Imagination Our Nation

2010-05-27T05:10:00.001-07:00

Chazâ€™s London Walk. Launch of â€˜The Biggest Learning Opportunity on Earthâ€™ â€“ a Â£700k
â€˜Olympicâ€™ themed project for 150 London schools.Kinetika has been selected to be one of 15 organisations to deliver an
olympic themed project with London schools in 2011. Chaz will walk from
West to East London through schools that will... help her discover the
people of this city.
Watch this space :-)

2009-11-30T05:03:00.001-08:00

See me in The Big Man Walking's film http://ping.fm/Vg7eY

2009-11-25T09:31:00.003-08:00

And I'll be in Edinburgh at the Christmas Art Car Parade on Saturday 28th Nov.

2009-11-25T09:31:00.001-08:00

Catch me at the Illuminated Art Car Parade in Manchester City Gardens tomorrow!

My trip to Scotland

2009-10-07T03:56:00.000-07:00

I went on the train to Scotland with Ali, Tony and Mike. On Saturday I saw hundreds of people running up a very big hill called Arthur's Seat, and I went for my first swim in the fountains outside a building called The Scottish Parliament, I wonder what that means?

Ali said that I needed to wear this special Scottish skirt called a kilt to meet The Big Man on Sunday. We went to Kirkaldy where there hundreds of small people who waned to meet me.

And then, there he was, this enormous blue man who took me up in his hand which was as big as me! He has lovely eyes and was very friendly.

2009-10-05T09:19:00.001-07:00

I'm on my way back from a place called Scotland. I had so much fun! Find out what I did tomorrow...

New places and new people!

2009-09-29T08:41:00.000-07:00

I went to Wales again, Peter invited me to attend the opening of the Rhayader Museum at CARAD. I was on the list of VIPs! (Someone told me that stands for Very Important Person??) There was a 'minister' there and someone from something called Heritage, which is about what happened a long time back, and a lady and man with big gold chains from somewhere called Birmingham. But actually the most special moment was that Tom sang a song and I was there to see him on stage in front of all those big people. He winked at me!

I also met a dragon and I liked riding on its back!

Sunday was the best yet. I got to meet all

my friends properly and they showed me around Hackney. I liked having my photograph taken, and the Queen Mother of hackney gave me a blessing. I feel like this is my home on this planet, East London. I think it is special because there are people here with so many stories about the different places people have come from. I want to tell them about the moon and the stars, but we haven't found a way of sharing a language yet. I have so much I want to tell my friends.

Ali told me we are going on a train on Friday. What's that? We are going to a place called Scotland. I am going to meet a Big Man!

Thames Festival

2009-09-15T07:01:00.000-07:00

I had a fantastic experience on Sunday. I appeared at The Thames Festival riding my starship in my brand new outfit! Along with me, were my new friends from Hackney, including The Queen Mother, who was watching over her subjects. She represents all the people of Hackney, you can tell by her amazing robes that she has been given on her visits. There was the Brazilian Market stall holder, where you can buy everything. I can't imagine where they get all those things. There are three girls who are wearing maps, so you can find your way around, as I understand it's easy to get lost in East London. My best friend is the girl who hands out plants from her pink wheelbarrow. she told me she is a guerilla gardner? She says she wants to cover the concrete with flowers! Miss Hackney Family has pictures of all the people and places so I have lots more things to look forward to discovering when I finally go there on 27th September for their big party, Hackney One Carnival.

Guess what, I am going back to Wales today, to help open their folk museum! I wonder if I'll see Tom again, and whether he'll remember me. I am going to wear my new dress.

What are you up to? Tell me your stories, I am sure you are meeting lots of new people too.

Wednesday 2nd September

2009-09-03T05:50:00.000-07:00

Things have been really picking up here at Kinetika! All my new friends are busy making more things for me to discover when they are finished. They will be going out for the first time at a festival by the river, called the Thames on 13th S eptember and then at Hackney One Carnival o n 27th September.

I have also been invited to go back to Wales to see my friends. They have created a new exhibition about where they come from.

Meanwhile some of my brothers and sisters have been busy too. Starchild discovered a park in Nottingham where people told stories.

Alex, who lives in South London woke up in the middle of an amazing performance by The Kinetika Bloco. She had a really interesting journey visiting all the musicians and dancers. the music was really interesting, mainly inspired by an African musician called Fela Kuti.

There is so much to discocer here, we all seem to arriving in very differet worlds!

My moonlit flight!

2009-08-17T03:53:00.000-07:00

It’s been a while since I arrived and I started to feel a bit homesick, so I decided to take a flight so I could catch a glimpse of the moon. I flew around the city and landed for a while in a place called Trafalgar Square and met Peter from Wales – how strange! We spent an hour upon a high pillar and watched all the people below. They were watching me. Some of them were the people from Hackney and they sent up presents to invite me down to join them.
When I flew down they gave me a cake with candles, and told me it was to celebrate my arrival into London, my first birthday! This is a funny place, but gradually I am beginning to enjoy meeting so many different types of people and am looking forward to my next adventure!

4th August '09: Back in East London

2009-08-17T03:27:00.000-07:00

I’m now spending my days back just off Brick Lane, sitting on the window sill at Kinetika where I can get a good look at everything that’s going on, and that’s a lot right now.
I met a random group of people last week, who said they were going to take me on a tour of Hackney and introduce me to lots of people who come from all over the world. I am excited, they said people come from all different places with their own food, music, ways of dressing. I am dreaming about them and imagining this journey.
These people visit me every day, and are so busy preparing for the great day. The day is called Hackney One Carnival. I’m quite pleased that I have already been to carnival in that green place, so I already know a little bit.
I am watching and hoping I might get some clues about who I am going to meet..I’ll tell you if I find out any more. You can come too if you like, seems like an amazing place..Hackney!

my trip to Wales!

2009-07-29T09:56:00.000-07:00

Chaz’s Diary/notes
July 09.
Hi I’m Chaz, that’s short for Chandrika, which means moonlight. Chandra means moon and I love the moon.
I woke up in Brick Lane in March, and I started being called Chaz. Maybe Chandrika is too hard for people to spell, as it’s not an English name.
Since my first outing in Brick lane, where I met lots of people in the market and skipped over the red and white barriers that seem to line the roads there, I have been quite lonely and just hanging out with Kinetika at The Brady Centre.
I have to say though from my top shelf, there always seems to be a lot going on in that room. Lots of people make things that I’d like to get a closer look at.
A couple of weeks ago Ali – she’s the lady that seems to be in charge, finally decided to take me with her on one of her trips.
We drove a very long way and the view out of the window started changing. We went over a very long bridge and then there were mountains and everything turned green. I felt really excited because it was so beautiful.

We arrived in Wales, and met some of
Ali’s friends, Peter, Cath and Aimee. They drove me up a really big hill and at the top was a massive wall with a lake on one side and a stream on the other. They said it was a dam. I sat on the wall, which was quite scary because it was a really really long way to fall off.
In the evening I already started to make new friends, Tom, Brad, Mike and Paula.
Tom has very yellow hair that was different from the people I met in Brick Lane. I am hoping he is going to write me song so I can remember the lovely time we had in the green place.

The next day I arrived in a place where there was lots of children the same height as me. They didn’t notice me at first, but when they did they all ran towards me. I think they were excited to see me because I have come from such a long way away. I flew up above them so they could see me and took a ride on an umbrella.

I made so many friends and some of them took me for a walk to make some more.

We went into a building made of stone and there were lots of friendly people drinking tea, and I met Mr. Humphries. He was sitting in front of some large pipes, and he suddenly started making some beautiful music, which made me want to fly and explore all the lights in the ceiling. It reminded me of where I use to live a little bit.

Next Tom said we were going to a football match, so we had to hurry down to have my photo taken with a lot of small people in blue shirts holding a ball. I was beginning to feel like I was really special, the way everyone was so good to me.Imagine how amazed I was the next day when I woke up by the side of a river and met some of the children from the day before. They gave me a big box, and inside were lots of little boxes with special seeds, and plants and stones inside. They come specially from this green place so I have them with me in London.
Next they gave me some things to wear, they said it was because it was carnival the next day and they invited me to come and see them in their new clothes too.
We visited the whole town and met everyone.
On the last day I went to carnival and visited all my friends, they were so pleased to invite me onto their big floats and I was really sad to leave.
I hope that I can go back to that lovely green place soon. I miss my friends there.