To coincide with the exhibition Yemen: Inside a Crisis Imperial War Museums (IWM) are offering Manchester’s public the opportunity to explore the catastrophic implications of Yemen’s ongoing conflict beyond the walls of the museum. Yemen: Say hello to connect is a travelling art installation that uncovers the human cost of the crisis in Yemen by revealing the country’s everyday challenges.
Commissioned by IWM and created by FutureEverything artist Vicky Clarke with creative technologist Chris Ball, Yemen: Say hello to connect will tour to three different locations across the city of Manchester, exploring three variant themes – economy and infrastructure, food insecurity, and children and education – each intrinsic to a crisis that has left an estimated 80% of Yemen’s men, women and children in desperate need of assistance.
The digital art installation is housed in a bespoke construct containing four voice activated terminals. By saying ‘hello’ into a headset, participants will prompt a soundtrack of words by British-Yemeni spoken word artist Amerah Saleh. Based on her own memories and accounts of her family’s current life in Yemen, she narrates an experience revealing real-life challenges in the country and invites the listener to respond by considering how similar restrictions would affect their daily life. Narratives include that of Amerah’s 13-year-old cousin, whose bid for a better future lies in marriage now that schools across the country have closed, and the poet’s own childhood memories of the best potato chips, once sold on streets which are now empty due to inflated food prices. Using voice recognition technology, spoken responses to these stories generate a digital artwork unique to the user and visually reflective of their personal exchange with Amerah’s narrative.
At every location, an interactive introduction to the key themes explored in Yemen: Say hello to connect will be available through a touch table where visual icons expand to describe some of the driving forces that tipped Yemen’s fragile nation into an economic tailspin. Drawing on these themes, visitors will have the chance to learn more at an exclusive poetry performance led by Amerah Saleh and in pop-up discussions with experts, NGOs, academics and artists.
Yemen: Say hello to connect | Manchester Piccadilly train station
Friday 26 July & Saturday 27 July 2019, 10am – 6pm
At Manchester Piccadilly train station, visitors to Yemen: Say hello to connect will have the opportunity to explore how the crisis in Yemen has affected the country’s economy and infrastructure. Amerah Saleh’s soundtrack will focus on her own memories of visiting Yemen, and her family’s first-hand accounts of living with limited fuel, inflation and job security in Yemen. She draws on the example of her uncle, a taxi driver, who has found providing for his family increasingly difficult in light of fuel shortages and declining business. Participants’ responses to questions surrounding the importance of transport and fuel in their own lives will form a unique digital artwork, reflective of their interaction with Amerah’s narrative.
Spoken Word Performance of ‘Our Yemen’: Saturday 27 July 2019, 3.30pm
In addition to IWM’s digital art installation, visitors to Manchester Piccadilly train station on Saturday 27 July will have the chance to see an exclusive spoken word performance by Amerah Saleh, created with British-Yemeni young people from the Eccles Yemeni Community Association and the Liverpool Arabic Centre. This performance is the culmination of a series of spoken word workshops led by Amerah across Manchester and the Northwest, encouraging young people to explore their thoughts and ideas around Yemen, the humanitarian crisis, and the concept of home.
Yemen: Say hello to connect | Great Northern Warehouse
Saturday 31 August & Sunday 1 September 2019, 10am – 6pm
At Great Northern Warehouse, visitors to Yemen: Say hello to connect will have the opportunity to explore food insecurity in Yemen, a result of the country’s conflict. Amerah Saleh’s soundtrack will focus on her own memories of visiting Yemen, and her family’s first-hand accounts of the affordability and access to food in Yemen, and how it affects daily life. She draws on her own childhood memories of the best chili potato chips, once sold on streets which are now empty due to inflated food prices. Participants’ responses to questions surrounding hunger and food waste will form a unique digital artwork, reflective of their interaction with Amerah’s narrative.
Yemen: Say hello to connect | University of Manchester Students’ Union
Wednesday 9 October & Thursday 10 October 2019, 10am – 6pm
Visitors to Yemen: Say hello to connect at the University of Manchester Students’ Union will have the opportunity to explore how the conflict in Yemen has affected the country’s children and its education systems. Amerah Saleh’s soundtrack will focus on her family’s first-hand accounts of schools and the quality of life for children in Yemen. She draws on the experiences of her cousins whose futures rely on marriage and visas now that schools across the country have closed. Participants’ responses to questions surrounding the importance of education in their own lives will form a unique digital artwork, reflective of their interaction with Amerah’s narrative.
Pop-Up Discussions: Thursday 10 October, 2 – 4pm
In addition to IWM’s digital art installation, visitors to the University of Manchester Students’ Union on Thursday 10 October will have the unique opportunity to join experts, NGO’s, academics and artists in conversations about Yemen’s humanitarian crisis and the challenges and choices people in Yemen are facing on a daily basis. These informal drop in discussions will draw on the themes and questions visitors encountered in the digital art installation of Yemen: Say hello to connect. This location and activity is in collaboration with the Humanitarian and Conflict Response Institute at University of Manchester.
Yemen: Say hello to connect is part of Yemen: Inside a Crisis, a free exhibition and series of programming at IWM North. The exhibition is the UK’s first to address Yemen’s on-going conflict and humanitarian crisis. Showcasing around 50 objects and photographs, alongside personal stories, the exhibition gives insight into the realities faced by Yemenis every day, as well as their incredible resilience.
