Description

BlackInk is a magazine focusing on Black arts, heritage and cultural politics.  An interface between a physical magazine and digital content, BlackInk is a creative response bringing together a range of interconnected international voices from across the African and African Caribbean Diaspora and indigenous communities.

For October 2021, issue 2 provides an insight into Black British dance, reflecting on both the history and pioneers such as Barrington Anderson alongside contemporary voices shaping the future of the sector.

The publication features 30 contributors from across the African and African Caribbean Diaspora including artists, writers, poets, illustrators, photographers and dance practitioners.  Issue Two provides an insight into Black British dance and touches on topics ranging from Black British activism to manifestos for existence and excellence alongside digital content.

The magazine will also feature a cover sleeve featuring artwork by artist Nyugen E Smith.  Look out for more details on the cover art, which will be revealed soon.

Insight: Black British Dance

On the Shoulders of Giants: Barrington Lloyd Anderson — Chester Morrison
Navigating and Propelling a Vision — Sharon Watson
Children Only Know What They See – Stacey Green
Fractured: Diversity and the North East – Martin Hylton

AfroManifesto

Representing: Black Women Are Beautiful – Maya Brookes
Awo… is Leadership – Kweku Aacht
Black Gold Dust – Roshini Kempadoo
Kedji’s Identity is: Emancipated – Freddy Houdekindo
A Performance in Stillness: Critical Reading Strategies for Archives of Blackness – Mutsa Mhende

Launchpad

Untitled (Running Series) – Kat Anderson
Emergency? – Charlie Evaristo-Boyce
Intergenerational Trauma – Isaac Ouro-Gnao

Arts and Culture

When The Ugliness Reared its Head – Amanda Parker
In my Opinion: The Black British Film Renaissance – Pierre Godson-Amamoo
Making the Invisible, Visible – Peter Adjaye
Liminal Life – Mark Sealy
Gatekeepers and Thieves: A Case on Restitution – Mistura Allison
Bundlehouse: Worldwide Soon Come? – Nyugen E Smith

Activism and Identity

Parallel Lives and Intertwined Belongings – Kwame Nimako
A Brief History of Key Moments and Issues in the Black British Civil Rights Movement – Beverley Bryan
Backyard Stories as a Strategy for Survival: Eat Little and Live Long – Makeda Thomas
What Are We Talking About? – Jean-François Manicom

New Writing

The BlackInk New Writing competition returns for this second edition, this time opening the doors to writers from across the African and African Caribbean Diaspora in the UK and internationally. This initiative, led by Serendipity and Writing East Midlands, seeks to support Black writers of short fiction.  Read by Tyrone Huggins.

The Interview

Pawlet Brookes interviews composer Philip Herbert to discuss his influences, his achievement and his hopes.