Hi everyone. I recently got the chance to see the Ctrl.Alt.Shift Comic Exhibition at the Noise Lab in Manchester. It was there that I met one of the people who works for Ctrl.Alt.Shift; Community Manager Olivia Flint. I got the chance to ask her a few questions about her role in Ctrl.Alt.Shift and amongst other things, the comic exhibition at Noise Lab.
For the benefit of the readers who might not know; just what is Ctrl.Alt.Shift?
Ctrl.Alt.Shift is an experimental initiative politicising a new generation by using popular culture to raise awareness of global issues like poverty, change, corruption, conflict and HIV.
Ctrl.Alt.Shift was set up 2 years ago and I've been working for it since the beginning. We've created dance shows, photography competitions and exhibitions, short films, a website at www.ctrlaltshift.co.uk and now our comic exhibition on the theme of corruption.
What is your job at Ctrl.Alt.Shift?
My job is Community Manager - I help our regional reps and volunteers put on events and exhibitions around the UK. We've been touring the comic exhibition for a couple of months now - it's been in Bristol, Liverpool, Leeds and Nottingham before Manchester, and will be going on to Birmingham, Newcastle and Oxford. I'm also organising football tournaments with Platform2 to raise awareness of the issues affecting people in South Africa like HIV.
What is the theme of this exhibition?
The theme of the comic exhibition is corruption and is something I feel very strongly about. Corruption is a cause of poverty and is also caused by poverty, so there's a vicious cycle happening where people can't get out of poverty because of corruption - in governments, officials and multinational companies. It's not just people in developing countries that are responsible, its companies and individuals in the developed world as well. There can't be corruption without people doing the corrupting!
What advice would you give to people wanting to become involved in Ctrl.Alt.Shift?
If you're interested in getting involved with Ctrl.Alt.Shift, there are loads of ways to do it. Come along to one of our events - (the comic exhibition is happened until Sunday 16th May at Noise Lab in Manchester) on Saturday 12th June we're hosting a football tournament with overseas volunteer scheme Platform2 (www.myplatform2.com) at Powerleague Manchester which you can come and play at or just watch, plus we'll be showing all the World Cup matches for that day including England v USA. You can also contribute to the Ctrl.Alt.Shift website - www.ctrlaltshift.co.uk - you can write articles, upload photos or videos, rate and comment on content that's already up, take actions on issues that affecting poor people and you can buy our magazine and comic book online as well.
During the exhibitions opening night at Noise Lab on May 13th, a series of films were shown to the general public. You can see the selection of films by clicking the following links.
BLOG BY www.NOISEfestival.com/AdamBlaize
--- If you would like to review an event for the NOISELAB blog please contact Victoria, projects@NOISEfestval.com
