What does our DNA tell us about who we really are? What does it explain to us about our personal and collective identities and the culture and society we really come from? Join us for a reflection on life after doing a DNA test and an exploration of the questions and thoughts it raises about where we come from.
Join us to explore the celebratory history and purpose of a Caribbean Carnival to understand its combination of Trinidadian roots, African traditions and Jamaican sound system culture and how it came to symbolise freedom in the face of oppression for the Afro Caribbean community in West London's Notting Hill carnival.
Have you ever considered who decides what is cool, appealing, fashionable, undesirable, threatening or healthy? We consume the media for knowledge and entertainment but do we ever stop and think how that consumption shapes what we get to know and like and what we don't? Join Samantha Allen to explore notions of beauty, heritage and 'the savage' to understand why we often think the way we do.
In this talk we discuss the history of the Dandy, its relevance to fashion, arts, drag and theatre today and how we might learn from this playful archetype to further embody our own inner Dandy.
Join us as we explore the occult subcultures of the fin de siecle and uncover their stories. We will talk about their symbolism and rituals in the context of historical coloniality and militarism.
We will look at artists who use their art to hold a mirror to society and expose problems or issues around them. I'm going to bring in themes like Feminism, Black lives matter etc.
Classic Greek tragedy, comedy and epic poetry has so many lessons on psychology, sexual desire, activism and gender equality that resonate powerfully today. This will be a fun session on storytelling, morality and consequence.
Join us for a journey to uncover names of incredible women who had been erased from the narratives we know about greatness, innovation, power and bravery.
Join us again for part 2 of our journey of discovery through history to learn about some more of the incredible heroes, heroines in Black British heritage. We will delve into some amazing stories of the contributions of Black people through the ages that have largely been forgotten or marginalised in our telling of British history today.
Language is a living thing and an important element of social activism. It is utilised to adhere to the social codes by cultural organisations, supposedly representing the people it serves. However, that representation of language needs further interrogation, because anti-racist terminology is often utilised for different reasons and overtime, shifts in meaning.Â
