We’ve all been to a museum. Being shown around by an enthusiastic white male who knows about all the artifacts that the Museum stores. Artifacts from different parts of the world, collected by European ‘explorers.’ Explorers who set sail to discover a new world not ‘looters or invaders’, just explorers. Gifting their kings and queens […]
Category: Arts
AZ Magazine Creative Fund 2020 Recipients
After the success of the Creative Fund fundraiser and the hundreds of applications AZ Magazine received, five recipients have been selected. They will each be awarded £1,000 to create a work of art. In our continued collaboration with DJ Mag they’ll be sponsoring and mentoring one recipient, Xilhu Ese – to create a Dance music […]
Liberation and Self-Expression: How I Celebrate My Identity Through Capoeira
In my eyes, 2020 is the year Black people across the diaspora collectively decided enough is enough. And after a summer of Black Lives Matter protests around the world that are showing no signs of slowing down, it’s worth remembering that this is not the first time Black people and non-Black allies have rallied together […]
Why The Art World Needs To Be More Inclusive
As a Black queer artist, I understand how ones identity, background and perspective determine our relationship with art. The way we experience museums, galleries, and art spaces correlates with the lack of representation of diversity in cultural British society. Museums and galleries are public spaces, and there is a lot to say about how we […]
It’s A Continent Podcast: Decolonising African History One Episode At A Time
This March, best friends Astrid Madimba and Chinny Ukata launched It’s a Continent; a podcast “passion project” exploring African history, with aims to dispel shallow perceptions of the continent and its people. Humble in their ambitions, neither woman imagined the podcast would gain as much traction as it has, in just seven months. “To even […]
…cake review – a play that forces you to feel – beyond binaries and dualistic thinking
On Friday 23 October I was privileged enough to see a staged reading of …cake at Theatre Peckham by the lauded babirye bukilwa (Women’s Prize for Playwriting 2020 finalist and Bruntwood Prize for Playwriting 2019 shortlist). I use the word privileged not in a hyperbolic sense, rather reverentially I felt like I was watching the […]
Heaven Is Not Closed
For centuries, museums and art galleries have been regarded as the hallmark of culture. But even though museums have been hotspot for representing cultures and experiences all over the world, they have always underrepresented black women. This is despite the contributions which black women have made and continued to make to Western society. ‘Heaven is […]
7 People To Watch In 2020
We have now entered a new decade and it wouldn’t be right without acknowledging talented members of the QTIPOC community who are set to be game changers this year and beyond. Liyah Mai Leoni This girl is making waves! Liyah self published her first book entitled, ‘Sincerely yours…’ last year and the reviews have been […]
Queens of Sheba Review: The play that will empower all black women
“They ask me where I am from! I say I am a mix. Of both racism and sexism – they lay equally on my skin. Passed down unknowingly by my next of kin.” Above is an excerpt from the play- A line that was repeated throughout to emphasise: Misogynoir [mi-soj-uh-nwar], noun. 1. the specific prejudice […]
Filmmaker Pacheanne Anderson on Creating Films Around Mental Health, Politics and Being A Queer Person of Colour
The two films I made ‘QITPOC: The Elegy’ and A Somewhat (Self)-portrait of a Sex Symbol’ have been based on my experience living as a young QTIPOC in a patriarchal white society. I made these films as a mode of therapy and a way to connect to other people who have had similar experiences. For […]