A conversation on the meaning of Black Joy in the challenging socio-technological context of the 2020s. Featuring DeForrest Brown Jr. and Danielle Brathwaite-Shirley, moderated by Charlene Prempeh.
DeForrest Brown, Jr. is an Ex-American theorist, journalist and curator. He produces digital audio and extended media, such as Speaker Music, and is a representative of the Make Techno Black Again campaign. His work explores the links between the Black experience in industrialised labor systems and Black innovation in electronic music. On Juneteenth of 2020, he released the album Black Nationalist Sonic Weaponry on Planet Mu; Primary Information will publish his first book, Assembling a Black Counter Culture, in 2021. Twitter / Instagram
Danielle Brathwaite-Shirley
Danielle Brathwaite-Shirley is an artist working predominantly in digital media to communicate the experiences of being a Black Trans person. Their practice focuses on recording the lives of Black Trans people, intertwining lived experience with fiction to imaginatively retell Trans stories. Spurred on by a desire to record the "History of Trans people both living and past" their work can often be seen as a Trans archive where Black Trans people are stored for the future. Website / Instagram
Charlene Prempeh
Charlene Prempeh is the founder of A Vibe Called Tech. She developed the initiative and creative agency to explore the intersection of black creativity, culture and innovation. After studying PPE at Oxford University, she began a career in marketing and worked at some of the UK’s most prominent media platforms and art institutions including the BBC, The Guardian and Frieze.
More recently, she launched A Vibe Called Tech to encourage a culturally diverse lens in design, technology, arts and culture by spearheading partnerships, events, research and workshops across London and through her journalism and consultancy work. She currently consults for Royal Academy of Arts and Art Fund, is the Marketing lead for Society Centered Design at Projects by IF and is a member of the steering group for Chatham House and London Design Biennale Design Resonance In An Age Of Crisis.
Charlene is an FT How to Spend it columnist and contributing editor who writes about Black innovators, design, travel and culture. Website / Twitter / Instagram
Presented in partnership with Somerset House Studios
Somerset House Studios is an experimental workspace in the centre of London connecting artists, makers and thinkers with audiences.
Located inside the repurposed former Inland Revenue building, the Studios offer space and support to artists pushing bold ideas, engaging with urgent issues and pioneering new technologies. It is also a platform for the development of new creative projects and collaborations. Up to 100 artists are resident at any one time and are supported to develop their practice for a defined period. Website / Instagram / Twitter
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