Words of Colour Productions

A host of artists, writers and academics join Words of Colour and the Southbank Centre to celebrate James Baldwin’s centenary year Sunday 21st July 2024 | 12pm-9pm The centenary of James Baldwin’s birth, and his powerful legacy as a writer, intellectual, civil rights activist and fashion icon will be celebrated at Conversations with Baldwin, a one-day festival at the Southbank Centre on Sunday 21st July 2024. Curated by Words of Colour, and presented in collaboration with the Southbank Centre, Conversations with Baldwin will explore the iconic American writer’s artistry, literature and enduring influence with some of the country’s most exciting contemporary artists, writers and academics. Running from 12pm to 9pm, the festival opens with an examination of Another Country – Baldwin’s masterly story of desire, hatred and violence – with author, academic and broadcaster Emma Dabiri , poet and writer Nikita Gill and writer Mendez. In Notes of a Native Son: Baldwin and Artists’ Roles, a staged reading of his non-fiction collection will be followed by a discussion on the role of activism and being an artist with actor and director Burt Caesar, Douglas Field, Founding Editor, James Baldwin Review, and writer, broadcaster and social advocate Yassmin Abdel-Magied. The one-day event ends with a celebratory exploration of Baldwin and Fashion. Baldwin’s stylish prose, sartorial flair and how we dress to shape identities will be unpacked by TV, film and theatre actress Sarah Niles, fashion designer Nicholas Daley and writer, performer and theatremaker Travis Alabanza. The day-long Conversations with Baldwin is part of the Southbank Centre's You Belong Here season, which explores themes of community, identity with a message of welcome at its core. The season takes its name from a work shown as part of the Hayward Gallery’s current exhibition, Tavares Strachan: There Is Light Somewhere. Tickets, which start at £15, with concessions, can be purchased from the Southbank Centre website. https://lnkd.in/eQbahNjQ #jamesbaldwin #literature #talks #panels #southbankcentre #america #anothercountry #notesofanativeson #iamnotyournegro

Shouting out to all the Southwark Secondary Schools! Exciting opportunity to work with THEATRE PECKHAM and Words of Colour Productions to develop literacy and oracy skills through creative workshops. Join us in levelling up the opportunities for young people with #Futureland

Spread the Word: Poets of Colour Incubator Drop-In Sessions Contact on 25th April 2024. Great opportunity to share your perspectives to help shape original work from exciting, emerging poets on issues of global concern, including sleep inequality, the encroachment of AI and the impact of our ancestral homelands on our selves in modern society. For artists of colour, young people, older people and anyone interested in the role of poetry in transforming society. The University of Manchester Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health Digital Futures at The University of Manchester

Poets of Colour Incubator announce the Drop-In Sessions Contact | Thursday 25th April 2024 | 12pm-1pm & 1.30pm-2pm Come and participate in a series of in-person drop-in sessions at Contact (Manchester) on Thursday 25th April 2024, led by the inaugural Poets of Colour Incubator artists, and help develop a poetic response to global issues. Incubator poets Princess Arinola Adegbite, Jeremy Pak Nelson and Ilisha Thiru Purcell are developing new work in response major global challenges. The Poets of Colour Incubator Drop-In Sessions will allow people who are interested in the topics and poetry to share their perspectives in an interactive and engaging forum. Arinola Adegbite’s session, entitled 'Algorithms of Meaning', focuses on meaning making in the age of Artificial Intelligence and asks, who is the future for? During Pak Nelson's 'The Homes We Carry' drop-in session, he will explore how the homelands of our ancestors and our past selves stay with us through food, rituals and objects Newcastle-based poet Thiru Purcell will investigate sleep as a growing health inequality and the mechanics of dreams in her session 'Sleep (e)Quality: A poetic exploration'. The free drop-in sessions, featuring all three poets, will be run twice - at 12pm-1pm and 1.30pm-2.30pm. Anyone who’d like to attend will need to select the topic of interest and time slot by booking in advance via Eventbrite: https://bit.ly/PoCIDropin The Poets of Colour Incubator is a 12-month mentoring, change agency and creative development programme for three talented and emerging poets to innovate their practice and create a ‘poetic response’ to a global challenge they want to interrogate.   A collaboration between Words of Colour and Manchester Poetry Library Manchester Metropolitan University, the Incubator is supported by partners including Contact, Manchester City of Literature and New Writing North. The programme is funded by Arts Council England’s National Lottery Project Grants programme. #poetry #poets #global #sleep #dreams #ai #hongkong #migration #relationships #healthinequalities #healthequality

Callout: Schools invited to join the Futureland Project in Southwark Imagine a day 50 years from now. What would it look like? This is the question at the heart of the Futureland project, a collaborative project between Words of Colour and THEATRE PECKHAM. Futureland enables students to experiment and play with this concept, and through it develop their literacy, oracy, and writing skills, building the connection between creativity and wellbeing. Working alongside acclaimed writers and creatives of colour, students will develop a showcase performed in front of a live audience in a theatre setting. The four-year project, supported by the St Pauls School Foundation via the Mercers' Company, will work with two Southwark based secondary schools to improve oracy and literacy skills in schools, focusing on collaborating with creatives of colour to demonstrate opportunities for a more representation in the industry. Futureland will also work with schools to co-design a digital platform to support teachers to engage with more diverse and representative material in the classroom as well as encourage young people to interact with new texts and literary material at home. This project will work with 30, year 8 students per school. If you are secondary school in Southwark who would like to find out more, get in touch through the link below. Fatema Zehra Amy Hubbard Suzann McLean MBE #southwark #schools #education #creativity https://lnkd.in/e96_jBJj

UPDATE - DATE CHANGE The session on Tuesday 23rd April 2024 will now take place on Friday 26th April 2024. Helping creatives, artists, entrepreneurs and communities of colour navigate the world of finance and creative enterprise - with confidence "While making money and working for yourself will always be important, making a difference to society and creating meaning are as important, if not more, among a number of demographics, particularly women, ethnic minorities and younger people." Alison Rose, Deputy CEO, NatWest Holdings The Creative Start Up Sessions is a new four-part webinar series by Words of Colour to help creatives, artists, entrepreneurs and communities of colour navigate the world of finance and choosing the right company structure when launching a creative concept, brand or business - and being sustainable - in a climate of financial uncertainty and institutional racism. All too often, creative ideas are pursued, and startups are launched, without understanding the options, legal structures and what the best approach is for your creative idea or business. Led by finance specialist and entrepreneur Shameika Byfield with award-winning creative entrepreneur and Words of Colour’s executive director Joy Francis (Hon) FRSL, the four-part webinar series will cover: ·        Turning your core creative idea into a viable business ·        Embracing compliance: Becoming fit for purpose ·        Understanding your financial currency ·        Who are you? Establishing your brand identity The Creative StartUp Sessions will be of benefit to: ·        Freelancers ·        Sole traders ·        Collectives ·        Students ·        Startups ·        Non profits ·        Social enterprises ·        Individuals ready to launch their businesses or develop a creative idea ·        Existing businesses / startups rethinking their company structure To find out more, and book your tickets, visit: https://lnkd.in/eq87gekA

Theatre Peckham and Words of Colour secure funding to inspire Southwark students through creative writing Award-winning THEATRE PECKHAM and Words of Colour have secured four years funding to inspire Year 8 (12-13 year old) students to reimagine a better future in the year ‘2074’, through creative play and writing mediums. The Futureland project will collaborate with schools in Southwark, London, to produce a digital resource and creative programme to engage young people from underrepresented backgrounds in literacy, oracy and creativity. Over four years, nearly 200 students will participate in 10 creative play sessions, learning to express themselves through different creative writing mediums. On completion, they will devise a final performance, showcasing their new skills and visions for a better future. Funded by The Mercers' Company, trustee to The St Paul’s Schools Foundation, young people will be mentored by acclaimed and award-winning writers, such as Alex Wheatle MBE, and creatives of colour to create poetry, prose and scripts to develop their literacy skills. They will also be encouraged to engage in creative conversations on societal concerns, from the environment and gentrification to legacy and heritage, as well as explore creative wellbeing. Joy Francis (Hon) FRSL, Executive Director, Words of Colour, said: “We are excited to partner with Theatre Peckham on Futureland as we are passionate about creating inclusive spaces for marginalised young people to believe that their ideas matter. Research by BookTrust, led by Dr Melanie Ramdarshan Bold, shows the detrimental impact of young people of colour not seeing themselves reflected in books, especially when considering career pathways. This is reinforced through the education system’s lack of diversity within the curriculum. We hope Futureland creates a meaningful dent in this unacceptable reality.” The initiative is centred in Southwark as it’s a London borough with the sixth highest rate of child poverty across all UK boroughs. In Theatre Peckham’s local wards, this is visible in the huge barrier to housing, local services with high levels of crime. Suzann McLean MBE, CEO and Artistic Director, THEATRE PECKHAM, said: “Theatre Peckham is grateful to receive this grant as there is a pressing need to address the declining literacy skills among Year 8 students in Southwark. Our partnership with Words of Colour on the Futureland project is a deliberate choice driven by our shared mission to provide access to quality arts education through a culturally diverse lens. We aspire to improve the life chances of young people from underrepresented and socio-economically disadvantaged backgrounds. Together, we can build a brighter future for young people, empowering their self-expression and their ability to thrive.” Find out more: https://lnkd.in/eu2-nffe

How many of you are struggling to find time to get your writing goals for 2024 started? Write & Shine, founded by Gemma Seltzer, is offering 10 Words of Colour and Joy Francis (Hon) FRSL's followers a free workshop pass (worth up to £29 each) for one of its new winter writing workshops, available until 1 March 2024. The first 10 people to email us by 5pm on Monday 5th February 2024 via [email protected] with a sentence explaining why you’d like to attend one of the Write & Shine morning workshops will win a pass. Please put ‘Write & Shine Offer’ in the subject line. If successful, you will be emailed a unique code to book the workshop you’d like to attend online. The Write & Shine winter programme offers early morning writing workshops inspired by the season's gentle rhythms and the slow, steady arrival of the light. Workshops are led by author Gemma Seltzer, and guest tutors which this season includes poet Jasmine Ann Cooray and fashion curator Lucie Whitmore. Find out more about the Winter programme: https://lnkd.in/ej8C4qsz Events are in the morning and take place virtually on Zoom, so you are welcome to join wherever you are based!

How many of you are struggling to find time to get your writing goals for 2024 started? Write & Shine, founded by Gemma Seltzer, is offering 10 Words of Colour and Joy Francis (Hon) FRSL's followers a free workshop pass (worth up to £29 each) for one of its new winter writing workshops, available until 1 March 2024. The first 10 people to email us by 5pm on Monday 5th February 2024 via [email protected] with a sentence explaining why you’d like to attend one of the Write & Shine morning workshops will win a pass. Please put ‘Write & Shine Offer’ in the subject line. If successful, you will be emailed a unique code to book the workshop you’d like to attend online. The Write & Shine winter programme offers early morning writing workshops inspired by the season's gentle rhythms and the slow, steady arrival of the light. Workshops are led by author Gemma Seltzer, and guest tutors which this season includes poet Jasmine Ann Cooray and fashion curator Lucie Whitmore. Find out more about the Winter programme: https://lnkd.in/ej8C4qsz Events are in the morning and take place virtually on Zoom, so you are welcome to join wherever you are based!