Featuring... Otis Mensah Yusuf Yellow RACE ZINE Assembly House Emily Flanagan ...and more
CO N T E NT S @bfdood
le
It's Nice to be back.
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8
Yusuf Yellow
Otis Mensah
Introducing the rapper
The rap-poet speaks
breaking barriers with
about his confessional
his vulnerable style of
#OtisMensahExists
hip-hop.
project.
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20
RACE ZINE
Emily Flanagan
Meet Okocha
Get to know the
Welcome to Issue 9 A lot of things tend to challenge us when we bring out a new magazine, but we never thought a global pandemic would ever get in the way. Yet, here we finally are with Issue 9 and a smile that is going to be hard to get rid of. It’s been 7 months since our last print issue and a lot has changed. This year has been one of division, isolation and confusion but - amidst the chaos - it has also been an opportunity for us to pause and re-evaluate. We’ve seen the social and artistic circles we inhabit have become kinder, louder and more resilient. As we celebrate coming back to a life full of live music, art, dancing and keeping our loved ones close by our side, we hope you’ll join us in soaking this magazine in something bubbly.
Obasi, the creative
illustrator and maker
powerhouse behind
behind the cover of
RACE ZINE.
Issue 9
26 Assembly House
A big big thank you to our cover artist Emily Flanagan for being so supportive and patient. We’re buzzing that we can finally hold your brilliant cover design in our (thoroughly washed) hands.
Learn about the arts space at the heart of Leeds’ creative community.
Stay nice x
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Nice People Magazine Spring 2020
Front cover design:
Logo design:
Editorial: Meg Firth
Emily Flanagan (@flazzle)
Julia Pomeroy (@j.uliapomeroy)
Projects: Hannah Platt Events: Henry Beaumont
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Image: Meg Firth
Y
uf s u
Yellow
The 22 year-old rapper addresses
evolution from the young producer’s recent
toxic masculinity and self-
self-reflective EP, The Yellow Tape. An odyssey
development with his vulnerable take on hip-hop.
of introspective hip-hop, this EP spills Yellow’s tales of being a “Coffee shop part-timer” trying to navigate relationships, personal development, a social life and a career. Against
B
ack in 2012, Joey Bada$$ dropped his
a backdrop of twenty-something hedonism,
professional debut, the 1999 mixtape.
Yellow weaves between light-hearted rhymes
On his opening track ’Summer Knights’, the
and deeper, cathartic confessions.
then 17-year-old Brooklyn rapper exposes the disingenuous commercial trends of music in
Joseph Alhallak is the producer behind
his line: “It’s been a minute since we seen a
the pseudonym Yusuf Yellow. Translating
style wit’ no gimmicks”.
his personal experiences and feelings into confessional rhymes and introspective
Enter Yusuf Yellow: the Leeds-based
bars, Alhallak tackles themes such as toxic
wordsmith who produces music devoid of any
masculinity, negative conditioning, self-worth
posturing or gimmicks, instead prioritising
and self-development in his music.
honesty in his vulnerable, confessional rap. With his new refreshing single, ‘Would It Even
“Writing songs is always self-therapy for me,”
Matter?’, Yellow refers back to the Bada$$
Alhallak explains. “I think there’s nothing
vision by being completely real with his
more beautiful, scary and inspiring than a true
emotions. Yellow is anything but cowardly with
expression of one’s self. When you make art,
his lyrics, as he attacks his vanilla competition
you bring something into existence that has
and vulnerably expresses his own insecurities
the power to change people’s lives”.
in the same breath. Opening The Yellow Tape with ‘Growth Of The
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Nice People Magazine Summer 2020
The single is a taste of Yellow’s upcoming
Flower’, Yusuf addresses the effects of cutting
album, perhaps signposting an emotional
comments thrown at him growing up.
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Image: Meg Firth
"When you make art, you bring something into existence that has the power to change people’s lives" It’s a strong opener, introducing Yellow’s
just focus on what’s happening now because
intelligent lyricism delivered by his
nothing is guaranteed and things can change
signature somnolent drawl. “The lyrics
at any second. I just focus on my short-term
represent some very heavy insecurities
goals and keep working hard.”
for me,” Alhallak admits. “I grew up being told often that I was clumsy and forgetful
His potential is matched by his high level
with my head in the clouds. I’m sure most
of determination, motivated by the flower
people didn’t mean to be hurtful, but after
that inspired his stage name. “I gravitated
a while, those comments lead me to believe
towards the colour yellow after learning
that I was pretty stupid and unintelligent.
that sunflowers keep turning until they find
Now, my awareness of why I feel that way
sunlight,” explains Alhallak. “To me, they
helps me ground myself and it gives me the
serve as a great metaphor for life: no matter
confidence to know they’re wrong.”
how dark things get, I’ll keep working hard and try new ways until I eventually find what
Yellow wears his heart on his rolled-up
I’m looking for.”
sleeves, but his music is far from a cry for help. Despite his confessions of holes in his
Refreshingly honest and beautifully
clothes and a diminishing bank balance,
delivered, Yellow’s growing discography
Yellow’s dreams of being on the road touring
narrates the inner monologue of a young
will undeniably become a near reality.
man navigating the complexities of modern
“I’d love to get to a point where I’m selling
life. His emotionally intelligent wordplay and
out shows, doing tours, travelling the
original production are a special rarity that
world and am able to make enough money
deserves to be heard on an International
from music to help my family and friends.
scale.
However, I try not to set anything as an ultimate goal because I don’t want to set any limitations to how far I’ll go. I tend to
Words by Meg Firth
Nice People Magazine Summer 2020
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Image: Raluca de Soleil
is t O
Mensah
Delivering socially-conscious narratives with impeccable flow, this young hip-hop poet embraces experimentation and poetic-expression in his new #OtisMensahExists series.
T
here still remains, in dusty corners of some red brick universities, old white men readily poised to discredit the powerful potential of hip-hop, rap and animation. It’s an age-old need to label something as ‘lowart’, shoehorning it into the realm of ‘trivial’. And yet, hip-hop and animation find kinship within each other. As someone who is wellaware of the snobbery of traditional academia, Otis Mensah has been a proverbial corrective lens on this subject for years. Talk of this paradigm is inevitable whilst sitting down with the Sheffield Poet Laureate to dissect his new, multi-dimensional project. #OtisMensahExists involves poetry, philosophy, hip-hop, jazz, animation and so much more. It taps directly into society without frills or braggadocio: sometimes witty, often painful, but always authentic.
#OtisMensahExists is a seamless collaboration with fellow Sheffield resident and illustrator, Jim Spendlove. It was a natural process, highly valued by ‘Mum’s House Philosopher’ Mensah: “[Jim] got my ideas straight away and elevated
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Nice People Magazine Summer 2020
them, transcended them even.” Spendlove’s animations - paired with the episodic release schedule and title hashtag- were to “Critique and pay homage to binge culture.” Cleverly crafted from beginning to end, the 5-part project sees each track released every 3 weeks. Through the very foundations of the project, from denying a ‘binge effect’ but still partaking in ‘quick fix’ internet culture, Otis questions how we consume art in today’s climate and what this means for our society. Anxieties about modernity, particularly progress or lack thereof, are rife throughout the project. No place is this better seen and heard than ‘Internet Café’, a piece inspired by the 2013 documentary Web Junkie, that places internet gaming addiction at its centre. On questioning Otis why he chose this subject, he immediately gets stuck in: “I started to think about how we pathologise ‘internet addiction’. There’s a want to simplify what our generation is going through.” Using nuance to explore why and how we got here, ‘Internet Café’ refuses to be reduced to the binary of ‘good for you and bad for you’, residing instead somewhere in the middle. Otis alludes to how things are “Broken in our lives and in our society. The internet acts as a shield for that”. Paired with jangly piano, an uncanny familiarity of our toxic relationship with modernity creeps in. Otis explains: “I don’t want to speak for an entire generation, but I’m picking up on my own experiences.”
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Image: Raluca de Soleil
Despite being introspective, the series pangs of relateability and collective experience. ‘No Record Store Day’ is a great example of this. Written separately to the rest, towards the beginning of the global pandemic, it’s an episode so attached to a place and time, one that we’ve all experienced in some way or another. During Otis’ poetry book launch in June, he spoke on the idea of a hip-hop artist fulfilling the role of a community philosopher. ‘No Record Store Day’ is the community philosopher at his finest, pinpointing our frustrations, our trauma and our fear. The track is urgent, agitated and bursting at the seams. The entire project manifests a stifling restlessness, perhaps stemming from Otis’ need to document his existence. For the artist, the creation of #OtisMensahExists coincided with “A heightened state of anxiety”, particularly around mortality and existence. ‘40 years’ is a track that fuses this claustrophobia into its very essence. Talking about this, Otis reflects on “Artistic purgatory”, particularly, “In this current state with white supremacy running rife through society with all this trauma, with the social media age, with lockdown, being an artist and feeling trapped.” Trying to resist these confines, we hear Otis at his most experimental, playing with rhythm, rhyme, pitch and tempo. Towards the end, his speech folds in and out of the instrumentation, mimicking the improvisational flow of jazz in a way similar to that of Freestyle Fellowship.
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On questioning Otis on his influences, it’s no surprise that jazz is up there: “I think on a philosophical level, I see the art of rap as jazz.” Otis’ particular blend of jazz-poetry constantly keeps listeners attentive and enveloped. During our conversation, we frequently touch on art rap, particularly Open Mike Eagle, Aesop Rock and R.A.P. Ferriera (formerly Milo). Otis holds their artistic integrity in such high esteem, and their authenticity bleeds into his own art: “That’s how I love to write; I always want to write directly as an ear to what my thought patterns are telling me right at that moment.” Such poetic vulnerability is the driving force of #OtisMensahExists. Otis’ meditations on morality, anxiety, fear and claustrophobia propel the project from the get-go. The first track to be released, ‘Breath of Life (feat. Hemlock Ernst)’, sets the scene for what is to come. Regarding the decision behind this, Otis says “There’s definitely something to be said for putting the most gruesome, rawest, poetic exploration first to test the waters and to also let people know this is going to be a project that is intimate and personal.” Indeed, ‘Breath of Life’ has the dark abyss of fear at its core. Tackling even the fear of life itself, the paranoid anxieties within the words dance with the soulful instrumentation to create this eerie juxtaposition. This is fuelled further by the pen of Hemlock Ernst, whose avoidant abstraction deliciously clashes with Otis’ immediacy. ‘Breath of Life’ is the poet bearing his heart. Otis admits that poetic vulnerability “Helps on a therapeutic level.” however painful it may be.
Nice People Magazine Summer 2020
The poet says: “No matter what you are going through, you have an outlet where you are not fearful or hiding the most gruesome, embarrassing things – this can be somewhat liberating, it can be empowering.” Relating to this, ‘The Thinks’ is a moment of catharsis. Lovingly described as ‘An ode to an overthinker’, we see Otis confronting his own mental health from a position of objectivity. For Otis, this track allowed him to see that there can also be beauty in suffering: “Giving a sense of purpose to personal suffering adorns the suffering if you will. I got something beautiful from this. Using art and expression to unravel your own mind.” There’s a toxic element that can sometimes grow from poetic vulnerability, that which shields the most embarrassing and intimate thoughts. In order to refrain from this tendency, Otis says “I have to remind myself, pull myself directly back to why I started writing in the first place. My favourite artists did it for me; I felt less alone and it saved my life.” Throughout #OtisMensahExists, working in between the poet’s vulnerability is our own. What Otis Mensah achieves is a collective sigh of relief. We are not alone. The community philosopher pulls us back from the brink: we are seen, we are heard, and we do exist. Season 2 of #OtisMensahExists is on the horizon. Collaborating again with Jim Spendlove, it promises to provide “Even more direct responses to the state that we are currently in.” Otis is also working on his first self-produced EP as well as his debut album which will hopefully materialise in 2021.
Words by Claire Hamilton
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Image: Okocha Obasi
Okocha Obasi is a designer
Poli
O
tru s l a c ti
dp n a s cture
O a h koc
bas
h
xpe e l a ysic
i on R
es: rienc
E N I Z ACE
who aims to not just challenge standards but to break them. Through the creation of RACE ZINE, the Leeds Arts University graduate embarks on his mission to uplift his community.
O
kocha Obasi wants to break the mould. He told me this, but he needn’t have; it’s clear that Okacha’s aim of creating an element of cathartic liberation through art and design is as significant as the creative ideologies that shaped him. Every inch of Okocha’s life has been littered with moments of change through creativity. Even before the age of 18, he’d hosted his own fashion street style blog, was involved with the BP National Portrait Academy, and hosted events in London as part of his short time with the 98 collective. Moving to Leeds for University, Okocha quickly became associated with the underground creative scene. In his first year, he ran Where Are You From, an event focusing on race on campus and within the creative industry. Alongside this, he hosted an exhibition and spoken word event exclusively exhibiting creatives of colour. It was at this point that Okocha began working with Wharf Chambers, a co-operative club in Leeds, to produce RACE
ZINE RACE ZINE is a non-profit that collates healing, empowering and informative content made by and for the BAME community. The print zine has since led to nine events, including club night TONGUE N TEETH, and has pulled together three other likeminded
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Nice People Magazine Summer 2020
individuals to form a strong collective. Okocha says of his role, “I would describe myself as a designer who creates work that is strategically informed by political structures and physical experiences”. With this, Okocha never restricts the zine’s content. Instead, the focus is on the intimacy of people’s stories, and in particular, how they shape our reality, “I hate things being censored and I connect deeply with work which is raw, thought-provoking, and liberating; that’s why the submission is always open to anything.” Using an honest and open approach, the zine is crafted with a mixture of poems, essays, letters, art, and photography. “All of the content we feature is basically very matter of fact about what is being talked about. It’s important to document creatives who present work like this as they are not always visible.” “We live in such a glossy fast-paced world; we sometimes forget that we are all humans experiencing different things all the time. And I guess that is what I look for: the human voice, the important voice, the voice which may not be seen, but must be heard.” This voice, Okocha says, is an exhausted one – of always being on the outside, always having to explain, always being made to feel invisible. As the only black student in a class of around 80, Okocha touches on the moments of disconnect throughout his education and how RACE ZINE seeks to create a space for people of colour. “I was never taught about my history of both being queer and black during any of my time in education. I was never told I was equal or deserved the same as my counterparts but
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“We live in such a glossy fast-paced world; we forget that we are all humans experiencing different things.”
instead always observed a difference in others’ transactions. I hear from people on how amazing, safe, and welcomed they feel in the spaces RACE ZINE creates. I have had moments where people have joyfully cried to me because of what the space means to them and the fact they finally have that space in Leeds which feels like some sort weird, beautiful community.” As a community, RACE ZINE build on their need for connection and the human experience. Their club nights, talks, panels and workshops are notorious for being experimental: zine-making workshops responding to articles about race issues; workshops with young people to make world-altering inventions; and life drawing classes teaching Black and Asian history. The series of club nights, TONGUE N TEETH, have become a staple of RACE ZINE culture and takes its themes from current events. While the aim is to call on self-expression, there’s an undercurrent of creating a narrative for change; for becoming more liberated.
Okocha says, “As a young queer black designer, it is important for my practice to follow its responsibility and that is to shape and reflect the word honestly. If you put love and care into the world, that can travel as an unstoppable speed and strength for a very long time.” For Okocha, it’s all about the people, and the creativity that resides within them. With that, he hopes that readers and participants in his events will be more conscious, inspired, connected and to feel that they too can support the mission for a brighter, more diverse creative world.
To get involved, find RACE ZINE on Facebook and Instagram. Words by Jessica Howell (NRTH LASS Magazine)
Nice People Magazine Summer 2020
Image: Okocha Obasi
Nice People Magazine Summer 2020
@jschristou
by John Christou
BETWEEN 10AM · 6PM MONDAY > FRIDAY BETWEEN 10AM · 6PM MAIL TO > EIGERSTUDIO@GMAIL.COM OR CALL 01132444105 TO BOOK MONDAY > FRIDAY
Self Portrait
New Craven Gate Industrial State · Ls11 5nf
www.eigerstudios.co.uk
EN DAIL P O DA ENAM OP 10PM IL
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Yusuf Yellow
10 10AM 10PM
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Y · OP E AIL
Sophie also runs Mouse Agency, a collective of artists and creatives who specialise in visuals and words. The agency was created to satisfy the need for affordable content for musicians and to connect the creative community of Leeds.
MAIL TO > EIGERSTUDIO@GMAIL.COM www.eigerstudios.co.uk OR CALL 01132444105 TO BOOK
OPEN OPEN D Y· D
Sophie Jouvenaar is a Leeds-based photographer who works predominantly with local musicians and artists. Valuing the connection between the photographer and the subject, her work aims to break down barriers of pretence and celebrates identity, honesty and individual creativity.
New Craven Gate Industrial State · Ls11 5nf
Y · OP E AIL
sophie jouvenaar
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Van Houten Sapcey Basement Cult
ly i Em Flanagan Meet the illustrator and maker whose
style’,” muses Emily. “It’s true when they say
delightful geometric illustrations
you’ll never find it — it just finds you. For me,
exhibit her deep understanding of both colour and the monochromatic.
A
the more I scrambled around trying to find it, the further it got from me and my work began to feel forced and disingenuous.” Emily credits her university tutor Matt for
lways with a striking pop of neon, artist
guiding and influencing her through the early
Emily Flanagan crafts thoughtful geometric
stages of her practice: “He oozes with passion;
designs that exude character, story and
I left every lesson with him feeling driven
vibrancy. With her monochromatic designs
and practically spilling over with ideas and
and simple subject matters, Emily’s work
excitement.”
emphasises her methodical line work and inventive use of composition.
Settling comfortably in the world of bold geometric shapes, Emily’s intrepid use of neon
Growing up in Stockport, Emily recollects the
highlights the simple yet striking elements of
“Hazy memories” of when she first started to
her designs. “Black and white really resonates
make art. Sat cross-legged in reception, her
with me,” expresses Emily. “I feel like it can
class were asked to produce a painting based
tick any box for whatever emotion or story I’m
on a poem. “My teacher pulled me aside after
trying to communicate.”
the class and I cried because I thought I was in trouble,” Emily coyly remembers. “But she told
Since moving back home to Stockport, Emily
me she wanted to submit it to Stockport Art
has transitioned her practice towards plant
Gallery. I went down with my family to see it
pot designs. Inspired by her “Horticultural
and I felt like a local celebrity. I never got that
genius” of a mother, Emily decided to provide
painting back.”
the many plants in her childhood home with pots emblazoned with her intelligent designs.
The Leeds Arts University graduate has
“I like the idea of squeezing bright colours, bold
since established a signature style of playful
shapes and stories into every last corner of the
geometric shape and colour, creating big-
home. The practice of illustration is so versatile
eared characters that grace her designs with a
in what you can create that sometimes a page
carefree aura. “As an illustrator, you spend a lot
even has its limits.”
of time searching around for your ‘signature
Nice People Magazine Issue 9 gig poster
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Nice People Magazine Summer 2020
by Emily Flanagan @flazzle
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“Illustration is so versatile in what you can create, sometimes a page has its limits.” Emily is also inspired by her “trusted trio” of
to my ignorance back then. When I moved
fellow illustrators and makers: Poppy Almond,
back home from university and noticed that
Charlotte Curnick and Natasha Kay-Sportelli.
Stockport had really picked up. I could see the
“If I’m ever stuck and needing external
potential in everything. There’s so many small
opinions, these three are my trusted trio.”
businesses and independent businesses here now that it feels like it’s own world. Myself and
«Poppy is always someone I look to for
other artists have taken over Little Underbank
inspiration. She is so bold and brave; I try to
with the community art project OpenSpaces
use this boldness in all aspects of my life,”
and have voluntarily created murals on
Emily begins. “Charlotte Curnick is a master
desolate buildings. It’s a buzzing town to live in
of shape, colour and texture. Everything she
nowadays.”
produces is so vibrant. Working alongside her pushes me to be more experimental. And
Emily has also left her footprint on
Natasha Kay-Sportelli has this incredible knack
Manchester’s staple Piccadilly Records, who
for composition; she’s a photographer, curator
recently commissioned her to create a mural
and one of my best friends. Her writings and
on their shop’s walls. This project, along with
compositional skills are unlike anything I’ve
her work to help rejuvenate Stockport, has left
ever seen before.»
Emily with the ambition to splash more colour and creativity into our everyday lives: “I always
Emily’s hometown of Stockport, with its
look up at big, blank retail buildings and vacant
vibrant industrial history, has recently had
walls in bars and just envision what I would do
new life breathed into it by the multi-faceted
if given free rein.”
community of creatives that reside there now. Abandoned shop fronts and graffitied walls
The world is certainly in need of a little splash
have been transformed by these artists who
of Emily Flanagan’s bright and witty designs.
have given the now-colourful town a much-
Here’s to a future of seeing her vivid murals
needed facelift.
illuminating buildings and walls across cities. After all, we could do with a bit of colour.
“I don’t particularly remember Stockport being very creative or inspirational before I left to study at Leeds Arts University”, recalls Emily. “I remember it being very bleak and lacking
Words by Meg Firth
creativity of any sort - but that could be down
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“Ride Your Pony” by Emily Flanagan @flazzle
Nice People Magazine Summer 2020
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luci pina
DELIVERING TO YOUR DOOR
#NiceIntroductions
FREE DELIVERY ON ALL ORDERS OVER ÂŁ50
With a lofi and sentimental approach to image making, Luci Pina’s practice tends to follow personal narratives in response to text and poetry. Through her visual exploration of image, type and drawing, Luci presents intelligently dissected and thoughtfully laid out narratives. Alongside personal narratives, she enjoys making research led responses to black culture; with energy, intention and a conscious and loving consideration for the politics of representation. Luci has recently graduated from Leeds Arts University and is continuing to combine her love for hip hop and art. She was recently commissioned by Assembly House for their Black Joy Matters project.
@luc.ipina
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Ho Assembly House is the creative space in Armley that is empowering
s u
e
Assembly
- Assembly House continues to provide an important hub for upcoming artists in Leeds.
and uplifting Leeds’ creatives through commission projects, open calls and unwaivering support.
Taking on a role “Somewhere between curator and caretaker”, Mike is at the helm of the Assembly House ship with fellow producer Alice Boulton-Breeze (“The nuts and bolts of
M
ike Winnard was one of a small group of graduates who founded Assembly House
back in 2014. After finding the space in Armley and essentially building it from the ground up, Winnard and his crew were determined to curate a new, accessible and inclusive space for creatives in Leeds. With its many studios and forever-welcoming atmosphere, Assembly House stands today as the backbone of independent creativity in the city. “We just rolled our sleeves up and put it together,” Mike humbly say as he reflects on the space’s beginning. “Electrics, plugs, floors, windows… There was nothing when we got here.” Whilst Mike admits that the space has gotten a more put-together since then, the aim of Assembly House remains the same as it did when it first opened: to provide affordable studio spaces and a place for exhibition opportunities. Having hosted over 100 studio holders and 140 exhibitions to date - covering everything from more academic, conceptual art all the way to tattoo and skate culture
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the place”). Mike explains how Assembly House is currently restructuring itself so that some of the existing studio holders are now moving into key roles in the organisation, creating a small team who split share control of the space. 2020 has been a time where the city’s culture and artists needed support more than ever.
“We just rolled our sleeves up and put it together...”
Refusing to turn their backs on the creative community they’ve formed, Assembly House decided to remain open over lockdown. Whilst sadly having to pull the plug on sixth months of planned programming, Assembly House threw caution to the wind and launched their 2020 digital programme. This included several commissioned online projects, the most recent of which is an interactive map of Armley set to launch in October. Despite not being able to create face-toface communities, Mike explains how, like many creative organisations, the team at Assembly House has been live-streaming classes and workshops as a means to foster Nice People Magazine Summer 2020
27
the collaborative space that lies at the core of
came from Kevin Chege (@norfnorfnoir), an artist
their operation. They are also continuing their
and filmmaker with a particular interest in sound
unwavering support for artists by offering free
and moving images. Chege has performed at Leeds
residencies to six selected artists in the gallery
Museums and Galleries and has recently had a
space, as well as helping to write emergency
documentary commissioned. His sticker design is
funding bids for creatives.
based on the House of York and House of Lancaster
Assembly House’s creative community: one of the artists involved is now a studio holder, one is on a free residency, and another is now working as the organisation’s Communications Intern. To date, the prints commissioned for the project have raised nearly £600 for the nominated causes.
rose symbol, but with the colours changed to In a time where motivation and inspiration have
represent the Pan-African flag. Chege describes
been especially difficult for many to come by, the
how the symbol is inspired by African heritage and
support Assembly House has been able to provide
critical Black thinkers, intended to represent young
goes beyond just financial help, as Mike explains:
Black youth growing up in Yorkshire. The design
“Even though the commissions that we’ve been able
explores the movement and migration of Black
to offer aren’t going to pay rent for a month, it’s an
people to Yorkshire and the surrounding areas, as
incentive for people to keep working and to keep in
well as both the connection and alienation of Black
touch with their creativity.”
bodies and Black critical thinking in these places.
One of the standout projects from the digital
Assembly House also commissioned a fourth artist,
programme is the Black Joy Matters print
textile designer Olga Motema (@olgaprints_), to
Assembly House also launched a mindfulness programme at the end of summer, commissioning Sophie Hutchinson - a local artist, dancer and yoga Sondliwe Pamisa
are available to anyone online. Moving beyond what Mike describes as the standard bedroom “Skinnywhite-girl-yoga-videos” that have become so popular
Luci Pina
in lockdown, this creative wellness programme is more outdoors based and aims to help relieve stress and enhance creativity with its focus on mindfulness. As Mike explains: ‘This is a time where a lot of people are struggling with their mental health and
commission, which came out of a want to ‘Help in a
anxiety; there’s a lot of uncertainty for creatives
way that was more utopian and hopeful’. The project
around the meaning of life and purpose when there
provided opportunities for Black artists in Leeds to
are not obvious things to be working on. We felt that
submit designs to be Riso printed and sold online,
mindfulness, having a connection to your body and
with all proceeds split between the artist and a
self-care are really important foundations to build
charity of their choice, plus a £150 fee paid upfront
creatively off of’.
to the artist. As Assembly House stated in their open call, the Black Joy Matters print commission
The first part of the series, which embraces Hatha
‘Isn’t an attempt to gloss over the very real and life-
yoga to focus on “Establishing a personal presence
threatening issues facing people of colour here and
and connection to the body that’s not reliant on
abroad’, but rather provide a ‘Chance for radical joy
any religion” invites participants to explore the
in the face of hate’, a chance to, as Mike describes:
principles of mindfulness. With two more parts set
‘Celebrate Blackness in its best ways’.
to be released, this creative wellness programme demonstrates how Assembly House continues to
To make the project as accessible as possible, the
serve as not only an important space for Leeds artists
open call application didn’t rely on experience and
during the pandemic, but a place where the wider
only asked a couple of questions to get an indication
Leeds community can foster their own creativity.
of how each artist would approach the commission. Two prints were directly commissioned - one by
do a crossover bag collaboration to be released
Sondliwe Pamisa (@sondliwe) and another by Luci
in the coming weeks. Whilst celebrating Black
Pina (@luc.ipina) - as well as a sticker edition to
artists in Leeds, the Black Joy Matters project has
be sent out with each print. This sticker edition
been a great way to meet new people and expand
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teacher - to create a series of wellness resources that
Nice People Magazine Summer 2020
More information about Assembly House and their ongoing projects, visit www.assemblyhouse.art.
Kevin Chege
Words by Hannah Stokes
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4 FLOORS 5 BARS 2 ROOF TERRACES RESTAURANT BEER HALL LIVE MUSIC COCKTAILS DJ’S
BELGRAVE MUSIC HALL PIZZA MUSIC BURGERS DJS ROOF TERRACE