Second edition, 24 April 2020

Michael Clarke, care leaver and activist, shares his vision

In the first of three related films, which will be posted in successive editions of this magazine, Michael thinks about the future. He has bought a tent and is a planning a journey somewhere different – an escape – when the lockdown restrictions governing his options lift. 

Listening to him brings with it a mix of feeling and thinking including an optimistic imagining of a future in which voices are heard, people have some control over their direction, and the experiences they have on their journey are regulated by the strength of the community around them. 

Watch the first film below:

Portable Studio

This film is one of three films which are excerpts from a video conversation during lockdown with Michael Clarke, who is a care leaver and activist living in London. It is part of a collaboration between Michael, Tim Fisher a social worker and Trevor Appleson an artist. It is a continuation of Trevor’s work Portable Studio.

Portable Studio started life as an archive document of contemporary British youth culture, made in collaboration with a selection of the young people Appleson met and photographed on the streets of Birmingham for a commission at The Midlands Arts Center in 2015.

Inspired by the way identities are curated online, Portable Studio explores youth identity and experience in an attempt to preserve evidence of a socio-digital landscape that would otherwise pass without physical record.

Michael, Tim Fisher a social worker, and Trevor Appleson an artist.