“Poetry 4 Grenfell” PROJECT so far
As an immediate response to help deal with the emotional aftermath of the inhumane tragic fire of Grenfell Tower, Kamitan Arts had began running voluntary ‘Poetry 4 Grenfell’ workshops in the RBKC community and more specifically in the North of the Borough Since June 2017.
The Poetry 4 Grenfell movement came about when Emmanuelle Marcel a.k.a. Princess Emmanuelle (Founder and Chair of Kamitan Arts) decided to put a call out at the end of June 2017 for a bi-lingual compilation poetry book , which would include quotes, poems, raps, drawings and photos predominantly from the Grenfell effected community. Subsequently during the months that followed the horrific Grenfell fire, we have managed to collect heart-felt pieces written and drawn from the children, respected elders, humanitarians and activists in our community that have been given a platform to voice their opinions and share a message that has otherwise been manipulated or suppressed by the mainstream media. The amazing response from this call-out has truly been immense.
Performances and sharings by the Poetry4Grenfell poets which include Harriet Gore (Touch Love Worldwide),Princess Emmanuelle (EmpresS *1), Voice of Reason and Alexander D Great have taken place at the Carnival Launch, Carnival Pioneers, for the Portobello Film Festival’s Grenfell Tribute Night at Maxilla, and is what brought about the “Poetry 4 Grenfell” short film.
A Young person decided to come on board with Kamitan Arts to document some of these local oral testimonies with us, which resulted in a Golden Heart Trellick Award-winning guerrilla short ‘Poetry 4 Grenfell’ (Best Art Film at Portobello Film Festival 2017). Mostly all involved in creating the ‘Poetry 4 Grenfell’ short are children, young people and elders from our Ladbroke Grove and Latimer Rd community and those that have been effected by the tragic Grenfell fire in June 2017. We hope to extend this film with better equipment and crew on board to give it the justice and exposure it deserves at a more professional and international level.
The “Poetry 4 Grenfell – Voices from da Grove and Latimer” book is a tribute to all affected by the fire and a result of the on-going workshops that Kamitan Arts had been running as an immediate response to the tragedy. Princess Emmanuelle, lifelong resident of Ladbroke Grove, founder of Kamitan Arts CIC, international bi-lingual Rap-Poetess and cross-disciplinary arts facilitator that uses the Performing Arts to share and explore topics of injustice and cultural identity to bring about social change, put a call out at the end of June for contributions to this heart-felt multilingual compilation. The “Poetry 4 Grenfell” multi-lingual book includes the voices of local residents, the bereaved, a victim, and the empathetic wider community, from the ages of 3 – 77. It has been a creative means to amplify the voices and messages of our traumatised community that has usually been manipulated or misrepresented by the media. The Second Edition more Family Friendly version is now available! Come in take a look into our World, feel, watch and listen to the legacy that has been created by and for our ‘come-unity’. Allow yourself to draw upon the “Poetry 4 Grenfell” book for inspiration as you witness the inscribed written words and images; immortalising our memories through the written and oral testimonies, for indeed these dear souls will never be forgotten…
We appreciate the support from MK Ink in helping us format the pages of the ‘Poetry 4 Grenfell’ book to publishing stage and advisories and support from West London’s African Philosophy and Poetry veteran publishers Karnak House!
We aim to help artistically heal and give a voice to our community at a time they feel no one is listening to them.
To positively affect all those involved in our projects as well as our traumatised community through the observation of our artistic expressions.
Copies can be read in local RBKC libraries and to help with our fundraising efforts to sustain our free creative healing projects in the community, please purchase from Waterstones, Foyles, The Design Museum etc. or directly through us: https://www.kamitanarts.com/our-shop/
Read some of the Poetry 4 Grenfell Adult’s Poetry here:
Read some of the Poetry 4 Grenfell Children’s Poetry here:
More on the P4G Book here:
More on the P4G Film here:
