Past Event
Access requirements
Whitechapel Gallery is committed to making all of our events as accessible as possible for every audience member. Please contact access@whitechapelgallery.org if you would like to discuss a particular request and we will gladly discuss with you the best way to accommodate it.
Information about access on site at the gallery is available here https://www.whitechapelgallery.org/visit/access/
This includes information about Lift access; Borrowing wheelchairs & seating; Assistance Animals; Parking; Toilets and baby care facilities; Blind & Partially Sighted Visitors; Subtitles and transcripts; British Sign Language (BSL) and hearing induction loops; Deaf Messaging Service (DMS).
About This Event
This event takes place in the Clore Creative Studio at Whitechapel Gallery, located on the third floor and accessible via stairs and lift.
This event lasts approximately 1 hour 15 mins. Attendees are encouraged to take as many breaks as they need during the event. You only need to book on if you would like to perform in the open mic.
If you would like to just listen to the poetry and readings, there is no need to book – this is a free, drop-in space.
We are unable to provide British Sign Language interpretation for this event
We are unable to provide live closed captioning or CART for this event.
Transport
To the best of our knowledge, there are no planned disruptions to local transport on the date of the event.
Our nearest train station – Aldgate East Underground (1 min) is not wheelchair accessible. The closest wheelchair accessible stations are Whitechapel (15 min), Shoreditch High Street (15 min) or Liverpool Street (15 min).
Free parking for Blue Badge holders is available at the top of Osborn Street in the pay and display booths for an unlimited period. Spaces are available on a first come, first served basis.
Join Off The Chest x DAYTIMERS for an evening of cutting-edge poetry performances and readings.
Hear poems from Iftikhar Latif (British Bangladeshi writer, Off The Chest co-founder), Arji Manuelpillai (poet, ‘Improvised Explosive Device’, ‘Mutton Rolls’) and Lailah Choudhry (East London poet), alongside the opportunity for YOU to perform your own poetry in a chilled out, low stakes open mic setting.
If you would like to perform at the open mic part of the night, pre-booked slots are available using the book now button, but walk-ins will be welcome for any spare slots going on the night. Maximum 3 mins on the open mic so we can keep to time (this is Late Poetry… but not too late!
No need to book if you just want to sit and take in the poetry and readings – just swing by!
Late Poetry! Presented by Off The Chest is part of our specially curated Late with DAYTIMERS which accompanies our current exhibition Hamad Butt: Apprehensions.
Off The Chest has been creating spaces for poetry since 2019. Formed by poets Iftikhar Latif and Ella Dorman-Gajic, our mission is to give a platform to poets of diverse backgrounds and celebrate original voices in the UK poetry scene. We do this by holding poetry events and workshops across England and online. We’ve brought our poetry nights to venues like Rich Mix, Omnibus Theatre, Canada Water Theatre in London, and to venues outside of London such as Komedia Brighton and Hyde Park Book Club in Leeds. Our poetry events offer audience members a chance to perform their own poems as part of our renowned open mic, plus features from at least two highly acclaimed poets. Follow us on Instagram via @offthe_chest for more information.
Founded in 2020, DAYTIMERS is a creative collective born via the internet, in the midst of a global pandemic-induced lockdown. Having started as a way to carry on the message of the daytime parties of the 80s and 90s (in which DAYTIMERS get their name) – where young British Asians skipped school to dance to bhangra, garage, and jungle in community spaces.
DAYTIMERS is now at the forefront of something fresh and exciting, showing the power of a community and its collective energy by championing the UK’s South Asian diaspora, extending far beyond the subcontinent alone. With sold-out shows across the country, DAYTIMERS have created a dent in a space that needs it by supplying ongoing fresh talent, styles, and sounds. By engaging in community events, streams, radio shows, releases, fundraisers and festivals DAYTIMERS are always looking at ways they can continue to push their message and uplift South Asian artistry, not just in nightlife but outside of it as well.
Previous collaborations include working with the Royal Albert Hall, Somerset House, Jazz Cafe, Roundhouse, the V&A, Fabric, and Horniman Museum,(add some more non- London focused things e.g Brighter Sounds? + also self-led grassroots tings) among many other offerings they’ve produced that everyone can attend and participate in.
