Sister Octopi, is an immersive installation resulting from a long-distance collaboration between two artists and cousins: Dubai-based Natalya Konforti and Justine Formentelli resident in London.

This long haul project began in 2017, following a series of family losses. Searching for a way through the grief, the cousins began an artistic correspondence which eventually grew into the rich threads of an unusual family tapestry.

While exploring themes of identity, belonging and adaptation, it is also a tribute to the strength and resilience of sisterhood in the face of loss and tragedy.

Taking the form of suspended scrolls, the installation is an invitation to wander along tentacular detours and get immersed in a world of connections.

MAKING SURREALIST CREATURES PRINTING WORKSHOP

11 Mar, 11am-1pm
25 Mar, 10am-12pm

Inspired by Sister Octopi installation and the game of Exquisite Corpse, our workshop is an opportunity to have fun with printing, collage and painting and contribute to a collective piece.

Only £5 participation for materials. In the cozy Omnibus Theatre Café Bar.

RSVP to justine_Formentelli@yahoo.com

Jazz vocalist Talibah Rivers specialises in singing vintage jazz and latin songs. Her tone has been described as mellifluous and distinctive, she takes inspiration from jazz greats like: Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holliday and Bossanova singer Ellis Regina. Her repertoire ranges from songs by Antonio Jobim to Duke Ellington and Cole Porter.

She started singing at a young age and performed at venues and festivals throughout the UK and Europe as lead vocalist for pop/jazz band Fish Out of Water. As well as singing she is now exploring the possibilities of the meditative qualities of jazz music and is also a qualified Sound and Reiki Healer.

School of Desire consists of jazz vocalist Arzu Kibris and her accompanying international group of jazz musicians. The mainstays of the band are:

Pete Lyons (Tenor Saxophone)
Peter Dews (Piano)
Daniele Bortolotti (Electric Bass)
Felix Schott (Drums)

School of Desire performs songs from the classic American songbook of the mid-twentieth century (classics by composers such as George Gershwin, Jerome Kern and Cole Porter), as well as some well-known and not so well-known bossa nova numbers from Brazil. They play in a relaxed and approachable style.

The name “School of Desire” refers to the fact that so many of these songs are about love, loss, and longing – but, of course, they also have their moments of exhilaration and joy.