ALT.CARDIFF If it’s offbeat and in Cardiff then it’s here
P OW E R I N D I VE R S I T Y
December 2021 Issue 1
2 LOCAL NEWS Tiger Bay boxing club is empowering youth by offering free tutoring in Butetown
Eighteen-year-old student, Mohammed Ali trains at the boxing club
Combining tutoring lessons with activity, a boxing club is empowering youth from diverse backgrounds
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iger Bay Boxing Club is one of the few active spots in town that is empowering young people by offering free tutoring sessions with affordable boxing memberships to students from age seven to age 55. The Boxing Club recently started free tutoring sessions in Maths and Science for students from Year 6 to Year 10. They aim to empower young people struggling in the respective subjects post lockdown to help them gain confidence and discipline. The Club’s members can freely use the computers provided to complete school or college work or make their resumés. Wasim Said, a mixed martial artist and owner of the Boxing Club, says, “We started tutoring sessions just before the pandemic hit and recently expanded it, as the combination helps students manage stress and anxiety.” Covid-19 pandemic led Wasim to effectuate education, also making Tiger Bay, the first boxing club in
Cardiff to incorporate boxing with free tutoring sessions for the youth. Located behind a mosque, Tiger Bay’s owner believes in Islamic values, which inspired him to reopen the boxing club in 2018 for deprived communities with personal funds. “In Islam, the Prophet says that a strong belief makes a strong Muslim. You have to be physically fit to move forward. Therefore, our team established a space where students learn to live with discipline, morals and attain equal respect for all no matter the race, religion or gender,” Wasim said. An 18-year-old student, Mohammed Ali studying in Cardiff and Vale College, said the Boxing Club was distinct because it felt like home where people from across the world bond and help each other. Mohammed said, “Whenever I struggle outside of here, I come in to train and use the study space when needed. It helps me manage my anxiety."
"In Islam, the Prophet says that a strong belief makes a strong Muslim. You have to be physically fit to move forward" Alt.Cardiff
Welsh independent business, Max Rocks, will host a pop-up shop in Cardiff's John Lewis Welsh design company, Max Rocks is coming to John Lewis for a week-long pop-up starting 29 November as part of The Great British Exchange (GBE), an initiative to grow small local businesses. Max Rocks’ founder, Sian Cartledge will showcase her 2021 Christmas collection which is inspired by hardworking traditional Welsh ladies. The Swansea-based company specialises in designing Welsh learning material, greeting cards, gifts, homeware and stationery. John Lewis Cardiff partnered with The Great British Exchange to provide Welsh independent businesses with a week-long in-store pop-up. The Cardiff branch plans to host 19 local businesses by the end of the year.
Young Welsh poet in residence recites poems to make social change in Wales After reciting poetry at the Global Climate Change Conference (COP26), Taylor Edmonds will expand her Writing For Joy initiative to encourage social change. Empowered by her recent visit to COP26 where she narrated her poem, Riverside Guardian, Taylor is spending the next year helping the Welsh Government achieve its aims of improving knowledge of the Welsh language and Welsh culture. Taylor, 26, wants to make her residency with Future Generations Commissioner for Wales help advocate social change by encouraging Welsh communities to find space to express themselves with words. Taylor's residency is part of the Future Generations Act which aims to bring positive change by working with communities to improve poverty, health inequalities and climate change in Wales. The poet will re-start Writing for Joy’s workshops on Instagram in January.
INTERVIEW
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Welsh beauty entrepreneur cut her losses to launch cosmetics brand in lockdown " Truthfully, it was hard work but I’m one of those people who don’t do things by half. I’ll do a million things or nothing"
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leek and shiny hair tied in a high ponytail, thick lashes on and a foundation touch up, Zoë Trigwell is sat behind the camera and launches the meeting on Zoom. From being a single mother at 20 with a job in customer services to launching a beauty company at 27 amid a global pandemic, Zoë seems optimistic for the future. The Welsh beauty entrepreneur was pregnant with her second child when she launched vegan and cruelty-free Trigwell Cosmetics from the comfort of her home in Cwmbran during the lockdown in May 2020. Zoë says, “Truthfully, it was hard work but I’m one of those people who don’t do things by half. I’ll do a million things or nothing.” The makeup artist is a qualified teacher who owned and managed the first makeup academy in Wales for three years. Zoë Trigwell Makeup Academy located in Newport closed down earlier this year in February as a result of the pandemic. Zoë refers to the academy as her baby who slipped away during the pandemic. With two children and a new company, Zoë focused on building her beauty enterprise from home. “I sort of lost the love for makeup and the academy, Covid took that away from me. Starting Trigwell Cosmetics made me fall in love with makeup all over again but in a different way. I found happiness within myself,” said the entrepreneur.
" Starting Trigwell Cosmetics made me fall in love with makeup all over again but in a different way. I found happiness within myself"
Following her passion
Zoë juggled a full-time job in customer services when she started her beauty blog in 2014 after her son was born. Growing up, Zoë was inspired by the growing trends in blogging. She reviewed beauty products on the blog which took off when Zoë discovered Instagram. The makeup artist said, “I nearly gained 1k followers from my locality initially and now I have around 20k followers. Instagram helped me form a customer base for Trigwell Cosmetics.” The self-taught makeup artist started her career with three clients. “Just friends or friends of friends wanted me to do their makeup. I began receiving requests after posting pictures of their makeup looks on Instagram. I decided to join college for a qualification in makeup and cosmetics,” said Zoë.
Launching in pandemic
With years of experience in the beauty industry from blogging, makeup artistry and teaching to being an entrepreneur, Zoë continues to accept challeneges. She established a business in lockdown and organised weekly online makeup tutorials and, stopped two weeks before she had the baby. The businesswoman said that the lockdown had its problems, for instance, a massive delay in receiving her central product, 10-piece brush sets. In hindsight, she feels grateful to have had the extra time with her children. The academy owner also said that the pandemic caused turmoil in the beauty industry because makeup artistry relies upon face-to-face meetings. Zoe expressed, “It became more important to execute my brand during the lockdown. I wanted to help people simplify their makeup routine and still provide a luxurious feeling through inexpensive products.”
Jan 2022, Issue 1
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LONG READS 5
Upcoming Literary Competitions in Wales 1. Abous Us/Amdanom Ni (9 Jan 2022): Students age 4-18 living in the U.K, free entry. Theme: ‘connectivity and the universe’ 2. Rheidol Prize for Prose (15 Feb 2022): £12 per entry. Theme: Welsh-themed or set-nonfiction 3. The Rhys Davies Short Story Competition (22 March 2022): £8 per entry, for writers from, or living in Wales aged 18 or over. Flexibility in theme and style. 4. Bristol Short Story Prize (4 May 2022): £9 per story, entrants over 16-years-old. It can be in any theme or subject of choice Rap-poet, Duke Al Durham [left] recites poetry next to editor-in-chief of Lucent Dreaming Jannat Ahmed [centre] and Where I’m Coming From (WICF) founder, Durre Shahwar speaks at WICF open-mic event. Illustration: Shubhangi Dua
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young man stands at the centre of the stage, all lights on him and begins rapping his poetry, , “When walking the streets with the black kids, He’s labelled as a gang member.… When he’s with the white kids he’s token, Old people call him coloured…” Rap-poet, Duke Al Durham, 27, recently won a poetry contest and published his poem,
Welsh literary organisations are collaborating to create opportunities for under-represented writers. Press and open-mic collective Where I’m Coming From. They are working together to provide diverse artists opportunities through competitions, funded projects, submission call-outs for magazines and boost in equity in Welsh arts and culture industry. Duke said, “I create to relate and educate those who are struggling with mental health so they don’t The young poet also said that he might be new to the literature scene in Wales, but he feels the voices of people from different ethnic backgrounds are now starting to be heard. Duke said, “Since the Black because of ethnicities, social stigmatisation and stereotypes.”
Jan 2022, Issue 1
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LONG READS
Penning the race
Theco-founderofWICFalsotalksabout tokenisminrepresentationandherdesiretosee Dukereectsonhispastandsaysthathe turnedtothepenwhenheexperiencedracism moreorganisationsrunbyunder-represented groupsfromthegroundup.Shesays,AIt"sfrusasarugbyplayerinschool,andstillcontinuesto tratingtomewhenwetryto¸tinpeoplein experienceracism.ARacismseemslikean predeterminedcriteriaofhowstoriesaretold.B acceptabletooltothosewhofeelintimidat edanduseittocombattheirfeelings.It"sstillDurreemphasisesthattheapproachtochange massivelyprevalentintheUK.It"simportantforshouldnotbelookedatintermsofvisual representationofdiversity.Shesays,AIt"sa moreartistsandcreativestocometogetherand sharetheirexperiencestoeradicateracism,Btickhe boxexercisefororganisationstohireartists forvisualrepresentationonly.It"sstilla said. hierarchyalmostandasaresult,theindustry DurreShahwarisco-founderofanopen-mic reliesmoreonfreelancewritersofcolourto collectiveforunderrepresentedwritersinWales, boostdiversity.Weneedpermanentrolesfor WhereI"mComingFrom(WICF)and , believes under-representedwriters.B Cardiffisnowdoingabetterjobofrepresenting diversevoices.Thisisincomparisontowhen she¸rststartedWICF,wheretherewerefewer eventsthatcateredspeci¸callytowritersand performersofcolour.AI"dliketothinkthatwe werethe¸rstpeopletodrivethischangethat"s happeningnow,BsaidDurre. The29-year-oldwriterstartedWICFinthe summerofwhile 2017, pursuingherMasters.The collectivecollaborateswithotherinstitutions tobridgethegapbetweenemergingwriters andestablishedliteraryorganisationsformore opportunities.WICFhelpednearly50artists gainopportunitieswithpublishersandliterary journals. Durresaid,AIwasattendinglotsofopen-mics, literaryeventsandfestivals,butwasn"t reallyseeingtherepresentationIwantedto seeinWales,unlikeinLondon.Ibelievewe havebridgedthatgapbyworkingwithNational MuseumofCardiff,ArtesMundi,andLiterature Wales.B
"The industry relies more on freelance writers of colour to boost diversity"
" It’s important to give diverse people the tools that have been available to middle-class white people"
WICF Open-Mic Collective’s literature mixer taking place in Tramshed, Cardiff.
Making foundational change
Throughherorganisation,Durre"smaingoalis collaboratingwithotherorganisationstobridge thegapbetweenemergingwritersand establishedliteraryorganisationsformore Diversity is tokenistic opportunitiesverymuchgrassroots.WICFhas beencollaboratingwiththeNationalMuseum JannatAhmedisayoungeditor-in-chiefand ofCardiff,ArtesMundi,andLiteratureWalesto founderoftheindependentmagazinefor emergingauthorsandartists,LucentDreaming, empowermarginalisedartists. basedinBarry,saysthatdiversityincompanies Durrecontinuestosaysocietyneedspeopleto makepermanentlongtermrolesin isverytokenistic. organisationsfordiversevoices.Shebelieves The26-year-oldsaid,AIt"simportanttogive anyorganisationshavenowstartedtodothat under-representedpeoplethetoolsand butthereisstillalongwaytogo. resourcesthathavebeenavailableto LucentDreaming"sfounderisplanningto middle-classwhitepeoplelikework expandthemagazinetoabookpublishing experience.B companytomakeachangeintheWelsh Theliterarymagazineaimstoprovide literaturescene.Jannatsaid,AStartingafully marginalisedwritersandartiststhe opportunitiestoworkbehindthescenesfrom fundedbookpublisherwillmakemepotentially the¸rstfull-timepaidpublisherofcolourin writingtoproduction.AFromnextyear,wewant Wales.Ihavetomakethechangemyself.B writersfromunderrepresentedbackgroundsto participateinhelpingusjudgewritinginour LucentDreamingisnowacceptingliterarypieces competitions,Bsaidtheyoungeditor-in-chief. fortheirmagazinecompetitionthisyear.
Alt.Cardiff
Image Credit: Durre Shahwar