Reading
Chinua Achebe‘s lecture on Nigeria, politics and the role of the artist at Cambridge University’s Centre for African Studies, reported in the Guardian:
“We have endured a terrible failure of leadership – not just individuals, but a whole class of potential leaders, from which I do not absolve myself. The role of the intellectual is difficult. We should live by what we preach and we should speak out. In that way we always seemed to be superior to our former western leaders. For them, writers and painters just had to write and paint and keep out of politics. Leadership in all its forms is a sacred trust in a democracy, almost like an anointed priesthood.” Guardian 13 Dec 2010
See also Ken Saro-Wiwa’s comment on the nature and purpose of art.
Astronomy picture of the day publishes image of Spiral Jetty
Robert Smithson's Spiral Jetty photographed in 2010
Student sit-ins at 20 UK Universities
The Slade Occupation is working with the Lab of Insurrectionary Imagination.
The email that came yesterday said,
They are planning 3 days of alternative education, art, activism and disobedience this weekend, from Friday night 3rd to Sunday 5th December. The Laboratory of Insurrectionary Imagination will be supporting this and we are calling on all art activists friends to take part in this act of creative rebellion against the cuts in the UK… Its going to be a great space for planning, discussing, plotting the next steps of what looks like a rising movement in this country, but one that needs our collective radical imaginations …. pass on and proliferate xx
you could either:
1) Propose a workshop/event/ talk/ performance/action/installation/ that you could contribute to the weekend ( a short description of it, what you need space and time wise etc )
2) Write a statement of support to the occupation – esp from international artists etc .. would be great
3) Just turn up with your body and rebel soul
please email your ideas to me at John@labofii.net and sladeoccupation@gmail.com
Some info on other sit-ins assembled by Martha Rosler (the US is excited by what’s going on in terms of resistance in the UK):
Cardiff – http://www.guardian.co.uk/cardiff/2010/nov/25/cardiff-students-occupation-lecture-theatre
Cambridge – http://www.defendeducation.co.uk/
Edinburgh – http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-11839216
Essex – http://www.facebook.com/pages/Essex-University-in-Occupation/158415970868102?ref=ts&v=wall
Leeds – http://occupiedleeds.wordpress.com/
http://leedsunioccupation.blogspot.com/2009/01/leeds-university-occupied.html
London South Bank – http://savesouthbank.wordpress.com/2010/11/24/statement-from-the-occupiers-at-london-south-bank-university/
Manchester – http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-manchester-11836570
Newcastle – http://ncluniocc.blogspot.com/
Oxford – http://www.occupiedoxford.org
UCL – http://ucloccupation.wordpress.com/
Sheffield – http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2010/11/468742.html
Sussex – http://news.infoshop.org/article.php?story=20101119145151849
SladeSchool of Art : http://artsagainstcuts.wordpress.com/
see also http://www.reallyopenuniversity.org/
CHRIS FREMANTLE 
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