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@d6culture

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We are D6: Culture in Transit, where cultures meet and exchange, and where artists and ideas come together.

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What a way to celebrate the final international residency of @ContestedDesires. 💫

At the @xarkis__ Festival in Kalavasos, all 22 artists came together to share artistic research developed over three years and shaped by encounters with place, history and community.

It was a joy to see D6 artists @patrick_ziza and @paul_stan_nataraj presenting work alongside artists from across Europe, Africa and South America. Through residencies in Cyprus and beyond, they've built relationships, gained new perspectives and developed ideas that will continue to shape their work back home in the North of England.

We were also delighted to reconnect with @efuasutherland, @andreas_mallouris, @afroscope, @marialuigiagioffre and @elguendelman, who have been part of our residency programme in Newcastle.

Thank you to the @xarkis__ team and people of Kalavasos for this incredible opportunity for collaboration and cultural exchange.

As this chapter closes, we're celebrating the friendships and creative possibilities that will carry on long after the residency ends. Thank you to every artist who joined us on the journey. 💫

Contested Desires examines the impact of colonial legacies through artistic collaboration. Co-funded by the Creative Europe Programme of the European Union. In the UK we are grateful for support from @aceagrams, @heritagefunduk, @communityfoundationnortheast & Newcastle Council's Culture Investment Fund.

The programme is implemented in partnership with: @eccom_it @d6_eu_, @xarkis__ , @labonnebcn @herengracht401 @muhnac @museodellecivilta @proprogressione @bjcem_aisbl @museoegizio @creativecourt._, Fabrique Art Studio

Associated Partners: @d6culture @larnaka2030 @cyprusuniversitytechnology @fondazionesbac @casa_arabe

In collaboration with: @nubuke_foundation @museodelamemoria RMCG - @uniofleicester

Images from the Xarkis Festival taken by: Andreas Gregoras @andy.g_photography | Andrea Constantinide @uniconvisuals © Xarkis Artist Maria Luigia Gioffre stands with with her back to the camera facing an audience sat on chairs. She has one arm raised, the other behind her back. The Troodos mountains are in the background. by @d6culture

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20 days ago

It’s been such a delight having @paul_stan_nataraj in residence at D6 this summer as part of the international @contesteddesires programme.

Over the past few months we've watched a collaboration continue to grow and deepen. Building on his 2025 residency, Paul returned to spend more time with the brilliant women of @sanginiafriend, nurturing relationships and exploring where shared stories might lead.

At the heart of Paul's practice is listening. Through conversations, shared meals, creativity and trust, stories surfaced that connected lives in the North of England today with histories of migration, empire and belonging. The result was a beautiful and thought-provoking new collaborative work, 'The Ballad of the Scapegoat (after N Bose)'.

It's a powerful reminder of what can happen when artists and communities are given the time and care to build genuine connections.

Read the full story via the link in our bio.

Paul’s next stop is the @xarkis__ Festival in Cyprus with all 22 artists who have taken part in Contested Desires. Presenting their work within a truly international context, they will exchange ideas with the community in Kalavasos, learn from one another and continue conversations that have developed across multiple countries and contexts.

Warmest of thanks to all at Sangini, Paul, Padma, and D6’s Producer in Residence Aisha Khateeb.

Contested Desires examines the impact of colonial legacies through artistic collaboration.

It is co-funded by the Creative Europe Programme of the European Union. In the UK @aceagrams, @heritagefunduk, @communityfoundationnortheast & Newcastle Council's Culture Investment Fund.

📸 workshops with Paul Nataraj and Sangini creating The Ballad of the Scapegoat (after N Bose), 2026. Photos: Paul Nataraj | Aisha Khateeb | Helen Holtom

#D6Culture #Sangini #ArtistResidency #CollaborativePractice #DecolonialPractice #ContestedDesires A close up of a fabric collage with elements of flags and cuts outs of goats by @d6culture

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2 months ago

We're delighted to invite you to a special event presenting the extraordinary work of artists @efuasutherland, @paul_stan_nataraj and @patrick_ziza , alongside North East-based collaborators. 💫

📅 Wednesday 15 July
⏰ 10:00am – 2:00pm
📍 The Customs House, Mill Dam, South Shields, NE33 1ES
🎟️ Free event – register via the link in our bio or www.d6culture.org

Over the past two years, the artists have worked in Chile, Hungary, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal and the UK, as part of the international programme @contesteddesires. D6 has had the pleasure of hosting Elisabeth, Paul and Ziza as artists in residence this year, enabling the time and space to build new relationships and connect to untold narratives in the North East.

The event will feature:
✨ Presentations of new work and work in progress
✨ Contributions from regional collaborators from African Lives in Northern England and @sanginiafriend
✨ A panel discussion led by Dr Leona Vaughn, human rights change-maker and scholar, exploring how decolonial practice can foster new relationships, dialogue and possibilities
✨ Refreshments and lunch catered by Sangini’s Community Chef, Azizun Nessa.

Find about more about the artists, speakers and useful info via the registration link ⬆

This is an inclusive event for anyone working in or interested in decolonial practice across the arts, heritage and community settings.

Contested Desires is co-funded by the Creative Europe Programme of the European Union. In the UK, we are grateful for the support of @aceagrams @heritagefunduk and @communityfoundationnortheast and Newcastle City Council's Newcastle Culture Investment Fund.

Image credits: Paul Nataraj, Good Hope Solidarity Project (detail), 2026 | Portrait of Paul, Contested Desires exhibition, 2025. Photo: Amelia Read | Ziza, 'Gaggle' part of Free to Roam at the Late Shows 2026. Photo: Von Fox Promotions | Elisabeth Efua Sutherland, Acts of Witnessing, 2026. Photo: Luke Waddington

#DecolonialPractice #ContestedDesires #NorthEastArts #SouthShields #CommunityArts #Heritage #D6Studios #CreativeCommunities by @d6culture

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4 months ago

I had the pleasure of presenting ‘Gaggle’ in the village of Kalavasos, Cyprus.
Realised in collaboration with @paul_stan_nataraj & Mohamed B. Slama, who created the electrifying and special sound for the performance, and @amaiamolinet , who led a ritualistic procession from my performance to Paul’s.
The installation draws attention to the labour involved in producing, handling and moving materials on a large scale. Sugar becomes a metaphor for labour and mass production, connecting to the Kalavasos mines and the wider history of Cyprus, where sugar was once a major export to Europe.
Through the audience participation, filling, carrying and arranging the tea cups, the work brought the everyday into the industrial space of the Olive Mill.
A very special thank you to the people of Kalavasos who lent their tea cups and became part of the work. 🤍

More special thanks to @d6culture & @contesteddesires for the opportunity. 🩵

📸 1-7 @andy.g_photography
📸 8-10 @uniconvisuals
📸 11 @stephenmyle

XF2026 took place as part of @Contested Desires: Constructive Dialogues. #CDCD is co-funded by the @creative.eu programme of the @european.union and is implemented in partnership with:
@eccom_it @d6_eu_, @xarkis__ , @labonnebcn @herengracht401, @muhnac @MuseuNacional @museodellecivilta @proprogressione @bjcem_aisbl @museoegizio @creativecourt._ La Fabrique Art Studio

Associated Partners: @d6culture @larnaka2030 @cyprusuniversitytechnology @fondazionesbac @casa_arabe

In collaboration with: @nubuke_foundation @museodelamemoria RMCG - @uniofleicester

Xarkis Residency is also supported by the Deputy Ministry of Culture & the Community Council of Kalavasos @koinotikosymbouliokalabasou

© Xarkis by @d6culture

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18 days ago

@contesteddesires has reached a major milestone - the final international residency of the programme is underway in Cyprus. 💫

We're thrilled to be here alongside all 22 artists from across Europe, Africa and South America - including our own @patrick_ziza and @paul_stan_nataraj. Their experiences in Cyprus, as well as residencies in Chile, Hungary, Italy and Portugal, will return with them, enriching future work and collaborations back home in the North of England.

Hosted by @xarkis__ Festival in the village of Kalavasos, we're encountering the place through local memories, nature, archives and traditions.

It’s also a joy to be reunited with artists who took part in D6 residencies in Newcastle - @eefuasutherland, @andreas_mallouris, @afroscope , @marialuigiagioffre and @elguendelman, picking up conversations and relationships built over the course of the project.

💫 All this is a reminder of what international exchange can do - open space for new voices, surface histories that often go untold, and link local stories to a much bigger global conversation. 💫

Come celebrate with us!

📍 Xarkis Festival 📅 11–13 September 2026 📌 Kalavasos, Cyprus

📸 @andy.g_photography

Contested Desires: Constructive Dialogues is co-funded by the @creative.eu programme of the @european.union. In the UK @aceagrams, @heritagefunduk, @communityfoundationnortheast & Newcastle Council's Culture Investment Fund. It is implemented in partnership with: @eccom_it @d6_eu_, @xarkis__ , @labonnebcn @herengracht401, @muhnac @MuseuNacional @museodellecivilta @proprogressione @bjcem_aisbl @museoegizio @creativecourt._

AssociatedPartners: @d6culture @larnaka2030 @cyprusuniversitytechnology @fondazionesba @casa_arabe

In collaboration with: @nubuke_foundation @museodelamemoria, RMCG - @uniofleicester

#D6Culture #D6studios #ArtistResidency #CollaborativePractice #DecolonialPractice #ContestedDesires A round mirror held by someone on a stony street. The mirror reflects a basket and legs. by @d6culture

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a month ago

D6: Culture in Transit (@d6culture ) is a UK-based visual arts organisation of sanctuary. Rooted in the North of England while reaching out internationally, for over 30 years they have worked with artists and collaborators to create exceptional work and drive social change through creativity and solidarity.

Producer Andrea Carter presented D6's work at the first ASSEMBLE Curatorial Lab in Larnaca, sharing examples from across their programme of artist-led inquiry, research and advocacy.

D6: Culture in Transit works directly with ASSEMBLE Fellow Roya Ghassemi - an interdisciplinary artist and environmental design engineer whose practice traces ecological harm and displacement across different geographies.

ASSEMBLE is an international cultural project exploring the climate emergency at the intersection of involuntary migration, displacement, conflict and ecological decline.

ASSEMBLE is funded by the European Union. In the UK, the project is supported by @aceagrams.

ASSEMBLE brings together a dynamic partnership between @d6_eu_ (Cyprus), @congress.of.cultural.activists (Ukraine), @movartists (Spain), the international mobility network @otm.network, @d6culture (UK), @atriskartists (France) and @larnaka2030 (Cyprus).

#AssembleEurope #ArtistFellowship #ArtistOpportunity by @d6culture

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2 months ago

As Europe once again witnesses devastating wildfires, extreme heat and other escalating impacts of the climate crisis, we know that engaging citizens and enabling societal change is essential to adapt to and mitigate this new reality.

That's why we're proud to see MATCH (Mediterranean As The Climate Hotspot) featured by @julies_bicycle, a leading international organisation championing climate action through arts and culture.

@matchproject.eu brings together artists, cultural organisations, community gardens and local communities across Cyprus, Greece, France, Spain and Türkiye to explore how creativity, local knowledge and collective action can support climate resilience and environmental justice.

At the heart of the project are ten international artists whose residencies, interventions and community collaborations create space for dialogue, reflection and action on climate change.

And as part of this, one of the most powerful aspects of MATCH has been the international collaboration and knowledge exchange across borders to develop responses to a shared challenge.

🔗 Read the case study to find out about the artists’ interventions, mapping of best practice and the forthcoming tool to help cultural organisations capture and communicate impact:

juliesbicycle.org/resource/mediterranean-as-the-climate-hotspot/

@mapadasideias @d6_eu_ @archntua @bjcem_aisbl @frichelabelledemai @deltapiproductions @k2izmir @laescocesabcn @enterthegardens @laescocesabcn @duncan.center

Co-funded by @creative.eu

Images: MATCH artist Swati Devichi - @swatdv - presenting work and research at the MATCH Open Studios hosted at La Friche, Marseille
Photos: Clara Prat

#MATCHProject #ClimateAction #ClimateResilience #ClimateAdaptation #ArtsAndCulture #EnvironmentalJustice #InternationalCollaboration #CreativeEurope by @d6culture

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2 months ago

✨ Last chance to see New Contemporaries at MIMA! ✨

We're delighted to congratulate @alia_studio_ on her inclusion in this year's @new_contemporaries, one of the UK's most prestigious platforms for emerging artists.

As the exhibition enters its final weeks, now is the time to experience Alia's powerful site-responsive work, this was a mosque / هذا كان مسجد, before New Contemporaries closes at @mimauseful on 16 August.

We first connected with Alia through D6’s Belonging exhibition, curated by Shirin Zeraaty, where her exploration of memory, migration and cultural inheritance left a lasting impression. Reflecting on that experience, Alia described Belonging as such a pivotal point in the development of her practice.

A British-Libyan artist based in Newcastle, Alia's work thoughtfully examines how histories, languages and memories are carried across generations.

Seeing her work recognised through New Contemporaries is a hugely deserved achievement, and it's especially exciting to see the exhibition return to the North East.

📍 New Contemporaries at MIMA, Middlesbrough 📅 Closing 16 August

Image: Alia Gargum, this was a mosque / هذا كان مسجد, New Contemporaries 2026. Photos: Rachel Deakin

#NewContemporaries #AliaGargum #MIMA #ContemporaryArt #EmergingArtists #NorthEastArts #D6Culture #BritishLibyanArtist #ArtExhibition #Middlesbrough #NewcastleArts #ContemporaryArtist #LastChanceToSee by @d6culture

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3 months ago

Around the D6 table with good food and people to celebrate the end of this chapter with @paul_stan_nataraj in residence. We’ll miss you and the fantastic partnership with @sanginiafriend. Good times! And thank you @amalk.mp4 and @padmarao_artsconnect for the special cupcakes 💛 by @d6culture

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3 months ago

💫 D6 celebrated the power of collaboration at an event bringing together artists and collaborators whose work is rooted in the North East and shaped by international perspectives through @contesteddesires.

Over the past two years, artists have worked across Chile, Hungary, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal and the UK, exploring colonial legacies through collaboration with museums, archives and communities.

@efuasutherland traced the lives of Black and African people connected to the North East during the era of Empire. Her research was enriched through collaboration with African Lives in Northern England, revealing connections between figures including Frederick Douglass and Henry ‘Box’ Brown. ✨

@paul_stan_nataraj's practice centres on deep listening and shared storytelling. Working with @sanginiafriend in South Shields and Mira in Budapest, he explored stories of migration creating collective work.✨

As Paul reflected with @padmarao_artsconnect: the joy lies in connecting the pieces of the puzzle together, working through complexity, and creating new energy through collaboration.

@patrick_ziza's multidisciplinary project Free to Roam examines how histories are constructed and sustained through systems of power and knowledge. Ziza reflected on the opportunity for critical reflection with Mwenza Blell, researcher, artist and community organiser. Ziza said: We are the infrastructure. We tangle, connect and grow through those connections.✨

A panel discussion led by Dr Leona Vaughn highlighted a common theme across all the projects: meaningful creative work grows through trust, long-term relationships and shared learning. Through residencies, public events and research support, D6 has helped create the conditions for these partnerships to flourish.

Thank you to the artists, collaborators, speakers, D6 Producer in Residence Aisha Khateeb, Sangini Community Chef Azizun Nessa, The Customs House, and all who joined the conversation.

Contested Desires is co-funded by the Creative Europe Programme of the European Union. In the UK @aceagrams, @heritagefunduk, @communityfoundationnortheast & Newcastle Council's Culture Investment Fund.

📸 Von Fox Promotions Ziza and Beverley in conversation by @d6culture

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3 months ago

✨ Beverley Prevatt Goldstein - community activist, academic and pioneering advocate for racial equality in the North of England - joins us for North East Narratives.

She is co-founder of the African Lives in Northern England Project, which raises awareness of influential individuals of African descent who have visited or made the region their home.

This provided invaluable inspiration for artist @efuasutherland, who through the performance-based work, Acts of Witnessing, shines a light on these lives during the era of Empire and war - revealing interconnections that have rarely been recognised.

Beverley will reflect on their collaboration at the event this Wednesday.

The event will feature:

✨ Presentations of new work and work in progress by @Paul_stan_nataraj, @patrick_ziza and Elisabeth (via video)
✨ Contributions from regional collaborators from African Lives in Northern England and @sanginiafriend
✨ A panel discussion led by Dr Leona Vaughn
✨ Refreshments and lunch catered by Sangini’s Community Chef, Azizun Nessa.

📅 Wednesday 15 July
⏰ 10:00am – 2:00pm
📍 The Customs House, Mill Dam, South Shields, NE33 1ES
🎟️ Free event – register via the link in our bio or www.d6culture.org

This is an inclusive event for anyone working in or interested in decolonial practice across the arts, heritage and community settings.

Contested Desires is co-funded by the Creative Europe Programme of the European Union. In the UK, we are grateful for the support of @aceagrams @heritagefunduk and @communityfoundationnortheast and Newcastle City Council's Newcastle Culture Investment Fund.

Image credits: Paul Nataraj, Good Hope Solidarity Project (detail), 2026 | Portrait of Beverley taken at Elisabeth’s performance Acts of Witnessing at the Tyne Theatre and Opera House. Photo: Luke Waddington.

#DecolonialPractice #ContestedDesires #NorthEastArts #SouthShields #CommunityArts #Heritage #D6Studios #CreativeCommunities by @d6culture

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3 months ago

✨ Padma Rao joins us from Sangini, a Black and minorities women led community arts project committed to ending gender-based violence.

In conversation with artist @paul_stan_nataraj, she will discuss the collaborative process and time spent with members of Sangini - sharing stories and creating work together.

Through Padma’s creative practice and leadership at Sangini, she fosters dialogue around creativity, equality, feminism, identity and the displacement of Global Majority women. She is a visual artist, a visiting lecturer, arts facilitator and a published poet. From her South Shields studio, Makaan, she has showcased local, national and international artists, while championing the voices and experiences of marginalised women.

You're invited to join us!

The event will feature:
✨ Presentations of new work and work in progress by Paul, @patrick_ziza and @efuasutherland
✨ Contributions from regional collaborators from African Lives in Northern England and @sanginiafriend
✨ A panel discussion led by Dr Leona Vaughn
✨ Refreshments and lunch catered by Sangini’s Community Chef, Azizun Nessa.

📅 Wednesday 15 July
⏰ 10:00am – 2:00pm
📍 The Customs House, Mill Dam, South Shields, NE33 1ES
🎟️ Free event – register via the link in our bio or www.d6culture.org
This is an inclusive event for anyone working in or interested in decolonial practice across the arts, heritage and community settings.

Contested Desires is co-funded by the Creative Europe Programme of the European Union. In the UK, we are grateful for the support of @aceagrams @heritagefunduk and @communityfoundationnortheast and Newcastle City Council's Newcastle Culture Investment Fund.

Image credits: Paul Nataraj, Good Hope Solidarity Project (detail), 2026 | Portrait of Padma

#DecolonialPractice #ContestedDesires #NorthEastArts #SouthShields #CommunityArts #Heritage #D6Studios #CreativeCommunities by @d6culture

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3 months ago