~ A DAY OF INSPIRATION, CELEBRATION, COLLABORATION, AND RE-IMAGINING~
C O N F E R E N C E P A C K D E L E G A T E S
F O R
ABOUT THE CONFERENCE
The ‘Re-imagining Black Britain’ Conference is a one-off collaboration between Black British platforms and organisations No Fly on the WALL, Sassy Tees, We are Superwoman, and Cultured Lens. The conference aims to bring together a wide range of attendees, speakers, facilitators, and performers for a day of inspiration, celebration, collaboration, and re-imagining. With panels exploring identity and Afro-futurism, arts and culture, business and enterprise, and of course networking and collaboration, as well as workshops hoping to inspire attendees to move ‘from idea to action’, we aim to provide attendees with the resources, energy, and space in which to Re-imagine Black Britain and our individual as well as collective place in it. The political landscape in Britain has changed significantly, particularly since 2013, when various grassroots and DIY organisations began. Since then there has been an upsurge of creative, radical, grassroots, and independent platforms taking space and providing a voice and representation for young black women in particular. However, faced with the sobering events of 2016 and 2017, we feel a new approach is needed to confront and challenge the growing oppression and marginalisation of the Black community, in all its variety and heterogeneity. How can we liberate ourselves through education and decolonised histories? How can we empower each other through starting and supporting Black-owned businesses? How can we build as a community, whilst still dissecting our differences and the way those may impact our lived experiences in Britain? What role can the arts play in our liberation, the archiving of our stories, and re-shifting the narrative, especially as Black poets, writers, filmmakers, and artists continue to shake the status quo online and offline? How can we build a meaningful and inclusive movement? We hope to explore and make some headway towards answering these questions and more throughout the day, aiming to be solution-focused at every turn. We’d also like to highlight that we have made a conscious decision to hold the conference in Birmingham, rather than London, in the spirit of ‘Re-imagining’. We hope that decentring the capital and bringing our collective energy to a vibrant and upcoming city like Birmingham, which also has a significant population of people of Afro-Caribbean descent, will send a strong message about community building, intersectionality, and new approaches. The ‘Re-imagining Black Britain’ Conference will take place at Centrala Space, Birmingham, on Saturday 27th January 2018.
Key Information
When: Saturday 27th January 2018 9.30 am - 9.00 pm Where: Centrala, Unit 4 Minerva Works, 158 Fazeley Street, Birmingham, B5 5RT (Nearest station: Birmingham New Street) Parking & Prices Excel Parking Services Limited Fazeley Street/ Seymour Street West Midlands Birmingham B5 5JP
Mon-Sat : All day 1 Hour - £1.20 2 Hours - £2.50 5 Hours - £4.00 12 Hours - £5.00 24 Hours - £10.00
GETTING THERE BY PUBLIC TRANSPORT CLOSEST TRAIN STATIONS: Birmingham Moor Street Station Birmingham New Street BUS: Route 97 (three stops from Allison Street to Fazeley Street) WALKING: 13 minutes from Moor Street Station 8 minutes from Coach Station
PROGRAMME 9.30am - 10.00am: Arrival & Registration 10.00am - 10.30am: Welcome & Opening Remarks 10.30am - 11.45am: Panel 1, On Identity & Afro-futurism Panel Curated by We Are Superwoman 11.45am - 12.00pm: BREAK 12.00pm - 1.15pm: Panel 2, On Reflecting on the Past and Building toward the Present for a more Equitable Future in the Creative Industries Curated by Cultured Lens 1.15pm - 2.30pm: Panel 3, Building Sustainable Entrepreneurship with Principle & Passion whilst Staying Accountable Curated by Sassy Tees 2.30pm - 3.15pm: LUNCH BREAK 3.15pm - 4.15pm: Parallel Workshops, A-B-C 4.15pm - 5.30pm: Panel 4, On Networking, Collaborating, and Community Building Curated by No FLY on the WALL 5.30pm - 6.00pm: CLOSING Remarks --------------------------------------------------------7.00pm - 9.00pm: SHEroes of No Fly on the WALL: Vol 4 (Birmingham edition)
Panels
Panel 1: On Identity & Afro-futurism This panel is curated by We Are Superwoman and will explore identity in Black Britain and the ways in which Afro-futurism as a philosophy can equip us to re-imagine ourselves as individuals and as a community. Speakers: Heather Agyepong Dr. Nathaniel C_ Genelle Aldred Chardine Taylor-Stone
Panel 2: Reflecting on the Past & Building on the Present for a More Equitable Future in the Creative Industries This panel is curated by Cultured Lens and will explore how Black artists and creatives have and continue to forge spaces for themselves in the arts despite continuous attempts by others to erase and exclude our contributions and innovations. What has been done and what work is yet to be done? Speakers: Fatimah Kelleher OluwaFemi Nylander Ndrika
Panels - Continued
Panel 3: Building Sustainable Entrepreneurship with Principle and Passion whilst Staying Accountable This panel is curated by Sassy Tees and will explore Black business, enterprise, and entrepreneurship in Britain and interrogate the ways in which we can not only support Black businesses, but create and sustain our own, whilst staying accountable to ourselves and the wider community. Speakers: Joe Faulkner Amahra Spence Abiola Bankole Dorcas Magbadelo
Panel 4: On Networking, Collaborating, and Community Building This panel is curated by No Fly on the WALL and will explore all the ways in which we can pool together our resources, energy, and vision and build effective movements together, collaboratively – whether your contribution to meaningful transformation comes in the form of initiatives that decolonise the curriculum; work that reaches beyond Britain and across the vast diaspora; community organising on campus; or initiatives and activities that continuously make space for Black voices within the Arts and Heritage spaces. Why is collaboration the key? Why must we build bridges and make connections and how do we do this intersectionally and inclusively? Speakers: Dr. Kehinde Andrews Aliyah Hasinah Chante Joseph Isaac Eloi Each panel will have last 75 minutes and have a Q&A section for attendees to engage in conversation with panel speakers.
Workshops
Workshop A: ‘Creating Enterprise’: How to start up a creative business and build your personal brand, with Dorcas Creates Workshop B: ‘Campaigning and political organising’: How to build a movement in the UK, with Black Lives Matter Workshop C: ‘Education and transformation’: Decolonising education through Black Supplementary Schooling and alternative curriculums, with Dr. Kehinde Andrews
Online Communications
Conference website: www.reimaginingblkbritain.wordpress.com Twitter: @ImagineBlkBrit / @NoFlyontheWALL/ @SassyTeesUK/ @WeAreSuperwoman/ @CulturedLens Facebook: Re-imagining Black Britain Conference 2018 Conference hashtag: #ReimagineBlkBritain Wifi at Centrala: Information can be provided upon arrival during registration
Further Info/ Things To Do in the Area
Lunch: Food will be available to buy at the venue at lunchtime: South African Street food will be available from our vendor Albert Smith. Vegan food will be on sale in the evening by Vegan Alex, a local Birmingham vendor specialising in plant-based Caribbean food. Drinks and snacks will also be available to buy from the Centrala Cafe downstairs. Complimentary tea and coffee will be available in the morning. ______________________________________________________ Staying overnight? The Bullring, Birmingham Library, The Rep Theatre, Birmingham Hippodrome, The Custard Factory, Brindleyplace, Birmingham New Street Station, and Bournville and Cadbury World are all nearby.