So hello, we are SHIFT/, seven of Scotland’s most dynamic, provocative and lyrical spoken word artists (but by no stretch of the imagination, the only ones). Formed by Rachel McCrum and Bram E Geiben, we have joined forces – like some super-powered comic book phalanx – as an artist-led collective to create a platform for poetic performance in the Edinburgh Fringe that works for us.

As well as Rachel and Bram, SHIFT/ is powered by Rachel Amey, Harry Giles, Jenny Lindsay, Ali Maloney and Sam Small. Between us we have a wealth and diverse range of experience. Collectively, we have won slams, shattered boundaries, toured the world, won awards and broken hearts; promoted, wrought and slogged.

As the Scottish poetry scene is running on full, breath taking, power, SHIFT/ exists to take seven unique and exciting shows to Summerhall – crossing bridges between performance poetry and physical theatre, stand-up and live art, spoken word and music, solemn introspection and punk spit – a different show for each night of the week.

Right now, we are writing, devising, crafting our shows, which could touch upon anything including, but not limited to: cyberpunk dystopian opera, political analysis, BSL, love, clowning, messing around in boats, love on drugs, nihilism, optimism, Dadaism, borders and colonialism and Lovecratian tentacle apocalypses.

We’ll be in the Cairns Lecture theatre in Summerhall every night of the Fringe at 9:30. For full line-ups and updates, get SHIFT/ed at www.shiftword.com.

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Questioning how we enact the process of learning while highlighting the moments of educational exchange that can occur through conversation, Morgan Cahn develops an active and evolving library as she exchanges knowledge with visitors. Morgan’s site responsive installations and performances encourage interaction through participatory elements. One on-going work, Me(a)nder, sees Morgan stitch and mend visitors’ wears, offer advice and console broken hearts. Morgan wanders the sites from Baxter Park for May Meet In Mutual, 2012, to Cupar Arts Festival, 2013, or this year when Morgan re-developed Me(a)nder for New Scottish Artists at The Fleming Gallery, London.

Morgan Cahn, Me(a)nder, Cupar Arts Festival, 2013

To journey is also material for Richard Taylor who presents a small sculpture and a drawing connected by themes expanded upon in a new text read to the audience along with selected photography. The text will be read at 1pm, 2.30pm and 4pm, slightly edited each time after Richard journeys repeatedly to the top of Dundee Law hill and back down to Enjoy..! Coffee Lounge to read again. Richard’s practice confronts the ability text has to record and transform experience, leading to published works and live readings with apparatus. Recent projects include Scree Magazine Presents, The Out of the Blue Drill Hall, Edinburgh, PerformingNOW, Generator Projects, Dundee and Epigone, Basement Arts Project, Leeds.

Richard Taylor, Hutchinsons Tack at PerformingNOW, Generator Projects, 2014

As with Richard, the reading of language is also a concern of Lada Wilson’s practice. After living in a number of countries, Croatian-born Dutch artist and curator Lada made her home in Scotland. She transforms words from different languages into objets trouvés that lead to participatory events. For shift, Lada invites the audience to take part in a verbal and visual exchange that will create a portrait of time from words and imagination, exploring our understanding of language and the structures surrounding it. Recent works include a series of projects for the Matthew Cabinet Gallery, DJCAD, Dundee from 2013-2014 entitled interAction(s), and Alphabetarij at PerformingNow, Generator Projects, Dundee, 2013.

Lada Wilson, Imperfect, 2014

As curator/facilitator of shift, Katie Reid plays with extending the functional role this often encompasses to make use of what temporarily becomes excess furniture and the overlooked nooks and crannies of Enjoy..! Coffee Lounge. Katie works site responsively often making projects that investigate our judgement of value, these include Camperdown Conversations with Beth Savage, 2013; May Meet in Mutual, Baxter Park Centre, Dundee, 2012, and leading workshops Working through Ideas with Sean Scott, 2014, and Currency of Ideas with Holly Knox Yeoman, 2012.

Katie Reid, Untitled (canvas corner), 2011

Becca Clark’s sculptural pulley systems developed for shift also find themselves somewhere between work and play. A series of small interventions by way of teeny movable sculptures assess the value of input and output, action and reaction. Becca also adds zines; a medium made for the work/art, art/work, art/life, work/life balance. Becca is organiser of the Dundee micro festival, Ickle Film Fest, committee member of Art Label Yuck ‘n Yum, one half of the collective RBBC and a third of the collective Pitch + Strike.

Becca Clark, Untitled, 2012

Site-visit at Enjoy..! Coffee Lounge, 2014

shift is open on Sunday, 22 June, 12.30-4.30pm at Enjoy..! Coffee Lounge, 44-46 Albert Street, DD4 6QQ, and is supported by the Dundee Visual Artists Awards through Leisure & Culture Dundee City Council with Creative Scotland and Enjoy..! Coffee Lounge, Dundee.

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