Think-In-Kingston
Food For Curious Minds - March 2010
"Everyone is a genius at least once a year. The real geniuses simply have their bright ideas closer together." Frank Lloyd Wright
Fortunately you don't have to be a genius to engage in Think in Kingston, the borough's annual festival of ideas, but a curious mind does help. Now in its sixth year, Think in Kingston provides space for public engagement, argument and reflection distilled into a series of thought-provoking debates, practical actions and innovative arts. This year's programme strongly reflects the concerns and interests of Kingston's citizens.
Open Road
Wed 3 March, 6pm
Toilet Gallery, Nipper Alley
Kingston KT1 1QT
Open Road is a three-week interactive, multi-media exhibition at the Toilet Gallery. It celebrates the resident artists' campaign to name the previously anonymous street on which the gallery is situated. Nipper Alley is named in honour of the dog made famous in the HMV trademark who is buried on a site very close to the gallery. The artists have taken the trademark as a starting point to mount a show that encompasses a make-shift recording studio, a music performance, a short film, paintings and cartoons. The artists are: Kate Renwick, Dave Loder and Patrick Blower. The exhibition opens on 3 March at 6pm. Opening times: Wed-Fri 1pm-6pm; Sat 10am-6pm; Sun 12am-6pm. Contact: coperniciumproject@gmail.com
Free entry
Kingston Philosophy Cafe presents
'Beyond Consumerism' with Professor Kate Soper
Thursday 4 March, 6pm-7.30pm
Culture Cafe, Rose Theatre, 24-26 High Street, KT1 1HL
Thoughts on pleasure, politics and the good life in the age of Climate Change from Kate Soper, Emeritus Professor of Philosophy, Institute for the Study of European Transformations at London Metropolitan University and Visiting Professor at the University of Brighton.
Free entry
Seedy Saturday: Community Seed Swap
Saturday 6 March, 1pm-4pm
Market Place & Market Hall
Kingston KT1
Do you have any unused or surplus seeds? Are you thinking about growing your own veg and want to know where to start? Come along to Kingston's annual Seedy Saturday! In return for a donation or in exchange for seeds, there will be dozens of traditional varieties of garden vegetables to take home and grow. Experienced local growers will be on hand to advise and there will be films, displays and demonstrations to inspire you. Apart from swapping seeds, the event is an exciting opportunity to meet people interested in gardening, local food production and sustainability, so do come along! Organised by Transition Town Kingston. Contact: e.toogood@kingston.ac.uk
Free entry, refreshments provided
Can we buy our way out of climate change?
Wednesday 10 March, 7pm-9pm
C-Scaipe, Kingston University, Penrhyn Road, KT1 2EE
Join us for an evening of discussion and debate around the thorny issue of 'green' consumption and carbon-offsetting. In addition to a screening of the highly amusing and thought-provoking short film 'Cheat Neutral', a panel of experts will be on hand to address the real-life business of carbon trading and emission caps. Can we really buy our way out of climate change by using the same systems that led us to this point? Come along and join in the debate. Contact: TTKingstonSteering@yahoogroups.com
Free entry - refreshments provided
Low carbon energy - is nuclear the answer? Speaker: Dr David Lowry
Thursday 11 March, 7.30pm
C-Scaipe, Kingston University, Penrhyn Road, KT1 2EE
The media and some politicians are increasingly seeing nuclear power as an effective way of reducing carbon emissions. The Government is promoting the building of new nuclear power stations, but is it safe now and for future generations and can its by-product plutonium be effectively managed? Dr David Lowry is an independent environmental policy and research consultant specialising in nuclear policy. He has written widely on these subjects for thirty years, most recently two chapters in the book 'Nuclear or Not?' (Palgrave Macmillan, 2009, paperback edition). Come along and put your questions to the expert. Organised by Kingston Peace Council.
Free entry
21st century:a global water crisis?
Thursday 18 March, 5.30pm reception, 6.30pm start,
John Galsworth Building, Kingston University, Penrhyn Road, KT1 2E
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Many commentators have alleged that the world is running out of water, but is this true? And if it is, how should we respond? Increasing population, agricultural demands and rising living standards are placing unprecedented demands on diminishing freshwater resources. To date technology has kept pace with our seemingly insatiable demands but we may have met our environmental limits. So must we change our lifestyles, our diets, our society? What are the implications for global societies and development?
Join Dr Ros Taylor (pictured above), Ecologist and regular contributor to BBC Radio 4's 'Home Planet', Dr Stuart Downward (water resource specialist) and guests for an evening of interesting debate and discussion. Contact: sustainabilityhub@kingston.ac.uk
Free entry
Artgym: Our Kingston, Our Future
Saturday 20 & Sunday 21 March, 10am-1pm & 3pm-6pm
Kingston Town Centre
Artgym, in partnership with Transition Town Kingston, launches Our Kingston, Our Future in which four exciting Artgym events will explore the stories and experiences of 300 Kingston people across two generations; those aged between 19-25 and over 55. Working alongside artists, film-makers and designers, Kingston people will create their community vision for an inspiring, greener place to live. Artgym events will be filmed and broadcast to create a ground-breaking documentary,
Contact: signup@artgym.org or TTKingstonSteering@yahoogroups.com
Free entry
Fairtrade in a Changing World
Wednesday 24 March, 6.30pm
C-Scaipe, Penrhyn Road, Kingston University KT1 2EE
How are farmers, traders and consumer responding to 21st century climate and related changes? Whitney Kakos, Impact and Sustainability Manager from Cafedirect, is responsible for developing the company's first comprehensive environmental strategy to assess the economic, social and environmental impact of their business model. In particular, she will talk about the AdapCC project, a public-private partnership with GTZ, a German agency, to help small coffee and tea farmers adapt to climate change. Chaired by Dr Jeanette James, development expert and a prime mover in establishing Kingston as a Fairtrade Borough.
Free entry, refreshments from 6pm.
The Diary of a Nobody by Cabaret Direct
presented by Kingston Adult Education & Kingston Philosophy Cafe
Wednesday 24 March, 6.30pm-9pm, Ram Jam Club (at the Grey Horse pub), 46 Richmond Road, Kingston KT2 5EE
Cabaret Direct bring to life this comedy of manners in an acclaimed dramatisation based on the literary classic by George and Weedon Grossmith. Whether or not you've read the book, the world of Edwardian clerk, Mr Pooter and his errant son, Lupin, still resonates through the ages as we identify and laugh at Pooter's aspirational attempts to scale the social ladder. The event will be introduced by Dr Filiz Peach who will talk on selfhood in western society.
Free entry
Rhythm & Music: Featuring Francesca Beard and A F Harrold
Thursday 25 March, 8.30pm, Studio, Rose Theatre, 24-26 High Street, Kingston KT1 1HL
Rhythm & Muse, a platform for new, upcoming and established musicians and poets will be making its first appearance in Kingston at the Rose Theatre Studio, with plenty of exciting offerings to stimulate synaptic connections! Two equally phenomenal, but very different poets, will be taking centre stage: Francesca Beard - described as "the queen of British performance poetry" and fresh from her tenure at the Royal Court as one of Britain's most promising your writers: and poetry slam winner, A F Harrold , variously described as "Peter Cook and Spike Milligan rolled into one."
With a reputation spreading far beyond the Hampton Wick Borders where Rhythm & Muse first began just two years ago, it has since hosted musicians and poets from as far afield as New York and Romania, as well as attracting many talented local voices. Come along and be inspired!
Tickets: £6, concessions £5, on the door or online - see home page of Kingston borough website (Rhythm & Muse website link is at the bottom of this page)
SW London Humanists present Caspar Melville on 'Taking Offence'
Monday 29 March, 7pm-9pm
C-Scaipe, Penrhyn Road, Kingston University KT1 2EE
What are the limits of free expression? is there a distinction between deliberate provocation and principled parody? Is nothing beyond satire@ Does a multicultural society require more protection for vulnerable people- or greater commitment to open debate? Join Caspar Melive, author of Taking Offence and editor of New Humanist magazine to discuss these complex contemporary issues. Contact: info@swlhumanists.org.uk
Disclaimer
The Royal Borough of Kingston wishes to encourage informed discussion about contemporary issues and supports the Think in Kingston programme accordingly. The views expressed during Think in Kingston do not, however, necessarily reflect those of the authority.