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Award-winning poet and playwright visits º£½ÇÖ±²¥

An award-winning poet and playwright will perform and discuss his work as part of a unique conference examining British culture since the 9/11 terror attacks.

Avaes Mohammad has appeared on stages across the UK, and in Denmark, India, Pakistan and South Africa, and has been commissioned by BBC Radio as well as an array of theatre companies. His free performance at º£½ÇÖ±²¥ takes place on Friday 27 June, from 7.00pm, and forms part of the British Culture After 9/11 conference, which will explore the role artists, writers and filmmakers have played in representing Muslims and multiculturalism in the wake of the terror attacks.

Originally from Blackburn, Avaes began writing after 9/11 and the 2001 race riots in Bradford, Burnley and Oldham, and his work continues to explore multiculturalism in Britain. At º£½ÇÖ±²¥, he will be performing a sequence of poems and discussing his forthcoming plays, ‘Hurling Rubble at the Sun’ and ‘Hurling Rubble at the Moon’, which examine the influence of 9/11 and 7/7 on British Muslim and white working-class extremism.

Rehana Ahmed, Senior Lecturer in English Studies at º£½ÇÖ±²¥, who is co-organising the conference, said: 'The years following 9/11 and 7/7 have seen the emergence of a diverse and vibrant body of British fiction, film and art that has sought to respond to the events and their legacies.

'The media often portrays Muslims and multiculturalism in a negative and simplistic manner. Writers and artists can offer us new ways of seeing things. This conference will look at their role in challenging damaging stereotypes and how they have crafted new ways of imagining identity, community, nationhood and trauma.'

Rachel Carroll, Principal Lecturer in Research, added: 'We are really excited to be able to welcome Avaes Mohammad to the University. We are keen to contribute to public debates about important contemporary issues – poetry and drama can provide such rich resources for exploring what it means to be British today.'

The British Culture After 9/11 conference primarily takes place at the University’s Darlington campus and will feature a range of presentations and panel sessions, before Avaes’ evening performance at the Middlesbrough campus.

The University will also be hosting an associated exhibition, ‘Second Glance/ Double Take II’, which offers a rare opportunity to see the work of established and emerging Pakistani fine artists Faiza Butt, Suleman Khilji and Sajid Khan.

Curated by Madeline Clements, this exhibition seeks to offer alternative perspectives on the ‘war on terror’ and draw attention to how contemporary artworks can interrupt stereotypical images of Muslims.

This free exhibition will be showing in the Constantine Gallery, Middlesbrough Campus, from 25 to 27 June.

To book your place to see Avaes Mohammad or to attend the conference, or to find out more information about the exhibition, visit www.tees.ac.uk/events.

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