Reframing Nature

Reframing nature was made up of two projects, with both concerning how we can reframe nature and look at it in new and different ways. The first project with Soheila Javaheri focused on our local environments and taught students how to notice not just visual aspects of nature, but also sound. Using film, student's captured various aspects of nature within a selected location, resulting in eight unique short clips that highlight the importance of noticing nature's details and exploring how we can interact with what is around us. The second aspect of Reframing Nature took the form of multiple workshops with artist Razi Mohebi. Similar to reading tea leaves, Razi conducted workshops using coffee grounds and asked people what they could see. Using a natural resource like coffee enabled participants to engage with nature/the natural in a different format. The workshops provided participants the opportunity to not only explore their own individual interpretations of what they could see in their coffee cups, but also discuss wider reflections on the environment within a social setting.

Visual Poetry with Soheila Javaheri

Throughout January to March 2023, artist & filmmaker Soheila Javaheri collaborated with Phoenix Collegiate photography and media students on Visual Poetry, a project that used photography, filmmaking and storytelling as a lens to explore local environments and the everyday nature that surrounds us.

Inspired by film director Abbas Kiarostami’s film 24 Frames, the students adopted slow observation to survey natural forms and their local environment which was translated through poetry, photography and short moving-image to reflect what could be seen and heard through the slowness. You can see a selection of the photographs produced by the students below.

This project was part of Multistory’s Green Roots West Bromwich programme. We would like to thank Soheila Javaheri and Phoenix Collegiate staff and students Andrei Markis, Bhumika Ram, Flaviu Markis, Gurdip Gill, Joseph Wright, Madison Smith and Thomas Myatt, for their hard work and dedication to this programme.

https://youtu.be/elSYjdlE5z0 Compilation of the student's films as part of the Visual Poetry project.

Soheila Javaheri is a multi award-winning filmmaker and film editor. Soheila enjoys working in creative, dynamic and innovative contexts, where there is opportunity for minimal storytelling and sensitivity in environmental questions.

Coffegraphy with Razi Mohebi

Through a series of weekly workshops and social gatherings at West Bromwich Central Library run by artist Razi Mohebi, Coffeegraphy held space for people to come together who were interested in meeting for creative discussions around how environmental issues affect them and their local area – using coffee as both a means of facilitating conversation and a material to paint with.

Razi Mohebi is an actor, artist and filmmaker. He has his own production house (Razi Film House) and has won the Multi AMM Award for Best Screenplay and the Best Documentary Award in Kazan International Film Festival. He and Soheila met in Iran, where they began collaorating on inititaives that provided support and education to Afghani clandestine children.