Stranger. But why is this? Why do you make yourself invisible? Faceless: We don’t. Rather, it is you. Stranger: (shakes head confused). I don’t… Faceless: Your society makes us invisible. It is because of your society that we fade into the background. (Except from play, ARRM, p13-14) Together with the researchers the group rehearsed in Hidden offices and in various outside locations where they thought they might like to film the final version. They rehearsed and filmed outside of the doors of Manchester Central Library, which they thought was symbolic because it depicted the ‘other’ outside of one of Manchester’s most used and famous buildings. The group also filmed on a bench in a former bustling but now largely vacant and disused square in Central Manchester. The bench was located outside a former shop where the windows were empty and covered in paper. The desolation of this particular space was symbolic to the young people. The group also explored side streets in Manchester, some of which they thought were ‘very bleak’ and streets where they could find gates, which they thought represented their captivity and weariness. The group decided upon the bench outside the disused shop for the filming location. One of the group members also remarked that the square now seemed to be home to some of Manchester’s many homeless, who could also be the Faceless in the play. Eventually, due to bad weather conditions, the filming of Faceless was completed in Hidden’s office. In sum – in the Faceless project an interesting paradox arises: the young people, who feel invisible and unseen, are at the same time (by being migrants and asylum seekers) one of the most stigmatised groups in society. The Islamic Youth Association is a non-political association focusing on issues of youth participation and youth promotion. The association was founded in 2001 by young members belonging to various Islamic groups. The Islamic Youth Association section of Bologna was founded in 2014. With its approximately 1200 members, the association involves exclusively young people between 14 and 26. It is led by a national managing committee and each local section has its president and board. Each branch organizes its activities independently, but during the year some joint events and actions are organized both at regional and national level. The main aim of the association is to promote inclusion and civic engagement of young Muslims in the Italian society, as well as intercultural and interreligious dial...
