#AestheticaAlumni | New Show at the Mercer Gallery | - Aesthetica Art Prize and Film Festival alumni unite in the latest exhibition at the Mercer Art Gallery, Harrogate. Power & Identity displays five female filmmakers working across contemporary  themes. They are a prime example of the platform given to emerging talent by Aesthetica, having gone on to be exhibited at leading institutions such as BALTIC, Venice Biennial, Bluecoat and won prestigious awards like Film London's Jarman Award. Rhea Storr A Protest, A Celebration, A Mixed Message Filmmaker Rhea Storr, an artist of British and Bahamian heritage, explores the representation of black and mixed-race cultures in her short film A Protest, A Celebration, A Mixed Message. Storr won the Aesthetica Art Main Prize in 2020 for this film, in which she intersperses contemporary and historical footage of the West Indian Carnival in Leeds. Often working in 16mm film, Storr’s work is concerned with the ability of analogue practices to speak about black and mixed-race identities. Her films have been exhibited internationally including MOCA, LA; and Somerset House, London. Jasmina Cibic Tear Down and Rebuild Jasmina Cibic’s film Tear Down and Rebuild was shot inside the preserved modernist architecture of the former Palace of the Federation in Belgrade, Serbia. It presents a debate around arguments to rebuild, renovate, or destroy buildings, monuments, and cultural icons that no longer serve contemporary political contexts. Cibic was shortlisted for the Aesthetica Art Prize 2017 and her works have since been displayed in The Louvre, Paris and the Museum of Modern Art, New York. Cibic also won the 2021 Film London Jarman Award in recognition of her unique visual approach. Juliana Kasumu “What Does the Water Taste Like?" “What Does the Water Taste Like?” is a short film directed by Juliana Kasumu (Aesthetica Art Prize Emerging Winner 2021), which  explores the production of identity through the lens of the filmmaker’s personal experiences as a British-Nigerian. It combines intimate conversations with archival footage alongside contemporary visuals to create a dialogue between the past and present. Kasumu explains that the film is “an exploration of spaces such as the Black hair salon and the Black church; sites where people gather and provide one-another a sense of security and familiarity.” Manjinder Virk Out of Darkness Manjinder Virk’s Out of Darkness explores the experience of death through the eyes of one Aid Worker. The narrative is made up of nine different voices (including Tom Hiddleston and Riz Ahmed), each of whom represents a lost soul who haunts the worker's conscience. Collectively, the figures tell a story of what it means to be in the presence of someone’s last moments, from the peaceful passing of family members to the traumatic injuries of war, and the legacy it leaves on the living. Winner of Best of Festival and Best Drama at Aesthetica Film Festival 2013, Virk’s narrative is poignant. Michelle Williams Gamaker Thieves Known for her inventive filmmaking and screenwriting, Michelle Williams Gamaker draws on the classic movies from early Hollywood and British cinema that she watched growing up. Thieves, which won Best Experimental at Aesthetica Film Festival 2023, is a fantasy adventure retelling of The Thief of Bagdad — a silent, black and white film from 1924, which was remade in colour in 1940. The film displays Gamaker’s filmmaking methodology ‘Fictional Activism’: the restoration of marginalised film stars of colour as protagonists with a voice. These previously diminished figures reclaim their stories. Power & Identity: Five Women Filmmakers is exhibiting until 30 September 2024, Mercer Gallery, Harrogate. Free Entry. Find out more » Late Deadline for the Aesthetica Art Prize: 30 September 2024. Submit your work and win £10,000, exhibition and publication. Find out more » - Change email address / Leave mailing list