The Glasgow School of Art

The Diaspora Suite

Ephraim Asili

Film screening
Friday, 25 May 2018
6-8pm, The Assembly Hall

Free, booking essential (click here)

From 2011 to 2017 New York-based filmmaker Ephraim Asili completed The Diaspora Suite, a remarkable cycle of five films regarding his own relationship with the greater African diaspora. These works document Asili’s travels across Brazil, Canada, Ethiopia, Ghana, Jamaica and the United States, whilst also meditating on the constructs of African-American cultural and historical identity. Through its observational 16mm cinematography and its evocative use of sound and music, Asili’s work is both critical and speculative, listening intently to the resonances of words and gestures that span centuries and oceans.

LUX Scotland is pleased to present the first solo presentation of Asili’s work in Scotland. The screening will be followed by a conversation between the artist and LUX Scotland Director Nicole Yip.

Programme

Forged Ways, 2011. 16mm transferred to HD, 15 min.
American Hunger, 2013. 16mm transferred to HD, 19 min 20 sec.
Many Thousands Gone, 2015. 16mm transferred to HD, 8 min.
Kindah, 2016. 16mm transferred to HD, 12 min.
Fluid Frontiers, 2017. 16mm transferred to HD, 23 min.

Total running time: 77min 20 sec

Ephraim Asili is a filmmaker, DJ and traveler whose work focuses on the African diaspora as a cultural force. His films have screened in festivals and venues all over the world, including the New York Film Festival; Toronto International Film Festival; Ann Arbor Film Festival; San Francisco International Film Festival; Milano Film Festival; International Film Festival Rotterdam; MoMA PS1, New York; Museum of Contemporary Arts, Los Angeles; Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; and the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York. As a DJ, Asili can be heard on his radio programme In The Cut on WGXC, or live at his monthly dance party Botanica. Asili currently resides in Hudson, New York, and is a Professor in the Film and Electronic Arts Department at Bard College.

This is a public event as part of Glasgow School of Art’s ‘Race, Rights and Sovereignty’ series, in partnership with the Glasgow School of Art Students’ Association.

Asili will also present The Diaspora Suite at the ICA, London, on Wednesday 23 May, followed by a Masterclass at LUX, London, on 24 May.

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