CHECKPOINT

Marking three decades of live performance work across London and overseas, Border Crossings publishes CHECKPOINT: 30 Years of Border Crossings to mark this major milestone. This deeply researched and lavishly illustrated book reflects on thirty years of pioneering work with artists across cultures and artforms around the globe. Through theatre, film, festivals and community projects, Border Crossings has consistently explored what it means to collaborate, and CHECKPOINT captures that journey in depth.

Founded in 1995, Border Crossings has worked with artists and communities from across the globe, from London’s Latin American and Māori communities to collaborators in China, India, Ghana and beyond. CHECKPOINT reflects their extraordinary range of work whilst interrogating the ethical, political and artistic questions that underpin it. The main narrative is written by Tongan New Zealander Jasmin ‘Ofamo’oni, whose perspective offers a distinctive lens on Border Crossings’ work.

The book features contributions from many leading thinkers and practitioners including Helen Gilbert, Graham Harvey, Turkish scholar İlke Şanlıer, Mauritian academic Roshni Mooneeram and Border Crossings’ patron the renowned American director Peter Sellars and more.

Artistic Director of Border Crossings Michael Walling comments, Working with Jasmin ʻOfamoʻoni on the CHECKPOINT book has been an extraordinary experience. I’ve been able to look back over 30 years of theatrical experiments and intercultural encounters, aided by her acute and critical eye. She’s helped us to make sense of what we have done, drawing out clear lines of narrative and development we hadn’t even known were there. The finished book is really something very precious to me. 

Funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund, the book will be launched at a celebratory event in London this June.

Further Information: CHECKPOINT: 30 Years of Border Crossings