The Socially Engaged Art Salon (SEAS) Reimagine The Union Jack for Brighton’s Artists Open Houses Festival in celebration of minority communities that contributed to UK’s legacy

The Socially Engaged Art Salon (SEAS) bring their New Union Flag project to Brighton’s Artists Open House Festival this May, celebrating the cultures and communities that have made the UK great.

The New Union Flag project, by Brighton based artist Gil Mualem-Doron, aims to re-imagine the Union Jack, acknowledging and celebrating the communities that contributed to the UK’s cultural legacy. Re-created with fabric designs from all over the world, including traditional textile designs of former colonised communities and textile designs of various ethnic and national groups that live in the UK today, the New Union Flag transforms the traditional Union Jack from an architype of uniformity to a dynamic and on-going performance of diversity.

The various textiles are placed on the Union Jack in relation to the geographical locations from which they originated, along with numerous small boats made from jiffy cloths representing past and present migration to and from the UK.

Piloted in 2015, the project has already engaged thousands of people through gallery exhibitions (Peckham Platform, Hoxton Arches, SEAS, Turner Contemporary), and numerous cultural events, festivals and rallies such as the London Refugees Welcome demo in September 2016.

The New Union Flag project will include a selfie movement encouraging people to take pictures of themselves with the flag and promote across social media with the hashtag #NewUnionFlag. Table games, cushions, mugs and prints have been created as part of the project, as well as DIY Diversity Flag workshops for adults and children. Alongside, The Migrant English Project’s members will exhibit a series of collages on ceramics, and Louise Purbrick (University of Brighton) and Elaine Ortiz (Hummingbird Project) will display the project Make it Happen: Homes for Refugees.

Gil Mualem-Doron is an artist, researcher and a community facilitator. He is the founder of SEAS – Socially Engaged Art Salon in Brighton. He works in various media including photography, print, painting and mix media installations. Most of his work is socially and politically engaged. His work has been exhibited in private and public galleries and museums in the UK, Europe and the Middle East; and several of his works are in private collections.
SEAS – Socially Engaged Art Salon
2 Steine Gardens, BN2 1BT

May 6-7
May 13-14
May 20-21
May 27-28

11am-4pm

The Artists Open Houses festival is the largest event of its kind in the UK. Over 1,500 artists and makers will exhibit their works to thousands of visitors. Last year over 200,000 people visited the festival.

Artists Open Houses offers the chance to buy artworks directly from the artists and makers themselves. There is a hugely diverse selection of artworks on show, from original paintings, prints, graffiti arts, ceramics and textiles to photography, sculpture, crafts, jewellery and many other media.

Entry to the Artists Open Houses festival is free to the public.

Full listings can be found at www.aoh.org.uk

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