2017 - 2024!
This work has never been done by an individual or a single idea, rather, a collective effort and an exercise of dreaming. This is a small insight, that attempts to archive the work that has taken place. In the hopes that we can remember the shared experiences that we’ve had.
joy persists
Our final project as Soul Alphabet.
joy persists, an exercise and invitation into the worldmaking practices of anti-disciplinary local, national and international artists.
Honouring the thoughts of African American scholar Ashon T. Crawley and precisely his question, “But what if there were a gathering around abundance, pleasure, around joy?”. The 10-day program conspires truthful myths through visual arts, workshops, film, experimental music events and discussions - always leaving room for more possibilities.
Dates: 15 August 2024 - 25 August 2024
joy persists was supported by the City of Fremantle and the Scanlon Foundation; we are grateful for your immense support.
Forever Foreign
Forever Foreign was a solo film and photography exhibition by multidisciplinary artist Jane Inyang. As part of the exhibition, Inyang created a new photographic series titled ‘Forever Foreign’ and received curatorial support from curator and writer Bahar Sayed. Boorloo-based Black queer creative Persephone Abshir collaborated with Jane Inyang and Bahar Sayed as the curatorial assistant.
Music program
A collaboration between Soul Alphabet and Ben Taaffe, founder of Move! The joy persists music event not only highlighted the power of joyful acts in challenging times but also celebrated the journey of Soul Alphabet. This event was a joyous culmination of Soul Alphabet's contributions to the arts and a vibrant symbol of the enduring power of community and creativity.
Workshops : Myth-making with images
An intensive play/creative writing 3-hour workshop by Mararo Wangai. The workshop was held in the gallery space, and participants responded to images by writing and sharing memories and thoughts.
Workshop - Digital dreams of justice
Emele Ugavule held a workshop addressing artificial intelligence, story sovereignty and the digital divide in order to dream up ecologies of justice. During the workshop, participants shared their digital fears and dreams and, most importantly, took home their own digital protocol decks.
Workshop - Tending to the roots
Led by Aotearoa based researcher and cultural producer Makanaka Tuwe, this workshop explored how belonging and connectivity unfold through the fractures and ruptures of life. Participants were invited to engage in embodied practices such as storytelling, breathwork, visualization, and movement.
Workshop & Reading List
A reading room session, curated by Zambian-born storyteller Vuma Phiri, centred on the theme of joy in storytelling, even amid grief and darkness. Drawing from Assata Shakur's revolutionary vision of creating something humane, beautiful, and loving, Vuma guided participants through an exploration of joy as an act of resistance and creation. She highlighted how stories, whether joyful or written from pain, can persist like sunlight breaking through cracks, bringing warmth and illumination.
Film Screening : Talking about trees (2019
Curated by Sundus Saalax, the founder of Tha Film Project. The film program, focused on diverse storytelling, emphasized the importance of Black voices in the global dialogue around cinema and culture, reaffirming the role of film as a powerful tool for resistance, connection, and healing.
joy persists Reading List: Curated by Vuma Phiri
Unlimited Futures: Speculative, Visionary Blak and Black Fiction – edited by Ellen Van Neervan and Rafeif Ismail. Fire Front: First Nation’s Power Today edited by Alison Whittaker. Homecoming - Elfie Shiosaki. Parable of the Sower – Octavia E. Butler. When The Poems Do What They Do - aja monet (available on music streaming apps). The Masters Tools Will Never Dismantle the Masters House – Audre Lorde. Rock Flight – Hasib Hourani. Meet Me at the Intersection edited by Ambelin Kwaymullina and Rebecca Lim. Kumukanda - Kayo Chingoyo. All the Black Girls Are Activists: A Fourth Wave Womanist Pursuit of Dreams as Radical Resistance – Ebony Janice Moore. Home Is Not a Country – Safia Elhillo. Carefree Black Girls: A Celebration of Black Women in Pop Culture – Zeba Blay. The Flirtation Of Girls: Ghazal el-Banat - Sara M Saleh. Father of the Lost Boys – Yuot A. Alaak. Africa’s Tarnished Name – Chinua Achebe. Washed Over: ...Or, Things Dedicated - Reinfred Dziedzorm Addo. Queer Palestine and the Empire of Critique – Sa’ed Atshan. Tiwi Story: Turning History Downside Up – Mavis Kerinaiua and Laura Rademaker. Refuge: The Collected Poetry of JJ Bola – JJ Bola (Kindle/ebook). Their Eyes Were Watching God – Zora Neale Hurston.
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Event (May 2022)
Brief summary of what is going on in Tigray:
Tigray is a region located in the northern region of Ethiopia. Since November 4th 2020 the region has been suffering from A genocidal campaign orchestrated by Abiy Ahmed and Eritrea’s Isaias Afwerki against the people of Tigray. Since the 4th of November over 150,000 Tigrayan people have died by Ethiopian and Eritrean troops, over 10,000 women have been reported victims of weaponised rape committed by ethiopian and Eritrean troops and 4.5 million people in Tigray require urgent humanitarian assistance.
Where the funds were donated to:
On the night, $1,611.42 was raised and donated to the Tigray Relief Fund.
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Group Show - Undertow (Feb - Apr 2022)
Featured Artists: Shanice Keeru Mwathi, Chiluba Young, Patient Beyan and Elsa Wedlmical.
At the ridges of our hands was more than a group show. To support the production of new photographic, film and hair sculpture works; a series of development workshops took place. The workshops were in collaboration with Studio Kiin and they supported artists map their relations with hair histories.
In the words of Curator Glenn Glenn Iseger-Pilkington “the photographic project At the Ridges of Our Hands explores the practices that travel with the movement of people, by showcasing braiding traditions of African communities living in Boorloo & Walyalup, away from the African continent. These powerful photographic works depict both the practice and outcome of braiding, but more importantly, they reveal intimate spaces of connection, belonging and community”.
To support the stories told, a public program titled ‘The personal is_’ was held and featured local podcasters and makers.
Read the essay supporting this work written by Sisonke Msimang here.
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Publication & Workshop Series (Feb 2021 - April 2021)
Featured Writers: Brieanna Collard, Linda Iriza, Imara Mandred, Vuma Phiri, N'Gadie Roberts, Linnea Tengroth, Noelle Ocen-Odoge, Valerie Weyland and Sonia Umubyeyi.
Rooted in Freedom honours the expressions of Bla(c)k women writers currently residing within the Bibbulmun Nation. This collective body of work navigates the intersections between race, gender, personal narrative and the longing for freedom. It emerged from a series of writing workshops, guided by Dr Elfie Shiosaki, Brianne Yarran and N'Gadie Roberts, and was developed through the weaving of communities and the exchange of stories. This book is a celebration of Bla(c)k literature, a call for collective liberation and an offering of gratitude to the work of other Bla(c)k women who came before.
The entire 'Rooted In Freedom' writing workshop project and book was guided by Bla(c)k and Brown women who are organising and creating safer spaces in their respective communities. During the three workshops, all writers discussed and studied works by other Black women writers such as Sisonke Msimang's book 'The Resurrection of Winnie Mandela' and the collective poetry and essay book from First Nations writers 'Maar Bidi: next generation of black writing'. The submitted works from the writers who participated in the workshop series are truly a great response to the two studied texts and an exciting look into the future of Bla(c)k women writers from this country.
To celebrate the book we threw a launch event at PCP where we had live readings from the contributing writers, virtual keynote speech from Gender and Women’s studies Ph.D candidate Amata Giramata and a dj set.
We are extremely grateful to all the contributing writers! Watch the livestream of the panel discussion from the book launch event, here.
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Jan 2021
To close off the dj workshops all the new djs who participated threw a thank you party at The Bird and it was a day of 12hrs+ of good music and spirit. We wanted to say a huge thank you to everyone who supported the workshop series and those that participated.
The djs that played were:
@ayo.busari, @awomanshandshake, @_ashlyn_k, @shambizzle, @lazybo.y, @aadegboye_, INSHINZI, @fieldspell, @spicyriice, @biddyimam, @justsparkxx.x
We also wanted to say a huge thank you Miko for organising the sickest lineup and a lot of love to the Bird! You can re-listen to all the music via Lossless Radio mixcloud!
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Nov 2020 - Feb 2021
In November 2020 - February 2021, we collaborated with Sepsi on bringing an event series called ‘No Borders’ at the Bird. Each ‘No Borders' event navigated the question of "What does an Afrika without borders sound like?" and these sounds were explored by local djs of Afrikan heritage and guest mixes from Naarm to Cape Town. It was truly a summer full of great music and a continued conversation on the origins of music.
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Sep 2020 - Feb 2021
Take up space dj workshops came together through the work of community and they were led by some of the greatest djs in Boorloo. The workshops went for 6 months and we are so grateful to Camelot Arts for being a second home to us. Each workshop felt like coming home and sharing music with your siblings and a safe space for learning wouldn’t have been possible without the guidance of incredible teachers like Sepsi, Nafta, Sara T and Rok Riley. We are so proud of everyone who participated in these dj workshops and we can’t wait to bring them back!
Thank you to:
Camelot Arts family - Kuda, Lisa and Christine
Take Up Space dj facilitators - Sepsi, Nafta, Sara T and Rok Riley
Thank you to Aaron for donating decks and Ben for supporting.
We are also thankful to all the djs who taught one on one classes in December - January!
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The Purple Shall Govern - Roberta Joy Rich (Dec 2023)
One night music curation
Naarm (Melbourne) based artist Roberta Joy Rich takes the transformative Purple Rain Protest as the basis for her solo exhibition, The Purple Shall Govern. Juxtaposing the harsh histories of segregation in settler nation South Africa and Australia, Rich interrogates who has access to public space – then and now.
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2020
Bringing young Bla(c)k people together to create a living community plan in collaboration wtih Boorloo Justice.
Niran: Planting in ground (Noongar)
Mbegu: seed (Swahili)
Niran-Mbegu is a workshop that was in collaboration with Boorloo Justice , as part of the continuation of the BLM movement. This workshop explored the themes of Healing, Knowledge and Community. We looked what these words mean for young Bla(c)k folks in this city and how these themes can be honoured in creating a living community plan. This workshop is the beginning of a community plan that will be the foundation that guides our work and the work of other people and organisations, for us to understand the intersectionalities and nuances in our Bla(c)k community and how our needs can be differently met.
It's not just about planting seeds but having an understanding of the nature of the soil we are planting these seeds of healing, knowledge and community in. What's our intention behind it all? What are the external influences preventing us from creating holistic change for our community? What unlearning needs to take place in order for us to truly plant these seeds on healthier soil?
Image cc: Boorloo Justice
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2020
Increasing the visibility of Bla(c)k and Brown artists in the so called-Australian music scene.
Our project, entitled “Take Up Space”, was conceived with the goal of increasing the visibility of Bla(c)k and Brown artists in the Australian music scene. We thought to begin within our own community and shape the future of Boorloo’s (Perth) music scene. By investing in the Bla(c)k and Brown DJs/Producers of tomorrow.
This goal is now possible.
We would like to say a huge THANK YOU to everyone who supported our July takeover at The Bird. You helped us to raise over $6,000!!! We are honestly overwhelmed by this show of support and generosity from our community. These funds will go towards the running of our 6 month-long DJ/Music production workshops and the necessary equipment/software to facilitate a much more hands on experience.
We would also like to thank the following people for giving so much of their time and space:
Nora & Chris, Emma (The Bird)
DJs: Sepsi, Burna, Yikes, Love Six, Kata, Business Partner, Aslan, Chi, Sara T, Nafta, Chris
Live Musicians:
Princess Khanya, Veroniika
Exhibiting Artists: Anesu, Daniel, Mic, Zinongo Gallery
Photographers: Chanel, Chiluba
Image cc: BbygirlChanel
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Event (Dec 2022)
To close off 2022, we will be celebrating a full circle moment in collaboration with artist Princess Khanya. 5 years ago, we connected with PK at the first ever Soul Alphabet event and this December we will be celebrating her debut EP 'HONEY'. A honey-filled night of Poetry, R&B, Afro-beats, Dancehall, Amapiano and Soul music shared by some of Boorloo's most vibrant artists.
Huge love to Princess Khanya + Band, Michael Kay, Vuma Phiri, Dj Xqyemu, MUSU.
🌴 It's been 5 years of good music, art and community love - thank you!
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Afro Rave 2019
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Afro Rave 2019
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Reclaim 2019
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Reclaim 2019
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Reclaim 2019
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Reclaim 2019
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Africa Edition (Kigali) 2018
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Africa Edition (Kigali) 2018
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MIND4 2018
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Abantu: People of art 2018
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Another Antipodes: African Contemporary Arts 2017
