United Underground!

UNITED UNDERGROUND

A rooftop party at the Southbank Centre.

Queen Elizabeth Hall at Southbank Centre / Saturday 18th July 2009, 5pm – 11pm
£5 all day.

Tickets: http://www.southbankcentre.co.uk/unitedundergound
Southbank Centre Ticket Office 0871 663 2538

Music plus activism.

You don’t have to leave London for a summer festival experience. Across the spaces of Southbank Centre's Queen Elizabeth Hall - including the re-opening of the roof as a venue space - hosted by Ctrl.Alt.Shift, British Underground, Southbank Centre and actor and musician Riz Ahmed/ Riz MC, United Underground is a unique mix of cutting-edge street culture, music, artwork, fanzines and film set against a backdrop of new-school activism.

The event has been specifically created to promote active engagement with new music and its potential as a catalyst for change.

What’s happening where?
On The Roof will be some of London’s hotly tipped live acts, and best-loved underground club nights. We will also present an impressive lineup of speakers from across the cultural and campaigning spectrum, talking activism and their way of doing it – from film director Peter Kosminsky, gay rights campaigners from Baghdad, to Plane Stupid.

The Front Room at Queen Elizabeth Hall will showcase a buzzing lineup of new short film talent gathered by Film London talent spotters, plus feature films from Andy Serkis and Eran Creevey in the Purcell Room. Also in the Front Room, Ctrl.Alt.Shift will be putting together a fanzine, in real time, documenting the night - with contributions from punters (pics taken on your phone, blogs, poetry) as well as pre-sourced contributions from activists and artists.

This is a not-for-profit event. The idea is to showcase creative talent, throw an eclectic party, and encourage participation in fresh ways.

Confirmed acts include:
Plan B
Mpho
Theoretical Girl
Get Cape Wear Cape Fly
Bashy
Afrikan Boy
Professor Green
Dirty Canvas ft. Ice Kid
Urban Nerds ft Illaman, Rattus Rattus, Klose One
Speakers Corner ft. Lowkey, Shortman
Gabriel Prokofiev
The Official Secrets Act
Maverick Sabre
Nathan Flutebox Lee
Jamie Woon
True Tiger
Dj Djinn
Aruba Red

Original event artwork by Sarah Maple

Confirmed Speakers discussing why they bother, and how:

Noel Clarke
Box office topping, BAFTA rising star and writer/ director of Kidulthood and Adulthood

Reprieve
Reprieve uses the law to enforce the human rights of prisoners, from death row to Guantánamo Bay. Their current ZerodB campaign opposes the use of music as torture.

Peter Kosminsky
Acclaimed multi award winning film director and self confessed political trouble-maker.

Ali Alizadeh
Speaking about Iran’s protests and the opportunity and limits of new media in direct action.

London 4 London
A brave city wide initiative where all clubbers donate £1 to charity on October 3rd – the founders talk about how they’re taking action.

London Coalition Against Poverty
Mixing case work with direct action and fighting for the housing rights of London’s poor.

Ali Hili
The Chair of Iraqi LGBT discusses the challenges and dangers of gay rights activism in Baghdad’s warzone

Tom Dale
He was a human shield in Gaza and witnesses the killing of his friends, now he organises exploited call centre workers into unions.

Films curated by Mia Bays, Film London
Including holy tipped short films, music videos from up coming talent, and feature films RENDITION, and THE AGE OF STUPID. Plus shorts from Ctrl.Alt.Shift.

About:
British Underground British Underground is an arts development agency that champions and promotes UK music abroad. www.britishunderground.net

Riz Ahmed aka Riz MC is an actor (Road to Guantanamo, Britz, Dead Set, Shifty), and a musician (Post 9/11 Blues, People Like People, Radar) who has played Glastonbury, Meltdown Festival, BBC Electric Proms, topped underground music charts and enjoyed extensive Radio1 airplay. www.myspace.com/rizmc

Ctrl.Alt.Shift is an experimental initiative engaging a new generation of activists for social justice and global change. www.ctrlaltshift.co.uk

Southbank Centre is the UK’s largest arts centre, occupying a 21-acre site that sits in the midst of London’s most vibrant cultural quarter on the South Bank of the Thames. The site has an extraordinary creative and architectural history stretching back to the 1951 Festival of Britain.