Fuel announces a number of free events for May to June 2025, including the latest project from Inua Ellams, Stained Metal, and three public conversations, Fuelling Change: Values and Ethics in Cultural Production.
To celebrate his appointment as Honorary Research Fellow at The University of Manchester, acclaimed poet, playwright, and performer Inua Ellams launches his latest project, Stained Metal. Inua received an MBE (Member of the British Empire) in 2023. Now he plans to send the medal to four corners of the British Empire: Kenya, India, Canada, and Jamaica. Artists from each of those countries will be commissioned to respond to a letter from Inua, and to the medal itself. Stained Metal will be a profound exploration of empire, identity, and legacy.
An ‘Solstice and Equinox series’ event as part of the Manchester Museum Lates and a week-long celebration around Africa Day, this launch event (28 May) will begin with introductions by Esme Ward (Manchester Museum Director) and John McAuliffe (Professor of Poetry and Creative Manchester Director), before Inua launches Stained Metal with the first reading of his letter to commissioned artists, followed by a conversation with the audience.
Inua Ellams said: “I’m humbled to be working with MOWAA and Fuel on Stained Metal. As an artist, immigrant, and migrant worker, I think a lot about the spaces I inhabit, the stories I tell, and the voices I might be able to amplify. Stained Metal is an alignment of those notions, and I hope at the culmination of this project, we better understand our common histories, and present realities.”
Kate McGrath, Artistic Director & CEO, Fuel said: “Inua’s exploration of the themes of colonialism and its legacies, including migration and diasporic experiences, has been a through-line in his work throughout the 18 years we’ve now worked together. This project is an important milestone in that journey, charting his personal experience as well as opening up a much wider conversation with artists and audiences about these themes, which feel deeply resonant in these times. Fuel is, as always, honoured to be working with Inua, and partnering for the first time with MOWAA, Manchester Museum and Creative Manchester.”
Ore Disu, Director, MOWAA Institute said: “MOWAA is proud to serve as the residency partner for Stained Metal. Our residencies are designed as multidisciplinary spaces, welcoming artists beyond the visual arts to engage with heritage in ways that speak to contemporary questions. This partnership underscores our belief that artisanal practices are vital to contemporary creativity, not just as references to the past but as living, evolving traditions. I’m personally excited to work closely with Inua, and explore how we facilitate new connections between craft, poetry, and global cultural dialogue.”
John McAuliffe, Professor of Poetry and Creative Manchester Director said: “We are delighted to welcome Inua as Honorary Research Fellow at The University of Manchester. We look forward to working more closely with him to further his creative and multidisciplinary work, using the collections at the Manchester Museum, linking that work to our different communities, and exploring the recurring themes of his research; identity, displacement and destiny.”
Esme Ward, Director, Manchester Museum said: “As a long-time admirer of Inua’s work, including the incredible poem Tusk commissioned by Manchester Museum, I feel privileged to have the opportunity to develop our collaboration further. This project, and the questions it raises, couldn’t be more urgent. It fits perfectly with the Museum’s own focus on truth-telling and confronting our past with honesty and openness.”
Co-produced by Fuel, MOWAA, Creative Manchester and Manchester Museum, this launch event promises to be an unforgettable night of poetry, storytelling, and thought-provoking conversation.
Fuelling Change: Values and Ethics in Cultural Production is a series of three FREE public conversations with academics and leaders from across the cultural landscape – independents, founders and leaders of major institutions exploring approaches to ethics and values in cultural production today, taking place in Oxford.
We live in a world full of fast-evolving ethical questions. Our cultural life reflects the society we live in. How do cultural leaders approach these dilemmas today? What place do values have in navigating decision making? How do cultural leaders manage conflicts or tensions when they arise? How can vision and values align?
The events are curated and hosted by Kate McGrath, Artistic Director & CEO of Fuel, as part of her Visiting Fellowship with the Cultural Programme and Hertford College at Oxford University. The Fellowship offers artists and curators the chance to reflect on their practice, develop new work, and share it with a wider audience. This research and series of events provide a unique opportunity to reflect on the past, look ahead, and explore the evolving opportunities and challenges of cultural leadership today.
Each conversation will also be recorded and released as a podcast, available on Fuel Digital and other digital platforms, ensuring these discussions reach an even wider audience.
Fuelling Change is co-produced by the Cultural Programme at Oxford University and Fuel. In partnership with The Story Museum, Old Fire Station and Oxford Playhouse.
How to begin? Tuesday 3 June 2025, The Story Museum, Oxford, 5:30pm Starting from scratch takes a first step. But there are many routes to the same destination. What role do values play in setting the course towards a new vision and ensuring it resonates over time? In this conversation, we explore how principles can map a path for enduring organisations, exploring how pioneering leadership breaks new ground whilst staying true to core values. Guest speakers include Deborah Frances-White, stand-up comedian, screenwriter and The Guilty Feminist podcast host; Farooq Chaudhry OBE, Akram Khan Company Producing Director; Eero Vaara, Professor in Organisations and Impact, Saïd Business School, University of Oxford. Chaired by Kate McGrath. Further guest speakers will be announced soon.
National Service: leading institutions today Tuesday 10 June, Old Fire Station, Oxford, 5:30pm What does it mean to lead a national institution today? Join prominent cultural leaders for a candid conversation about balancing history with innovation and holding the tension between tradition and change. How do personal values sit in relationship with the responsibilities of institutional leadership? Guest speakers include Maria Balshaw, Director of Tate; John McGrath, Factory International Artistic Director & Chief Executive; Professor Michael Smets, Senior Research Fellow of Green Templeton College and Professor of Management at Saïd Business School, University of Oxford. Chaired by Kate McGrath. Further guest speakers will be announced soon.
Listings and ticket information can be found here.
