Happy New Year’s Eve! There’s something super telling about the fact that I’m at my laptop at 6pm on 31st December rather than sipping Polish spirits (neat of course) but as the young folx say #wemove. So here’s to the final newsletter of 2020 and I’ll see you on the other side. ✌️
WATCH
Cinewax is a largely Paris based collective dedicated to platforming independent films from the African continent and diaspora. Since launching in 2015 they’ve managed to show over 1000 films through various events and collaborations including their native Online African Film Festival. After successfully crowdfunding a new platform earlier this year they’ve been able to host the 2020 version of OAFF in a digital capacity. The festival runs from 27th December to 2nd January with all content available via an £8/$10 pass, anyone unable to afford the pass can watch two films of their choice from this year’s selection for free.
READ
I seriously love everything #Merky Books - the Stormzy curated Penguin Random House imprint dedicated to ‘publishing the best new fiction, non-fiction and poetry’ by underrepresented voices in literature. I’ve already pre-ordered my copy of We are all Birds of Uganda (due to be released in January 2021) set against the backdrop of the rise of Indophobia that swept across East Africa during the 60s and 70s culminating in the brutal expulsion of almost all 80,000 Ugandan’s of Indian heritage in 1972.
If you’re finding yourself a bit light on reading material their team have published a list of their favourite books from 2020 which includes titles like the critically acclaimed Poor (Caleb Femi) and The Vanishing Half (Brit Bennett).
LISTEN
If you’re missing live music (and let’s be real who isn’t after the great drought of 2020) then ease into this Peninsulist Presents stream of performances by some incredible UK soul and jazz talent. Featuring MOBO winner Ego Ella May, Bel Cobain and multi-instrumentalist powerhouse Tawiah the digital event (curated by Matt Nightingale) was the last project I worked on this year. It’s a really dreamy combination of voices and a great way to see out 2020.
SHOP
Published earlier this month Black Futures is a meandering anthology celebrating the complex, ever-shifting and evolving multiplicity of Blackness and it’s expression in artistic culture. It’s a hefty volume of essays, memes, images, recipes, photography and includes everything from screenshots of the Patrice Cullors’ Facebook posts that ultimately birthed the Black Lives Matter movement to Zadie Smith’s essay responding to Deana Lawson’s work. The format is intentionally non-linear and reminiscent of loads of zines bound together making it easy to dip in and out without getting too overwhelmed by the amount of content (of which there is a lot). Authors Kimberly Drew and Jenna Wortham are both based in the US so there is that slant but nevertheless, it’s total time capsule material.
I’ve not seen it in any book shops in the UK and had to get my local to order it in but here’s a link to the New Beacon Books contact page who I’m sure will be able to help if you want to get yourself a copy.
LISTEN
Probably most famous for being the first African-American photographer to shoot a cover of Vogue (of Beyonce no less) Tyler Mitchell is part of a growing roster of image makers erasing the lines between fashion photography and art. He’s only 25 but his career thus far has been pretty stratospheric and includes a book release and solo shows at FOAM (Amsterdam) and ICP (New York) all titled I Can Make You Feel Good in case you were wondering how this chapter was named. He kept us entertained over lockdown with a series of incredible digital events which brought together global talents from his expansive network and announced representation by Jack Shainman Gallery in September.
I really enjoyed his recent interview with Russel Tovey and Robert Diament via their Talk Art podcast where he discusses all of the above as well as hopes and goals for the future.
Magda xxx
P.S. Huge congratulations to Yinka Ilori and Denzil Forrester who were both included in the New Years Honours lists published yesterday, an incredible achievement. Forrester’s show in Bristol looks brilliant and is on until Jan if you’re in the area, photos and videos here for context: https://www.stephenfriedman.com/news/297-denzil-forrester-itchin-scratchin/