What Will Survive Of Us

This is an in-person only event in the British Library Pigott Theatre.

How would we like to be remembered after our death? What do we want to leave behind? Have we started thinking of what we want our legacy to be? We bring together an exciting panel of artists, writers and historians who join artist Kit Green for a dive into the idea of “personal legacy”, using the art that we love as a starting off point. Confirmed to join Kit so far is poet Malika Booker, musician Awate and writer Michael Rosen. Other panels will be announced soon.

This event is inspired by Kit’s National Lottery Heritage Fund supported digital project, What Will Survive Us. This is a platform where users can curate, create or commission six piece of art. Made up of images, sound recordings, videos or anything that can be uploaded, this living will can be created by any person of any age. It is a creative and hopeful process that can be constantly revised. The aim is to develop a national digital heritage platform, empowering diverse communities to leave a lasting and creative legacy.

This event invites our panel to think about what they would upload and to reflect on legacy more generally.

Critically acclaimed writer and musician Awate is known for blending race, class, and surrealism with humour in his work.  A former Artist-in-Residence at the British Library, he as has similar positions  at the Tate, PRS Foundation, and The Roundhouse. His multimedia projects span music, film, theatre, and visual art. His short film I Was Told There's Freedom Here was shown at the Barbican in 2021. Awate has contributed to TV series like Ragdoll and Cutz and is developing a crime series, Invisible. His 2018 debut album Happiness was praised by BBC Radio 1 and Trench Magazine as a "British rap masterpiece."

Malika Booker (RSFL) is an award-winning poet.  She is a Manchester Metropolitan University lecturer and co-founded Malika’s Poetry Kitchen. Her pamphlet Breadfruit, received a Poetry Society recommendation and her collection Pepper Seed was shortlisted for the OCM Bocas prize and the Seamus Heaney Centre 2014 prize. Awarded the Cholmondeley Award (2019) for outstanding contribution to poetry. She is the first woman to win the Forward Prize for Best Single poem twice: The Little Miracles (2020) and Libation (2023). She has had a profound impact on contemporary British poetry, mentoring emerging poets and contributing significantly to the literary community.

Michael Rosen is an acclaimed British author, poet, and broadcaster, best known for his children’s books, poetry and YouTube Channel which has garnered over 144 million views. A former Children’s Laureate (2007-2009), Michael has written over 200 books, including the beloved classic We’re Going on a Bear Hunt. His work often explores themes of family, language, and social justice. He is a passionate advocate for literacy and education, frequently speaking in schools. Michael is Professor of Children's Literature at Goldsmiths University of London, where he co-devised and co-teaches an MA. He recounts his experience of recovering from Covid-19 in his memoir Many Different Kinds of Love, and reflects on trauma, grief, and recovery in Getting Better.

Kit Green is an Olivier-Award-winning working across theatre, entertainment, and social care. Her major piece The Home was a 48-hour experiential show and re-imagined as an interactive game, in collaboration with the Japan Foundation, exploring the politics and lived experience of residential care in both the UK and Japan through digital entertainment. www.kitgreen.net

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If you’re attending in person, please arrive no later than 15 minutes before the start time of this event.

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