Black Girl Festival set to premiere its first celebration of black women
A new festival celebrating black women and girls will take place for free at the end of this month, after racing passed its crowding funding goal.
Black Girl Festival is a one-day festival celebrating black British women – past, present and future – with workshops, panel discussions, a marketplace, and entertainment.
Taking place at Kachette in London on October 29, the inaugural festival will feature discussions and workshops from celebrated black women, including executive director and co-founder of UK Black Pride, Phyll Opoku-Gyimah, award-winning blogger The Slumflower, BBC Radio 1Xtra DJ and music journalist Sian Anderson, founder of Black Ballad, Tobi Oredein, and more.
Topics include women in media, black girls and education, an exploration of the natural hair movement, mental health and self-care, a workshop challenging misconceptions of black motherhood, a live life art session, and a session by BBZ exploring individual gender expressions and what experiences have defined them.
Alongside the talks, arts project Black in the Day, a submission-based photo archive documenting the lives and experiences of black British people, will be hosting a live scanning social. The marketplace will include zines, such as Sweet Thang, books from African publisher Cassava Republic, as well as black art and beauty products.
Entertainment will be provided by podcast trio Sistren and Gal-dem music editor DJ Tone.
Organisers Paula Akpan (co-founder of the ‘I’m Tired’ Project and social media coordinator for Gal-dem) and Nicole Crentsil (founder of Unmasked Women) aim to create a festival that showcases London’s talented creative community of black British women with their new festival.
Their crowdfunding campaign began in September 2016 with an initial goal of £6,000. They reached that goal on October 3, allowing them to “make the entire festival free for all to attend”. They have now posted a stretch goal of a further £4,000 to help pay a team of event staff, as well as to finance a Christmas market with black business market traders and food vendors.
Black Girl Festival will take place at Kachette, London, on Sunday, October 29, from 10am to 11pm.
Free tickets for the various workshops and events can be booked via the Black Girl Festival ticket page. Capacity is limited.
Image: courtesy of Black Girl Festival