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Tenacity

By: Basmah Mohamed

About The Poem

London was one of ten commissioned cities to take part in Impact Dance x Tp Bennett collaboration for the London Festival of Architecture 2021. These ten cities created one minute films on this year’s LFA theme – ‘care’. I wrote London’s poem tying dance and poetry with architecture and codirected London’s film titled ‘Ten-A-City’, a play on Tenacity (also the title of the poem). Our film alongside the other amazing films were screened at The Scoop on Saturday 26th June 2021 during the festival. This project is a message to all the artists out there to keep creating, to keep going, and to keep being inspired by the incredible city that is London. You can watch our film here: https://impactdance.co.uk/london-festival-of-architecture/
Lead Artists: D’Andre Elizah, Basmah Mohamed & Chloe Lansiquot.

The Poem

Wild screams and picture-perfect scenes

Swinging London, you never sleep.

Every space you create

Every career you shape

is testament of your hunger for success of the creatives

and to speak one day would be the greatest

Though I’m not the greatest,

being your portraitist is an honour –

to showcase the authenticity,

the tenacity,

the mosaic that is London.

 

Life imitates art and my dear London, you’ve given us a head start

For when things fall apart, we look to you as the creator of all art.

I admire the power you have to inspire

through your landscapes, your beautiful landmarks –

though it’s truly impossible to capture your outright beauty.

 

It’s a legal duty to look after you.

Let’s use your spaces to express our truth as creative youth

because artistic freedom is a privilege, and we must seize it.

My dear artists, you should continue to work the hardest

and never stop until it’s time to stop.

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