Mind OvER MATTER

words: Francesca Beaumont

Journey of the Mind is the latest exhibition at New Art Exchange, in which artist Kanwar Singh presents a carefully curated collection of digital paintings and handmade drawings that explore the compassion of Sikh prophets in a world ruled by ego…

The display at Nottingham’s New Art Exchange explores the belief that there is a rooted cause of all mental anguish that acts as an exacerbating force in the collective, societal suffering. The purpose of the piece acts as a reminder that by cultivating control and calm, our mind can be the conduit for a healthier, peace-focused society.

The lessons of the ten different gurus of the Sikh faith purposefully harken back to a surfeit of contemporary moral dilemmas, and there is truly something for everyone to reflect on with this exhibition. The artworks have names that offer a sentence on the folly of fleeting thoughts and society's fanatical devotion to materialism. Several pieces in particular invoke this sentiment very powerfully, including…

‘To accept faith in the face of adversity with courage.’

Sri Guru Arjan Dev JI. 1563.

The digital artwork of this title details the days of torture the fifth guru endured on refusal to acquiesce under tyrannical pressure. This piece emphasises how, by transcending past ‘hollow distracts’, one can harness a deep sense of inner peace. For me, this homes in our current cultural obsession with social capital. It acts as a self-reminder to untie oneself from the bonds of the material plane. By removing yourself from the fast flow of eternal strife, you open your soul up to a higher form of learning. Our ability to constantly consume distorts this process of learning and this piece urges one toward the practice of self-limitation. The limitation to the inner world is said to be the only route to peace and salvation.

‘A Clear Mind is Peace and Strength’

Sri Guru Ramdas Ji 1534

This painting illustrates the fourth prophet’s tiresome consummation of a vast physical replica of a temple said to be representative of his inner soul. The detailed physical exertion in this piece urges one toward devotion and dedication. The artist, Kanwar Singh, believes it teaches that ‘by stopping internal chatter, inner peace can be achieved’. Just as with the previous piece, this notion remains integral to our current cultural framework. It has become entirely too easy to occupy the mind with fleeting fickle interests, but by devoting yourself to your own inner dialogue, you can essentially disengage from the unnecessary and become entirely in tune with your true purpose.

‘Seva and Accepting Faith’

Bhai Taru Siingh Ji

The latter half of the gallery exhibits traditional Sikh pencil drawings, including one of Bhai Taru, a Sikh martyr who sacrificed his life in order to uphold his moral values. This death is said to represent the complete separation of mind from physical body - and by muting external noise, Bhai Taru was able to ascend past suffering into a higher, astral realm. Again, in the context of modern society's disjuncture from virtue, this story provides a multitude of personal moral incentives to spiritually self-regulate in the quest for salvation.

The exhibition also involves an audible invitation to partake in your own self-reflection. A short film animated by Christian Wood plays in tandem with the Sikh Mantra Simran. Simran is said to still the ‘inequalities and ignorance’ of the external world and by allowing these mantras to envelop your thoughts, they are said to be ‘eliminated’ with your mind ‘completely cleansed’. This segment of the exhibition teaches the esoteric significance of quietness - with the ability to sit in the silence of your own thoughts being one of highest skills inside of current comfort reliance on social media scrolling.

Journey of the Mind combines Sikh Orthodoxy with a subversive style of storytelling that provides one with the opportunity to self-reflect and enact mindful changes in a world full of fleeting devotion and fast-paced materialism.

Journey of the Mind is on display at New Art Exchange until Saturday 22 April nae.org.uk

To Visit If Only They Knew

A solo exhibition from Charlie Buttrum, If Only They Only Knew soon opens in conjunction with the annual studio artist show, Full Circle, in Surface’s Main Gallery.

Fri 31 Mar - Sat 8 April, Surface Gallery

To Do Somewhere Else Entirely

This multi-channel video installation from internationally-acclaimed photographer Emily Andersen explores the work and life of Ruth Fainlight – an American-born poet and writer.

Sat 25 Mar - Sat 13 May, Bonington Gallery

To Follow Emmy Lupin

Brighten up your Insta feed with the vibrant work of Emmy Lupin, the super-talented illustrator who’s come to our rescue countless times. Check out her work on page 15 of this very mag.

@emmylupinstudio

SPiRiT gUidES

Hi April,

I hope spring has sprung for you and the renewed vibration of the Astronomical New Year has been glorious. This month is an ode to spiritual books, because reading is fundamental to broadening your knowledge. A lot of books have been written to help the spiritual journey and give a new perspective, so I thought I'd give a few recommendations with a short synopsis…

The first: The Celestine Prophecy by James Redfield, published 1993. A novel about energy, how we use it to subconsciously manipulate others, and how we can control it to enlighten ourselves. Broken down into nine insights, the narrator takes you on an adventure of his awakening through the synchronicities he experiences. It is the first in a series of four.

Next: The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle, published 1997. This is a selfhelp book that guides us through the process of disconnecting from the mind and its endless, often negative, chatter. There is a focus on letting go of The Ego we all have and how to live in the present moment. Tolle does this with a conversational tone and easy exercises.

Lastly: The Secret by Rhonda Byrne, published 2006. Another selfhelp book, this explains the law of attraction and how we can use our thoughts to manifest through three laws: Asking, Believing and Receiving. It was originally a documentary film and builds on the New Thought movement that has helped humans throughout history. There are thousands of spiritual books and texts, so take your time to find the ones that resonate with you. If you happen to read one of the three I've mentioned, let me know what you thought of it!

So, our affirmation:

I AM EXPANDING MY PERSPECTIVE THROUGH KNOWLEDGE

Until next time, my loves… Be Safe, No Fear & Stay Blessed.

Inspiring students to express themselves through writing, Rebecca Cullen of Nottingham Trent University set up WRAP, shorthand for Writing, Reading and Pleasure. Josephine Ruffles catches up with Rebecca about the group and how writing can improve your wellbeing…

WRAP, standing for Writing, Reading and Pleasure, is a creative programme that aims to give students at Nottingham Trent University the opportunity to think creatively, and use their left brain. Rebecca Cullen set the project up to help students find their voice and boost their confidence. Open to all pupils across the university, pieces produced vary considerably. Nonetheless, its impact on boosting students’ confidence is shared by all.

The creative writing workshops, held on a Wednesday afternoon, are drop-in sessions where students are able to bring in their work to discuss and gain feedback on. These can range from poetry, to nonfiction, to life writing. Thursday evening is centred around a theme, which stretches writers to think creatively inside one area they may not commonly touch upon. Plus, alongside weekly sessions, WRAP also hosts featured writers’ workshops, café meetups, and a Notts TV Book Club. All these events are intertwined in some way. For example, last month's featured writer, Emily Pine, was also the author of the chosen book for one week's theme on a Thursday. The idea was for students to centre a piece around her book, Notes To Self, where they would have to use prompts and involve the idea of musical notes in their writing.

Emily was a particularly inspiring writer to hear from, according to Rebecca. She is a master of life writing and gave a class on her literary inspirations. She asked participants to write about a meeting with somebody in their own lives and discuss how they felt about the meeting, challenging students to write in different tenses and formats. She stressed the importance of freedom in one’s own writing and being honest about personal experiences. To speak about feelings and experiences is an extremely brave thing to do, and Emily stresses that you shouldn’t want to do it for anyone else but you. She gave some incredible advice on being able to “read and write your way into courage”, and to create and reshape endings that you’re happy with.

Rebecca speaks on the importance of life writing as a form of expressing yourself in a way left usually unexplored. She notes very few people have ever said to students, “I believe in you to write that, if that’s what is important to you.” She also recognises the incredibly raw and tough real life stories people are worried to share. For example, she recently had a writer come in, who gained the confidence to open up about past trauma and challenging circumstances. Instead of avoiding it, she wrote about it, and that’s what’s great about the programme - people are able to be unequivocally, authentically, themselves.

Alongside writing events, there is the reading side. WRAP hosts monthly book groups where people can bring what they’ve been reading, or choose sections of books they’ve focused on as a group. They pride themselves on being purposefully representative, meaning all workshops will always include texts written by people of colour and women. The significance of this was shown through the International Women’s Day event, where people struggled to easily find poems written by women from their home countries, to bring along and discuss. By WRAP purposefully representing these often marginalised groups in literature, they are inspiring the next generation in a more inclusive way.

Finishing our chat, Rebecca’s biggest piece of advice for aspiring writers is to just ask the questions, make the connections, and go for it. WRAP gives you the confidence to do that and to think more creatively than you might have done before. So, if you feel like you want to broaden your reading and writing, pop along to some of the workshops, or a Blend café event, and begin your creative journey.

The next public WRAP event will take place on Thursday 18 May at Blend Contemporary ntu.ac.uk/wrap words: Lizzy O’Riordan illustration: Ciaran Burrows

Freedom of press is an ever important issue. What are people allowed to say? What’s being censored? What are the repercussions of it all? But did you know that an important figure when it comes to the freedom of publishing comes from Nottingham? We learn more about Susannah Wright, the Nottingham woman who went to jail for her beliefs…

Publishing has always been political. It’s through political pamphlets and passedaround papers that movements often begin, and it’s through the suppression of that material that movements often die off. Therefore, there is perhaps no action more radical than fighting for freedom of press, and there’s no better example of this than Susannah Wright. Born in Nottingham in 1792, and arrested for charges of ‘blasphemous libel’, she spent her life dedicated to radical publishing - paving the way for the freedom of the future.

Initially making her living as a lace worker, Wright (then Godber) lived in Nottingham for all of her early life before moving to London in her twenties to marry William Wright on 25 December 1815. It was here that they became involved in politics together, publishing a series of inflammatory works under his name and spending their time with a circle of radicals. Though, Wright maintained that her radical flare wasn’t born in the city of London, but rather in her hometown of Nottingham - which, according to academic Christina Parolin, “she attributed the formation of her principles to” because of the “distinguished spirit of local reformers”. Nonetheless, Susannah and William settled into their home in London and continued their somewhat dangerous life of radical publishing together. Notably fighting for freedom of press, freedom of religion and universal suffrage.

Yet, it wasn’t until 1819 that Susannah began on the journey that would soon result in her imprisonment. Friends with fellow agitator Richard Carlile, Wright agreed to take on the management of his local (and high-profile) shop, which he had recently been arrested for running. The shop, based on Fleet Street, had become infamous for printing and selling texts like Thomas Paine’s Rights of Man and The Age of Reason, alongside a parody of the Book of Common Prayer, and the banned radical weekly magazine The Black Dwarf - all of which were considered a form of blasphemy. So, Susannah Wright was also quickly arrested for her involvement, appearing in court in 1822.

A bad time to be arrested, the Government had recently reacted to a growing sense of public discontent by introducing a ‘raft of repressive legislation’ which criminalised heretical and religious expression. Therefore, despite Wright famously making a lengthy defence for religious freedom, she was thrown into Newgate Prison alongside a bevy of other political prisoners and her infant child. The local conservative press also began to publish highly critical stories of Wright, with one describing her as “wretched and shameless” while others aligned her with prostitution, noting that women who supported her would put their moral standing at risk. Dark and cold, Wright painted a picture of her prison cell in a letter to Richard Carlile, in which she describes being forced to sleep (with her baby) on an old blanket on the damp stone floor.

Thankfully, Wright wasn’t forced to sleep here for long, and she began to negotiate with the prison to upgrade her accommodation in exchange for a promise - not to radicalise the other prisoners with whom she was living. In the end, she stayed in Newgate for only ten weeks, but by no means did this mark the end of her punishment. The judge sentenced her to a further eighteen months at Coldbath

Fields Prison in Clerkenwell. By this time, and despite the warnings of the press, Susannah had gained something of a celebrity status among women in particular. Though this support was uplifting, the next year-and-a-half proved some of the most difficult of Wright’s life, and when she was eventually released in 1824, it’s believed she vanished from the radical scene for a short time to deal with a series of nervous disorders she had developed while at Coldbath.

Wright responded by drawing a pistol from the counter and calmly asking the threatening yobs if they should like it fired at them

Back on the scene by 1825, Susannah was then met by another personal tragedy: the death of her husband, William Wright, who passed away just a year-and-ahalf after her release, and only ten years into their marriage. At such an event, Susannah, who was still struggling with her emotional health and a blindness in one eye, decided to relocate back to Nottingham. Moving in with her mother, it was in our county that she spent the rest of her life. By no means was her move back to Nottingham a sign of defeat, though, and once here she continued to fight for radical press by opening a shop on Goosegate, Hockley, despite the protests of the community.

Particularly offensive to some local church members, Wright caused a lot of upset among some religious folk by opening her shop. However, an atheist herself who believed in religious freedom, she held her own - most strikingly, according to local historian John Baird, when a mob smashed their way into her bookshop. Wright responded by drawing a pistol from the counter and “calmly asking the threatening yobs if they should like it fired at them”. Likewise, Wright also defeated opposition from St Mary’s Church, then promptly moved her bookshop to a larger location to adapt to its now thriving trade.

All in all, a really important figure in this country’s fight for freedom of religious expression and freedom of press, Susanah Wright has often been wrongly remembered in the shadow of her contemporary Richard Carlile. However, as Christina Parolin notes, this does Wright’s story a grave misjustice. We should be seeing her not through the ‘radical male narrative’, but as an independent story. A Nottingham-born woman who was fighting for freedom a hundred years before women gained the right to vote in the UK. A truly extraordinary example of “how a woman negotiated various spaces of political activity”, Wright is someone to be remembered, not only for her radicalism, but also for challenging the idea that the nineteenth century radical space was an arena only for men.

SATURDAY 1 APRIL

�� After Hours: Cordelia Williams

Theatre Royal and Royal Concert Hall

£5, 9.45pm

�� 12.30 Talks

Nottingham Contemporary Free, 12.30pm

�� Nottingham Panthers vs Manchester Storm Motorpoint Arena Nottingham

£12.40, 5.30pm

�� Black Honey Rescue Rooms

£13, 6.30pm

�� Fat Bamboo

The Bodega

£8, 7pm

SUNDAY 2 APRIL

�� Terrarium Workshop Rough Trade £50, 1pm

�� Johnny & the Raindrops

The Poppy and Pint £5, 2.45pm - 4.15pm

�� Falstaff Verdi Broadway Cinema

£18, 12pm

�� salt house [folk]

Peggy’s Skylight £12

�� The Ghost Inside Rock City

£22.50, 7pm

�� Wunderhorse The Bodega 7pm

MONDAY 3 APRIL

�� Free Lunchtime Walkthrough: Somewhere Else Entirely and Nottingham Women’s Centre Bonington Gallery Free, 1pm

�� Mike and the Moonpies

The Bodega £15, 7pm

TUESDAY 4 APRIL

�� Talk: Pustules and Potions

Djanogly Theatre £3, 1pm

�� The Blue Stones Rescue Rooms £18, 6.30pm

�� The Damned Rock City

£32.50, 7pm

WEDNESDAY 5 APRIL

�� Carlos Cipa: Metronome Piano Sessions Metronome £12, 7pm

�� The Big Foxy Quiz Fox and Grapes £1, 8pm

�� Collage and Cocktails £3, 7pm

�� kinkajous [jazz / electronic] Peggy’s Skylight £12

�� The Orielles Rescue Rooms £15, 6.30pm

THURSDAY 6 APRIL

�� Lecture: Collectively Constructing Djanogly Art Gallery £3, 6pm

�� A Journey Through Lost Britain, with Matthew Green Five Leaves Bookshop £5, 7pm

�� Gold Baby, Remy CB, Betsey B The Old Cold Store £10, 7pm

�� Bartees Strange The Bodega £14, 7pm

�� Haters Roast Theatre Royal and Royal Concert Hall £47.50, 8pm

FRIDAY 7 APRIL

�� Friday Night Comedy

The Glee Club £15, 7pm

�� the filthy six [soul jazz/funk] Peggy’s Skylight £12

�� Wednesday 13 Rescue Rooms £30, 5pm

�� ORBITAL Rock City £35, 6.30pm

�� Sancho Panza The Bodega £8, 7pm

SATURDAY 8 APRIL

�� Ultimate Cheese Bistro Live £32.95

�� Learn how to compost and improve your soil fertility STAA on St Ann’s Allotments £25, 1.30pm

�� chris rand’s ‘the gathering’ [groove jazz] Peggy’s Skylight £10

�� Slum Village Rescue Rooms £22.50, 6.30pm

�� Seven Drunken Nights Theatre Royal and Royal Concert Hall £28, 7.30pm

SUNDAY 9 APRIL

�� Nasty Fishmonger + 5 Hills Out + Paul Carbuncle The Chameleon £5, 7pm

�� Jazz Jam Malt Cross Free

�� Kazabian The Southbank City £12, 7.30pm

�� The Undercover Hippy The Bodega £16.50, 7pm

MONDAY 10 APRIL

�� Rebirth of Cool The Bodega Free

�� The Big Quiz Malt Cross £1, 7.30pm

�� Horn in Hand Quiz The Horn in Hand

£0.50, 7.30pm

�� Softcult The Bodega £10, 7pm

TUESDAY 11 APRIL

�� Mary Lattimore with support from Leafcutter John Malt Cross £8, 7.30pm

�� Dermot Kennedy plus special guest Noah Kahan Motorpoint Arena Nottingham £30.75, 6.30pm

�� Billie Marten // Live & Signing Rough Trade £13.50, 6pm

WEDNESDAY 12 APRIL

�� Tequila & Tacos Binks Yard Free, 6pm - 11.45pm

�� Bug Bot Visual Arts Studio £8

�� mamas gun + mt jones Peggy’s Skylight £15

�� Hello Again: The Neil Diamond Songbook Nottingham Playhouse £27.50, 7.30pm

�� DVNE The Bodega £12, 7pm

�� Ryan Adams Theatre Royal and Royal Concert Hall £37.50, 7.30pm

THURSDAY 13 APRIL

�� Workshop: Creepy Crawlies Puppets Lakeside Arts £8, 10am

�� Live Standup Comedy Night Fox and Grapes £2, 7.30pm

�� The Guru Guru (Belgium) The Chameleon £9, 7pm

�� Chronic Insanity ALLSORTS Open Mic Night Nonsuch Studios Free, 7.30pm

�� Johannes Radebe - Freedom Unleashed Theatre Royal and Royal Concert Hall £33.50, 7.30pm

FRIDAY 14 APRIL

�� Jake Martin + George Gadd + Jess Silk Rough Trade £1, 7.15pm

�� MissImp Vox Pops Nonsuch Studios Free, 7.30pm - 9.15pm

�� FRESH / CHEERBLEEDERZ JT Soar £8, 5.45pm

�� Live at Lunch - Alex Bradford Theatre Royal and Royal Concert Hall Free, 1pm

SATURDAY 15 APRIL

�� Bossy Nonsuch Studios £8, 11am

�� Amber Run Rock City 6.30pm

�� Ist Ist The Bodega £12, 7pm

SUNDAY 16 APRIL

�� Breathe

Lakeside Arts

£9, 2pm

�� Der Rosenkavalier-Strauss

Broadway Cinema

£18, 12pm

�� djanco featuring andy aitchison [gypsy jazz]

Peggy’s Skylight

£10

�� Big Fish Little Fish

Rescue Rooms

£7, 2pm

�� Big Night Out Theatre Royal and Royal Concert Hall

£22.50, 7.30pm

�� Scott Bradlee’s Postmodern Jukebox Theatre Royal and Royal Concert Hall £34, 7.30pm

MONDAY 17 APRIL

�� The Van Pelt

The Old Cold Store

£12, 8pm

�� Five Leaves Non-Fiction Book Group discusses Orientalism by Edward W. Said

Five Leaves Bookshop Free, 7pm

�� The Warriors (1979)

Savoy Cinema

£5, 8.30pm

TUESDAY 18 APRIL

�� The Rest of Our Lives Lakeside Arts

£15, 7.30pm

�� Terrarium Workshop Lush Nottingham £50, 6.30pm - 8pm

�� Judy Whittington and the Trainer of Infinite Speed Nottingham Playhouse £10

WEDNESDAY 19 APRIL

�� Billy Ocean Theatre Royal and Royal Concert Hall

£30, 7.30pm

�� Free Lunchtime Concert University Hall Free, 1pm

�� Collage and Cocktails

The Carousel £3, 7pm

�� ‘Beware of the Bull’ the genius of Jake Thackray, with Paul Thompson Five Leaves Bookshop

£6, 7pm - 8.30pm

�� The Trash Fic Multimedia Experience Rough Trade £6 - £6, 7pm - 11pm

�� Talk: Elixirs and Stains Djanogly Theatre £3, 1pm

THURSDAY 20 APRIL

�� Good Broadway Cinema £16, 7pm

�� SHEWOLVES Nottingham Playhouse £13, 8pm

�� Larkins Rescue Rooms £14, 6.30pm

�� Sean McGowan The Bodega £15, 7pm

FRIDAY 21 APRIL

�� STONE Metronome £11, 7pm

�� Happy Hour Live: The Round Sheep Tour Nottingham Playhouse £21.50, 7.30pm

�� Flash - A Tribute To Queen Rescue Rooms £15, 6.30pm

SATURDAY 22 APRIL

�� Notts Noise Pollution

The Angel Microbrewery & The Chapel £4, 7pm - 11pm

�� Great Britain v LatviaInternational Ice Hockey Motorpoint Arena Nottingham £17.44, 7pm

�� Upfront Comedy Slam Nottingham Playhouse £22.50, 7.30pm

�� Professor Green Rock City £22.50, 6.30pm

�� LA LA AT STEALTH SATURDAYS Stealth £5, 10pm

SUNDAY 23 APRIL

�� Lottery Winners Rescue Rooms £16.50, 7.30pm

�� Cannibal Corpse Rock City £26, 7pm

�� Graphic Nature Rock City £10, 6.30pm

�� Psychology of Serial Killers Theatre Royal and Royal Concert Hall £28, 7.30pm

MONDAY 24 APRIL

�� Vermeer: The Blockbuster Exhibition Broadway Cinema £12

�� Hockey Dad The Bodega £12.50, 7pm

�� 80s Live Theatre Royal and Royal Concert Hall £24.50, 7.30pm

TUESDAY 25 APRIL

�� Fran Lebowitz Theatre Royal and Royal Concert Hall

£27.50, 7.30pm

�� Jon Pearson: Ice Breaker Canalhouse £8, 7.30pm

�� Listening Session: Seeing Through Flames: Art After Dark by Dave Haslam Nottingham Contemporary Free, 6.30pm

�� Test Match Special Theatre Royal and Royal Concert Hall

£22.50, 7.30pm

WEDNESDAY 26 APRIL

�� Five Leaves Open Book Group –Annie Ernaux’s A Girl’s Story Five Leaves Bookshop Free, 7pm

�� Good Habits: Metronome Folk Sessions Metronome £8, 7pm

�� David Wilson – My Life with Murderers Nottingham Playhouse £30, 7.30pm

�� Combichrist Rescue Rooms £20, 6.30pm

THURSDAY 27 APRIL

�� Tim Heidecker Rock City £27.50, 7pm

�� Robert Hamberger: Finding myself in the footsteps of John Clare Five Leaves Bookshop £3, 7pm - 8.30pm

�� Blight Town & Sleep Outside The Angel Microbrewery & The Chapel £8, 7pm

�� Men, I Can Save You Nottingham Playhouse £19, 7.30pm

FRIDAY 28 APRIL

�� Neue Grafik Ensemble Metronome £8 - £12, 7pm - 11pm

�� I Heart Michael Ball Nottingham Playhouse £13, 8.15pm

�� Wishbone Ash Rescue Rooms £25, 6.30pm

�� Nadiya and Kai - Once Upon a Time Theatre Royal and Royal Concert Hall £27.50, 7.30pm

SATURDAY 29 APRIL

�� Pop-Up Party x Binks Yard Binks Yard £40, 2am

�� Candlelight: A Tribute to Taylor Swift Nottingham Contemporary £25, 6pm

�� Nashville – Bad Boys of Country Music Nottingham Playhouse £24.50, 7.30pm

�� The Commoners and Troy Redfern The Bodega £15, 7pm

SUNDAY 30 APRIL

�� Bluebell Walk or Cycle Ride 2023 Rutland Water (Whitwell) £12.50, 10am

�� Champion Broadway Cinema £18, 12pm

�� Hallouminati and Friends The Old Cold Store £6.60

�� DNB ALLSTARS NOTTINGHAM: INDOOR FESTIVAL WITH A.M.C + MORE Rock City £11.20, 2pm

�� Scowl The Bodega £14, 7pm