of what it was in order to give space to what's new.

Below, I present some of what happened this week with some of my projects

This week at Quetzal

I had a productive conversation with Family Action about their project raising awareness about childhood sexual abuse in South Asian Communities. We both shared our challenges in term of engaging with communities where the stigma associated with sexual abuse is strife and where community leaders are too reluctant to open their doors. I look forward to support as best as I can their project in raising awareness in Leicester South Asian Community.

I went with a volunteer to visit a property by Rushey Field Park to ask if it was possible to paint on their property for a mural project with students. We had the most amazing conversation with the property owner. He did not agree with the idea of painting on a wall. He considered the original brick as having so much beauty and character. He asked me ''Would you let anyone paint on your house?'. I smiled uncomfortable. My gut said ''Hell no''. He said to me so ''if you cannot do it on your own home, how this could be a good idea to paint on someone else house. if tag comes on this wall, he will most probably irritate someone eventually and get tagged on''. He said ''if you want to do a mural, do it in side a building for people to see and then discuss. this makes more sense''. He suggested other places in Leicester to paint on. He went on and said that is selling his home and if I find a buyer then I can paint on the house.

The discussion was rich and full of insights on the need to do some intergenerational work to bring the young with the old, the need of worshipping mothers for all the hard work they do in their community and so much more.

As I walked in Leicester, I started to look at the walls and the shop front in a new eye an thought that we could instead of painting on a wall instead adorn a shop front. It will make more sense to do so. There is this shop next to Quetzal that I am thinking would be great to start with.

I also got interviewed by Rob Watson as part of Leicester Stories Podcast on Building Back Together. It was a great opportunity to think in more details about the process of transforming the gift of a story into various formats of dissemination. Every time, I go through this process I feel closer to my father and his work as a storyteller and theatre director. I miss him dearly.

The exhibition at Quetzal on the 18th September 2021 is getting more refined. I will let you know more soon ;) -

This week at Eugenie Bitty Arts

Ongoing discussion with the team are occurring about our next exhibition in May 2022. I am also fostering relationship with collaborators in the UK to organise a trip to France for the main exhibition next year. I am also in seriously looking for a mentor to support me in this journey, I hope to find her or him soon. Visit the website and susbscribe to a newsletter for receiving in your mailbox the invitation or any other news

This week at Lightseekers

Our review of the Ways to Wellbeing project continue with this week costing appropriately our labour. I am so pleased knowing that Kajal Nisha Patel is writing extensively about the project in an academic format and I look forward to read about her reflection further in light of the literature in Museum and Cultural Studies.