April 22nd

BUSINESS • CasildArt - CasildART Contemporary is a Black-led organisation. It was set up in 2017 to address the lack of representation for Black artists and provide opportunities for people with an African or Caribbean background to connect to their heritage and engage with the creative industries. We are a not-for-profit social enterprise. Profits from sales go to run our community services, providing training, work placements, residencies, and other support services for our targeted communities. CasidArt • Kwanda- Kwanda is a village for those who want to build reliable and empowering systems for black communities. Black, Asian and ethnic minority workers with degrees are two and a half times more likely to be unemployed than White workers with degrees. Black workers with degrees are paid 23.1% less on average than White workers with degrees. The current system is disempowering black communities. We have to build new structures that are fairer and more sophisticated. Structures that embrace technology and embrace change. For us, by us. Better healthcare, access to capital, access to education, involvement in science. SELF FUNDED Access to the village is granted via a monthly pledge, of which the minimum is £1. This contribution is used to fund projects, and grants you voting rights and an equal voice amongst villagers. You can increase, decrease, or cancel your contribution at any time. Kwanda • Tafeta Art Gallery - Tafeta founder Ayo Adeyinka cut her teeth in finance before reinventing a former art consultancy as a gallery in 2013. Its forward-thinking approach saw it become one of five exhibitors awarded space within The European Fine Art Fair Maastricht’s prestigious 2020 Showcase section – the first-ever space at the fair specialising in contemporary African art. Continuing to evolve, Tafeta recently launched a radical “try-before-you-buy” initiative. Tilted Six for Six, the scheme allows prospective collectors to trial three artworks at home for six weeks without any obligation to buy. We rather like the look of Niyi Olagunju’s “Cookie Jar #19” in seductive hand-blown sapphire glass and gold leaf… Tafeta Art Gallery • Addis Fine Art - In 2016, Rakeb Sile and Mesai Haileleul co-founded Addis Fine Art, creating the first white-cube gallery space for modern and contemporary art in Ethiopia. Described as one of the "Most Important Young Galleries in the World" (Artsy 2019), the gallery has since then grown to become one of the leading galleries in Africa, establishing a prominent international platform for artists from the Horn of Africa. In October 2021, the gallery moved into an expanded premises in London, a two-storey gallery space in the heart of Fitzrovia. The London gallery programme encapsulates Addis Fine Art’s commitment to heightened international exposure for, and critical reappraisal of, African art on the world stage. The gallery’s Addis Ababa space continues to be an incubator for emerging talent, facilitating critical engagement within the local market and encouraging the growth and development of the artworld ecosystem on the continent. The gallery will also serve as a space for artists from the diaspora to return to the continent and share and develop their practice. Addis Fine Art •Second Abode - Second Abode, founded by Roman Dennis, is an online shop selling vintage and antique home decor. You'll find wonderful tableware, accessories and more, from bowls and pitchers to a wine rack and nest of tables. As founder Roman explains: 'I have curated a collection of vintage and found objects for the home that I hope you will love as much as I do. Each item is a piece that I love and is on display in my home until it finds its new owner, its second abode Second Abode EVENTS • Ayanna Witter-Johnson (8th and 9th of June, Southbank Centre) - The composer, cellist and singer recruits UK theatre pioneers and the sounds of lovers rock in a night of new music, reworked classics and storytelling. Ayanna Witter-Johnson •Chineke! Orchestra: Symphonic Celebration (28 April, Southbank London) - Tchaikovsky considered his turbulent Symphony No.4 to be his best work – hear it alongside a jazz reimagining of what might be his most famous composition. Chineke Orchestra •Zadie Smith with the BBC Symphony Orchestra - Zadie Smith is one of Britain’s most notable living novelists. Her first work White Teeth, completed while the author was still a student, became an instant hit when it was published in 2000. Soon enough, Smith came to define what it was to live in Britain – and particularly London – at the turn of the new millennium. Music has always coursed through Smith’s works. At university she worked as a jazz singer while her 2016 novel Swing Time, long listed for the Booker Prize, explores her love of music and dance. In the latest of our collaborations with great writers, Smith joins the orchestra for this entertaining evening featuring readings from a number of her novels and essays including White Teeth and Swing Time, alongside a wide range of music echoing some of the themes linked to Smith’s work. And there's even the opportunity to hear Zadie sing! Zadie Smith & BBC Symphony Orchestra • Cultural Style Week (21 * 27 May) - Cultural Style Week is a new global movement to encourage and empower people of all backgrounds to celebrate their unique cultural heritage through fashion, hair and beauty and everyone can take part! Cultural Style Week •Babylon (15) - DJ Spoony presents: Babylon (15) with live DJ set and ScreenTalk with Brinsley Forde, Trevor Liard, Brian Bovell, Dennis Bovell and Beverley Michaels - Babylon is both celebratory and cautionary, reflecting the excitement and vigour of the vibrant Soundsystem scene, whilst depicting the constant threat faced by Black youths from police and racist thugs. Featuring a stellar central performance from Brinsley Forde (noted for being the frontman of reggae group Aswad), Italian director Franco Rosso intimately captures the fabric of 1980s Deptford and Elephant & Castle, offering a priceless opportunity to take in the burgeoning Sound System subculture capturing the fashion, characters and mannerisms of those embedded in the local scene. Introducing the screening, DJ Spoony and special guests are spinning classic reggae, while after the film a panel with Brinsley Forde, Trevor Liard. Babylon Movie. •No More Mr Nice Guy (Camden People's Theatre 17th to 19th of May ) - Keloughn is a secondary school teacher caught in a love cube: his aspiration for senior leadership; his passion for music, and his fiancé, Carmelle. When his worlds collide he finds himself desperately clinging to his sanity whilst life unravels. Something has to give, but at what cost? No-More-Mr-Nice-Guy •Foxes (Seven Dials Playhouse, 3 May - 11 June) - Disrupting beliefs and morals, and tearing the foundations of family apart, Foxes explores the complexities of sexual identity and the impact unleashing your true self can have on those around you. What is the ultimate sacrifice when societal pressures of religious doctrine and male standards collide with a liberal lifestyle? This fierce debut, shortlisted for the Alfred Fagen Award, shines a light on queerness within London’s Caribbean Community. When one kiss has the power to destroy everything, one young black man struggles to keep up. Drawn from experiences close to home, Flanders’ portrait of tormented masculinity and homosexuality is a detailed exploration of the cultural clash between upbringing and identity. Foxes B (Y8 Northumberland Ave, London WC2N 5BY BOOKS • The Problem with My Normal Penis : Myths of Race, Sex and Masculinity by Obioma Ugoala -Why can't I be seen for who I am? What is the problem with my normal penis?' Obioma Ugoala is an actor, activist, singer, writer, Arsenal supporter and rugby player. A brother, son and loyal friend whose passions and influences range from Mozart to Mariah Carey, from The Karate Kid to Sidney Poitier. He is also a man of mixed Nigerian and Irish heritage and throughout his life, whether in the classroom, the changing room, the rehearsal room or the bedroom, he has had to contend with people failing to address their own prejudices about what they conceive a Black man to be. In this ground-breaking and revealing account, Ugoala confronts these prejudices head on, challenging notions of race, sex and masculinity that have over centuries become embedded in British society, poisoning the public discourse and blighting people's lives - including, on occasion, his own. The Problem with my Normal Penis

• The Intangible (C J WAshington) - In C.J. Washington’s riveting debut novel, a deadly secret and a devastating betrayal collide to unravel the lives of two couples in crisis. Amanda Jackson and her husband Derrick long to have a baby. But Amanda’s meandering road to motherhood has strained her marriage and she finds herself keeping secrets, even from her mother and sister. Feeling adrift―and beset by the sense that she can’t trust her own mind―Amanda turns to neuroscientist Patrick Davis for answers. The Intangible • Yonder (Jabari Asim) The Water Dancer meets The Prophets in this spare, gripping, and beautifully rendered novel exploring love and friendship among a group of enslaved Black strivers in the mid-19th century. They call themselves the Stolen. Their owners call them captives. They are taught their captors' tongues and their beliefs but they have a language and rituals all their own. In a world that would be allegorical if it weren't saturated in harsh truths, Cato and William meet at Placid Hall, a plantation in an unspecified part of the American South. Subject to the whims of their tyrannical and eccentric captor, Cannonball Greene, they never know what harm may befall them: inhumane physical toil in the plantation's quarry by day, a beating by night, or the sale of a loved one at any moment. It's that cruel practice--the wanton destruction of love, the belief that Black people aren't even capable of loving--that hurts the most.. Yonder • Yinka, Where is Your Huzband? - This romantic comedy follows Yinka, who has an education, a great job, a balanced life, and a bright future, but no husband — a constant pressure she feels from her family and friends. Though she believes she will find love when the time is right, she's still determined to find a safe for her cousin's wedding in this feel-good new romance. Yinka Where is your Husband • A Quick Ting on the Black Girl Afro By (author) Zainab Kwaw-Swanzy - A powerful celebration of the versatility and diversity of Black women's natural hair, A Quick Ting On The Black Girl Afro explores the rich cultural history of Black Women's Afros, their influence on popular culture, and the many ways in which Black women's natural hair is often politicised and judged A-quick-ting-on-the-black-girl-afro • "Manifesto: On Never Giving Up" by Bernardine Evaristo- Bernardine Evaristo is perhaps best known for her bestselling novel "Girl, Woman, Other", which led her to be the first Black woman and first Black British person to win the Booker Prize. This memoir is a contemporary conversation about social topics and a powerful testament to her life and career as she fought to be the inspirational and successful woman she is now. Manifesto: On Never Giving Up PODCASTS • GM5M - The #GM5M podcast is where Scarz & Eli speak their raw and honest thoughts. Growing up Black in the UK comes with alot of unwritten rules and expectations and these are the topics they like to discuss head on every Sunday. The unique part of the podcast is that anyone can say “Give Me 5 Minutes” at any point, the timer starts and that person has 5 minutes to speak uninterrupted. GM5M •Woo Long Talks Podcast- Black, British and Nerdy! This is the home of our podcast, where we talk Movies, Comics, TV, Gaming and more. New podcast available every week. Check us out! Woo Long Talks RADIO • Classic Desert Island Discs - Maya Angelou - Writer Maya Angelou talks to Michael Parkinson, in a programme first broadcast in 1988. Maya Angelou • Slick: The Story of Oil, Shell and Nigeria - When oil company Shell D’Arcy first struck black gold in Nigeria, there were celebrations on the creeks of the Niger Delta. Many of the locals had no idea what this thick black substance was, but it would go on to shape their lives and those of everyone in the region for decades to come. BBC West Africa correspondent Mayeni Jones hears about how hope and hospitality turned to resentment in the early days of oil in Nigeria.

Slick: The Story of Oil. Shell and Nigeria

FILM/TV •Ms. Pat: Y’all Wanna Hear Something Crazy? (TV-MA) 2022 - Ms Pat finds laughter in the absurdities of parenting, pet lovers and very unfortunate lip trends as she unpacks a painful past with humor and honesty. Ms Pat • Only Jokes Allowed (TV-MA) 2022- Six of South Africa’s top comedians take center stage and showcase their talent in this collection of short stand-up sets Only Jokes Allowed • Senzo: Murder of a Soccer Star (TV-MA) 2022 - Soccer player Senzo Meyiwa was a national hero before his killing shocked South Africa. Who did it, and why? This docuseries dives into the evidence. Senzo:Murder of a Soccer Star • Swan Song - In the near future, Cameron Turner is diagnosed with a terminal illness. Presented with an experimental solution to shield his wife and son from grief, he grapples with altering their fate. Swan Song • The Tragedy of Macbeth (December 25, 2021)- Macbeth, the Thane of Glamis, receives a prophecy from a trio of witches that one day he will become King of Scotland. Consumed by ambition and spurred to action by his wife, Macbeth murders his king and takes the throne for himself. WHAT AM I PAYING ATTENTION TO? • BLAXIT: Black Brits head for a new life in Africa and the Caribbean - THERE has been a rise in the numbers of black Britons making plans to relocate to Africa and the Caribbean seeking a better quality of life and a better education for their kids. The rising cost of living is also contributing to the trend. The failure of the government to tackle systemic racism is also given as key reasons why black British families are choosing to go ‘back home’ for good. In recent years, the pandemic and post-Brexit xenophobia has driven Blaxit, as black communities in the West move to countries in Africa or the Caribbean to restart their lives. The Blaxit term was coined after Brexit, by academic and human rights activist Dr Ulysses Burley III. Blaxit combines both the word black and exit and simply means black people exiting. Blaxit • Wells Fargo Rejected Half Its Black Applicants in Mortgage Refinancing Boom (BLOOMBERG) - Fewer than half of Black applicants were approved by the biggest US bank mortgage lender Loan Scandal WHAT I AM PERSONALLY RECOMMENDING? 1. Ma Petite Jamaica (Camden) - A Caribbean diner in the heart of Camden. Good food, warm hospitality and a 4 out of 5 rating on Trip advisor and 4.1 on Google reviews. Ma Petite Jamaica 2. THalf of A Yellow Sun (Book and Movie) - In 1960s Nigeria, Ugwu, a boy from a poor village, goes to work for Odenigbo, a radical university professor. Soon they are joined by Olanna, a young woman who has abandoned a life of privilege to live with her charismatic lover. Into their world comes Richard, an English writer, who has fallen for Olanna s sharp-tongued sister Kainene. But when the shocking horror of civil war engulfs the nation, their loves and loyalties are severely tested, while their lives pull apart and collide once again in ways none of them could have imagined... Book Movie 3. Hair Love - Hair Love” is a heartfelt animated short film that centres around the relationship between an African-American father, his daughter Zuri, and the most daunting task a father could ever come across – doing his daughter’s hair for the first time. Winner of the Academy Award® for Best Animated Short. YouTube link Have a great weekend!