Artists & Cultural Workers: Live Through & After The Pandemic?

About

How Do Artists & Cultural Workers Live Through and After The Pandemic?

Panel part of Archiving the Mo(ve)ment by Okhiogbe Omonblanks Omonhinmin

Friday, July 31, online via Zoom:
5 pm CEST (Berlin), 4 pm BST/WAT (London, Lagos), 3 pm GMT (Accra)

Panel: Kaia Laurielle (London), AkAN (Accra), Mo Maureen (Berlin), Sensei LO (Lagos)

Host: Omonblanks (Accra) (The Art Concept)

Performance by AkAN

#collectivepractices #narratives

ABOUT

Kaia Laurielle
... is a singer/songwriter from South East London who combines her culture and love for music into alternative RnB and Soul Electronic sounds. Her heartfelt and emotive vocals glide their way throughout each composition creating an everlasting effect on each listener.

AkAN 
...has continued to be one of the most influential voices in his generation starting right from his first drop in 2015 when his AkAN E.P secured him a spot in the minds of music lovers. His vision has stayed clear, to inspire society whilst keeping to his root. In 2017, his culture bending debut Onipa Akoma emerged as the best selling album on Aftown music streaming platform and has since propelled him to a buoyant career path from working with big guns like Sarkodie, Efya, Jayso, Hammer of the last two, selling out headline shows to speaking at universities. He is currently working on his follow up album scheduled to be released this year.

Mo Maureen
...is passionate about creating platforms that diversify and create opportunities for dialogue with stand out artists and creatives. After a successful run of a live music event series conceived 5 years ago, she set out to independently found „Songversations“ in 2017. Her previous experience includes managing Sauti Sol (one of Africa’s most progressive pop bands) during their first ever tour across Germany. Mo Maureen’s most recent endeavors include her role as a Swahili-German Language Consultant during the post production / dubbing process of Disney Pictures „Lion King 2“. In 2019, she contributed as a consultant and curator for a Sony Music Germany event. In early 2020 she went on to moderate & curate the Artist lineup for the launch of freiraum.io – a concept store in Quartier 205. She is also a recurring host & presenter for one of Europe’s biggest annual Tech Festivals – Tech Open Air Festival. Despite her versatile experience, Mo Maureen is dedicated to boosting all the cultural and live music experiences she aspires to create for avid neo soul, afropop, hip hop and urban music lovers in Berlin.

Sensei Lo 
...is a versatile and evolving DJ and Producer that specializes in Afro Electronic Music. She is a member of Lagos Afro Electronic DJ Collective The Village Sound System and the resident DJ at Bounce radio live. She had shared the stage with Major Lazer, Eno Napa, Boddhi Satva and Black Motion, to name a few. Her motive is to spread liberation through music and dance. Cleopatra was featured on a short film titled Assurance which premiered on BoilerRoomTV, and on FACT Mag’s “Against The Clock”.

About Archiving The Mo(ve)ment

his series looks into creating narratives of what it means to be Black and African today, as a collective practice. As part of a wider project (TAC – http://theartconcept.org/), Omonblanks facilitates and documents multifaceted and collaborative oral histories of lived experiences of Black and African people on the continent and in the diaspora. This chapter, taking place in the context of COLLECTIVE PRACTICES – focuses on the current pandemic moment. Previously planned as a weekend gathering of conversations, screenings, exhibition, music and food – the project now takes shape in the digital space.

With their long term conversation and archiving initiative, one of TAC’s aims is to expand narratives of African and Black identities, coming out of the multiplicities of African and Black communities. To the present day, widely available knowledge and attitudes about African people are so entangled with stereotypes, often shaped and told from outside of the continent, that they frequently remain confused or clichéd, even for the protagonists themselves. The overall documenting and archiving project is both a critical intervention, as well as a recapture and return of ownership of narrative, and an increase in volume, diversity and visibility of stories told by Black and African people of various backgrounds. 

In collaboration with COLLECTIVE PRACTICES, Omonblanks will document conversations with people from the Black and African communities living in Berlin, and make connections between Berlin and Accra/Lagos. And while not being able to create a physical gathering at ACUD, the project will involve many different protagonists into online conversations, discussions and performances – that will all form part of the multifaceted narratives and the growing archive by TAC of Black and African perspectives.