FORWARD STEPS: RAISING THE PROFILE OF GLOBAL ETHNIC MAJORITY ARTISTS WITH SHARON MONTEITH AND PANYA BANJOKO (SUPPORTED BY LAURA DECORUM AND ABÍỌ́DÚN ‘ABBEY’ ABDUL)

Sharon Monteith will explore some of the words we use in our conversations. Can we talk honestly and usefully about racism, white privilege or being woke?  When words are used solipsistically and ahistorically, they risk being drained of their original meanings, and the meaning behind them may still matter.

Panya Banjoko will surface untold stories held at Nottingham Black Archive of how artists and activists negotiated and managed a racist arts sector through the establishment of organisations such as the Black People’s Freedom Movement in the 1970s and the Chronicle of Minority Artists (CHROMA) collective in the 1980s.

Taking place in the space Laura Decorum (visual artist) and Abíọ́dún ‘Abbey’ Abdul (poet) will each respond to the topic, energy, themes, or words and statements and transform them into a creative outcome.