BY SELINA THOMPSON

65. Are you black, or are you ‘new black’?
170. My mum does not talk about race anymore. It makes her uncomfortable, tired. Will this happen to me?
660. Who is more problematic – famous racist Nigel Farage, or the liberal journalist politely asking him questions?
720. When does it all end?

Race Cards is a constantly growing installation and archive, undertaken in aid of Selina Thompson’s research for her body of work As Wide and As Deep as the Sea. It has been a card game, a durational performance and an 18 hour one-to-one.
In 2017-18 it has been presented as an installation containing 1000 questions about race, written by Selina in three sittings across 24 hours one weekend in Edinburgh.
For Live Collision, we present the video documentation of a durational performance in Austin, Texas for Fusebox Festival recorded on Saturday 21st April 2018.

Space: Foyer, Project Arts Centre
Duration: Looped video installation with headsets
Festival Dates: Wed 25 – Sat 28 April 2018
Start time: 12 noon daily until close
Ticket price: Free

Credits:

Written and performed by Selina Thompson
Designed by Bethany Wells
Produced by Emma Beverley
Production Managed by Louise Gregory
Supported by Buzzcut, Forest Fringe and Fierce FWD. Seed commissioned by Camden People’s Theatre and Leeds Library through Room 700.

Selina Thompson bio

Selina Thompson is an artist, performer, writer and Artistic Director of Selina Thompson Ltd, whose work has been shown and praised internationally. Her practice is primarily intimate, political, and participatory, with a strong strand of public engagement that then leads to joyous, highly visual work that seeks to connect to those often marginalised by the arts.

Many institutions support Selina’s work across the country, including: The National Theatre Studio, Birmingham REP, and Arts Council England.

Since 2013 her live work has reached over 8000 people. In 2016, she retraced one of the routes of the Transatlantic Slave Triangle to Ghana and Jamaica, in research for her new show ‘salt.’ In 2017-20, she is working with teenage girls in five UK cities, to make new performances about their lives.

‘Thompson is so personable you could eat her up’ – Lyn Garden, The Guardian

‘a force of nature’ – The Stage

‘an inspiration’ – The Independent

Featured in The Stage 100 Most Influential Leaders 2018

Named in the top ’10 Black British Women Killing It In Their Field’ – Buzzfeed

Winner of The Stage Edinburgh Award; The Filipa Brangaca Award for Best Female Solo Performance; and The Total Theatre Award for Experimentation, Innovation and Playing with Form.