Devil in a red dress

I’m not a damsel in distress

I’m just heartless

Don’t need to tell you no

Just flick my red dress

I’ve come here to look my best, dressed to impress! One thing in my mind and it’s actually to dance less!

My back on the wall and it keeps me up straight I can step into this arena worlds collide and you escape I didn’t need a partner you and addition to my game.. it’s me the ring master the one who bring you fame.

reflection: LXVI

In this essay I will be reflecting on my performance piece “LXVI”, I will comment upon my process from concept to the final piece, present the pieces intention and objectives and discuss whether these where met. The piece is an amalgamation of the 9 performance fragments created in the twelve weeks of this module. The final piece not only includes 3 of these fragments, but also sets out to explore my own personal reflection and answer the questions raised while creating and responding to the readings.

I first started constructing my final piece by choosing the performance fragments I wanted to include. In addition to choosing the ones I found the most visually appealing, I also chose fragments that I had created with the underlying notion of challenging and changing the norm. One fragment I decided to include was in response to Said’s Orientalism. In this fragment I choreographed movement based on my own understanding of what was East-like based on everything I knew about it. I used a common hand gesture I had seen in Bollywood films and popular culture to choreograph a new movement sequence. I felt it wasn’t enough just to perform this new Bollywood infused choreography I had made, so I filmed it at an unusual camera angle to change the perspective. I knew this is exactly what I wanted all my works and final piece to do, namely challenge and change perspectives, be that literally or metaphorically. My performance fragment in response to Laura Mulvey was, I felt, my strongest and had the clearest message and intention of disrupting the male gaze, hence my decision to include it. I wanted to further develop the stylistic results it achieved when including it in this final piece, but also the questions it guided my practice with, and that it also aroused within its performance. Another piece I wanted to include was my response to a group exercise. While following the script provided, I set out to challenge stereotypes and juxtapose visuals of the heteronormative masculine black male with suggestive effeminate erotic images of the black male body. With these three pieces I recognised and developed an underlying story and by threading these performance fragments with ordinary effects, I could easily explore and display the answers to the questions directing my practice and final performance.

Throughout the course of this module, four articles really inspired my creative process, Laura, Mulvey ‘Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema’, Kobena Mercer ‘Reading racial fetishism’, Jose Munoz’s Introduction from ‘Disidentifications: Queers of Color and the Performance of Politics’ and Gloria Anzaldua Borderlands - La Frontera : The New Mestiza.

Psychoanalysis and the male gaze is a well-documented theory, however I have always been intrigued to how this theory relates to queer audiences and people of colour. I set out to experiment with it, incorporate my own interpretation and present a new gaze from my own artistic vison. Drawing from Mulvey’s notion of Scopophilia and Voyeurism, I wanted to further experiment with visual pleasure by placing a figure between the projection and the screen to see how this translated.

Within my piece, I projected black and white visuals, some of which displayed white topless men working out with the intention of objectifying them. I not only wanted to invertedly challenge Mercers argument of fetishising the black male body, but also pay homage to it. Therefore, placing my performance halfway between transversing Mapplethorpe’s intention and Mercer’s opinion. I did this to further investigate cultural norms and display some of the reflection not only presented in my reading logs, but also as part of my ethnography. My ethnography focused on a personal homophobic attack that took place within my community.

Munoz’s article touches on homophobia as being perceived as a white thing which coincides with Anzaldua’s argument of betraying one’s community when not conforming to cultural norms. So not only did I want to present a piece of work that had elements of “disidentification” and reworking of cultural codes, I also wanted to inform my audience of the factors that play a part in homophobia; one being the lack of black gay media, imagery and visuals that are set within an urban landscape.

I felt it important to contextualise my work and guide the audience from what is, what was and what’s now. I included stock footage I captured from events I previously organised to add a general viewing relatability. I also wanted to it to disrupt the homosexuality undertones of the project and give the audience something current and visually heteronormative to refer back to. Thus in turn making the images of men viewing men and the effeminate black male body more prominent. I also included a New York Times informative video about the history of black performers within Hollywood. Because I was using images of the half-naked white males from the same period, I wanted to refer the imagery of the black male at the time. The video states the limitation on the roles black actors had on screen, but also their importance off-camera in writing and contributing to some of these movies. They therefore juggled between perpetuating stereotypes and infusing roles with artistry while working in white dominated industry. This resonated with me, as in my performance I was playing to the common perception of both the black street male and the sexual effeminate gay. However, by infusing the two visuals, it was my intention to again refer to Munoz’s act of “disidentification”.

Although my work focuses heavily on trying to displace conventional traditions, I also wanted to have a certain relatable and ease of viewing to it. I therefore decided to use visual film, images and projection to perform and only included one gesture of sitting down so as to not overcomplicate the performance. The inclusion of a genderless angel figure was placed within the project to further displace the traditions of the male gaze.

Presenting to a small audience and online, it is hard to gauge how well it was perceived and although we were given the opportunity to be questioned following our sharing, I did not receive any direct questions about the piece itself. However, saying this, a strong part of my practice and my performance itself is to inform and challenge, something I feel my performance did extremely well and warranted the round of applause I received.

Nearly Finished

So, its weird,, reading this you’ll be half way through my documented MA artistic journey,, at the time of writing i have officially 4 weeks to my final performance! but I feel like, before I post the final performance, I want to take you through my research. However, this is just a short message to say.. don’t stop here on the blog,, there is still more to discover about my thinking if you continue to turn the pages.

Levi x

Aftercare : TRIGGA

Thank you for listening,,

Tonight you heard my piece TRIGGA,, lol so lets quickly dive into it,, trigga is a piece of free writing (like this) that started as a barrage against trigger warnings and developed into a performance piece:)!.. would you actively press play on a piece of music NSFW? its a creative piece written to play to its name, however, its not ment to offend anybody and hopefully triggerd emotional responses in a good way.. :)!

Trigga is heavily laced with sexuality and swearing,, plus a heavy tirade against the events industry.. white supremacy.. heteronormativity.. the church lol - basically every body.. so I always had planned to take accountability for this work and the effects it may/can have.. :)!

Its literally a very personal piece,, a play on words of a bad bar tender that touches on mental health, and hospitality - it feels nice to have shared it with an audience!

So, yes, I know this piece maybe be triggering but just be sure to take it with a pinch of salt and tequila, because its not about anybody personally,, its a f-u to hospitality standards and a hello to art - it is simply trying to deal with the wider, political, social bla bla bla :)!

Thank you again for supporting my growth as an artist,, giving me the resources and confidence to make challenging work,, I defo have to admit the dramatic suspenseful music can be a bit intimidating,,

As ever,

Levi x

Illaborate

Welcome / Whats your name baby can I take you order

but before you take a sip let me tell you bout dis order,

sit down, take a seat, no stress, it’ll be good for ya.

Its not often you get to see another side of me, ‘31, still shifting plates, its all about me

done this shit since i was ‘17

never been a poet, but in this space, bruv i’m about to be, still moving mad, being creative, lyrically, undoubtedly.

Ain’t never had to speak on my practice did it all behind the scenes but when the fucking curtain falls its all the devil wants to see.

white eyes, white ears, white nose, its all i fucking ever answer too, try to do your best but you’ll never really deep the truth.

Come in, drink up, lets dig a little deeper,

funny when that “white” rave was run by a black speaker,

played the game said yes and no politely and yet still the wanna spite me,

event manager, marketing assistants, its clear they never liked me.

Cos the joke is, i’m just a self-procliamed fucking promoter, got all the skills in the bag to do your jobs twice over.

So I dont need a title and I dont need long term commitment,

just come to the night sit down and fucking listen, get up, dance, and maybe go fucking crazy but dont miss the bigger picture,

its allways been a space for my crazies, and my LGBT sisters,

welcome to this mad theatre,

shoes on the dance floor hurt,

tears and blisters,

This ones for the boys who ain’t ever kissed us and the ones who may have missed us,

If gay sex is the weapon the i’m fucking pulling triggers,

hold tight black and black love, stay strong cos its all in us,

if they call you a faggot, remember these words cos mate we are all winners,

even if the church says your sinners, don’t listen, there just acceptance beginners.

Now thats all said and done, lets get back to spitting politely,

would you like another drink? can you tell me if you want a lime or ice please?

na, fuck it, my special, long-island-ice-tea

again its about me,

of course you can have a straw, especially cos you asked nicely,

enticed b?, rhymes hard, precisely, the vibes building nicely, so lets slow it down

wonder after this interval if you’ll even like me,

a glmipse into the life, you’ll defo get it if you try, see

fully glad your on a level,

like lil nas dancing with the devil, this is truly something special

Not another trauma narrative, just some shit thats on my mind

I dunno if i told you this but apparently mines got two sides,

so if you want to meet the other me, sit back, enjoy the ride

Listen closely i’m gonna tell you something intimate

I don’t know what i’m doing here but all I know is my journey ain’t finished yet.

Boom, mind blown, last round, let me give you the damage, luv if i swung your way of course you could have it, mate don’t walk away are you sure that you’ve paid?, oh, bar shut, go take your seats, go on sit down, are you dumb? can’t you hear the theatre getting loud.

All the doctors wanna know how i deal with my anxiety, but i just sit back and tell them theres bigger problems in society,

No mans an island, lets get this ship moving, black oppressions world wide, so don’t call me stupid, just jump on the movement.

Ik heb echt het gevoel om Nederlands te spreken met deze track, but nodoboy’s ready so i’m a just fall back.

If London’s my city, Amsterdan is echt mijn staad.

& thats just on me sitty pretty,

little fem, little gritty,

half-bipolar, half just silly.

bars make boys wanna touch their willy.

,,, this performance once in a lifetime

didn’t ever want to lead you on, lead you astray, or even into this dark array,

but hey, shit happens and this is my everyday.

Heres my number if you wanna collaborate

White tumblr girls is my shit, my thing, bad bitch, cocaine

This is my mood pretty gift wrapped and packaged, i’ll teach you about sustainability, if you really back it -

Hackney Rooms: 411

This is where the magic happens, It really does,

It where the past meet the future aspirations of the conscious mind,

Im really not that deep but I can take you on a spiritual journey beyond these four walls, its just about that Libra energy.

Im lucky i’ve travelled and lived abroad so its kind of now choosing this destination of the place I do not want to settle.

Hackney Rooms : 101

Underneath my floorboards,, I don’t have,,

Yeah I was blessed with concrete slabs, urban jungle.

No censership, spectatorship, I hope I don’t have to read this out-loud.

Another free writing excersize turned into expression for the crowd,

This is different though cos I actually wanna be here,

I know my voice will crack as the rhythm disappears.

Illiterate

This is what i do,

cos this is the bit were the track gets silly,

hold tight the breakdown. inner London city

Cos we jump and a vibe and the beat gets sticky

this year we lost dancing, but the rhymes stayed girtty

say, oi, na, do it like that

come to the dance put down words on a track

not a mc just another London lad, with a bag full of girls and a hope for the stack

money, oi, we all gotta find it

talented chicks are we all here inside yet?

wheres the boy’s who can shake and a whine it

and the ones on the wall who aint never tried it?

every man grab a gal, and a gal grab a guy

man to man, gal to gal, come on don’t be shy

were all just here so come on have a good time

we don’t do stress, baby, no badmind

under the clublight we all look fire

inside the rhythm your turn to shine

you want a remix, hit up my line

,,, dreams come true

,,, yours do to / you can come too

,,, vibes on you

shake, move, its what it do.

cw1:NSFW

The Case Study.

Artistic leadership encompasses elements of entrepreneurship, creativity and management.

Records labels in the millennial era are now more than ever multifaceted. They are not only responsible for the distribution of music and artists’ work but are also behind some of the most well-established club nights, events and festivals all over the world.

Defected Records is one the most respected and biggest brands in global dance music. it was founded in London by Simon Dunmore in 1999. It was launched in the wake of Dunmore’s career as a highly respected and accredited A&R in dance music. The company hosts a back catalogue of underground house records such as “Finally” by Kings of Tomorrow, “Can’t Get Enough” by Soulsearcher, as well as more recently CamelPhat’s Grammy Award-winning “Cola” (Griffiths, 2021). There are over 120 Defected club events and festivals across the world, with more than 300K annual attendees (Resident Advisor, 2021).

During this pandemic, records labels adapted to the COVID-19 restrictions that have put a stop to large gatherings. UK Label Defected Records is a leading example of such change and was one of the first to experiment with digital live music events. On the 20th March 2020, the label hosted a ground-breaking 12-hour virtual festival from an empty Ministry of Sound. The festival was broadcast on Facebook Live and reached over 6 million people, 13 million impressions and 1.4million engagements (Creative Review, 2021). Streaming and broadcasting music is not new to the music scene. Pre-recorded and live shows from brands such as Boiler Room that date back to 2011, are at the core of the brands’ identity (Boiler Room, 2021). However, Defected’s Virtual Festival has been noted as the most ambitious and successful musical digital experience to date, after breaking Facebook records and adding 2.6m followers to their social media following (Griffiths, 2021). Head of Digital – Entertainment at The 7 Stars, Jim Stannard, stated “Defected Virtual Festival really set the standard for LIVE – finding a perfect balance of entertainment and connectivity that audiences are craving at this time” (Creative Review, 2021).

Many labels, event organisers, and DJ’s alike have now followed suit, appealing to an at-home audience within the restrictions of COVID-19 and I plan to do the same during my performance using my own artistic leadership and contemporary performance practice. I will live-stream a performance of my montage techniques which incorporate; pre-recorded music-mixes, experimental film and visual art, original music production and spoken-word. 

The Performance.

My performance will be an alternative take on a Defected Record live-stream, showcasing my experimentation as a music producer and film maker to exhibit a track which, will be available to pre-order after the launch of the proposed event on the 22nd April. It will engage with the audience by presenting my aesthetics as an artist and leader in black queer expression. I will bring the audience into my creative process by documentary-style film and performance-based techniques. One of the aims of the performance is to offer a contribution to New Queer Cinema. As Michele Aron suggests, “the most striking effect of New Queer Cinema has been its intervention into this process of disavowal so intrinsic to mainstream spectatorship” (Aaron, 2004). As a queer artist I feel it important to continue to challenge, adapt and experiment with the systems of white heteronormativity.

I plan to incorporate interactivity by offering the further action of being able to purchase and consume a physical copy of the musical material presented.

As part of the evening, I will also jointly present interview style curated film, in which the audience is offered a deeper insight into the work we do and have done, the artists we are, and the social context our work addresses. The intention of this interview is to create curiosity within the audience, which they will then be able to explore by interacting in a live Q&A about our practice and performance.

I am also using this event to showcase promotional material for my own label Importedrecords.wtf in which on which my track will be released. Importedrecords.wtf is a sister brand to my current brand SK!NT. Importedrecords.wtf will focus more specifically (but not exclusively) on Black Queer Artists, Art and expression (skiint, 2021).

Then / Now / Where.

            Due to the current pandemic, I feel my work will be best situated online until there are clearer guidelines in regard to the opening of art venues. By focusing on an online presence, I can build up a new following before being able to present my work in the physical with the use of installations and live-art. It will also be a great way to experiment with installations, projection and how this translates into film and within broadcasting and live streaming.

The engagement and social-media-following can be gained from the successful execution of an innovative idea, as in the case of the Defected Virtual Festival, which led to further sponsorship possibilities, greater engagement and brand awareness (Stewart, 2020). Therefore, not only am I taking inspiration from their event, but also as a business model to raise my brand awareness and artistic outputs. Being able to connect with international audiences with minimal cost, will hopefully lead to me creating works that can transverse borders. 

Within black culture in particular, there seems to still be problems and systems which oppress my counterparts across the globe. Although the practicalities may differ, restrictions are prevalent. A study from the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights found “Race-related violence, discriminatory police profiling, and discrimination in the search for jobs and housing were commonplace for many,” (BBC, 2018). After building up a bigger portfolio and network of creatives, I would like to present my work in Amsterdam and Paris. I believe my work can help and target more specific communities within these two cities, practically, due to location and also my own experience of living, working and visiting those locations. 

Spaces, art galleries and venues across Europe which can facilitate stage, sound and art installations, such as the Grande Halle de la Villette would be ideal locations to present my work due to the nature of how I envisage my curated art.

Process.

My ideal process would include each person within the collaboration taking ownership and artistic leadership of an aspect of the event, in addition to their own performance. For example, due to my film background I would take leadership of the curated interview element. How I envision this working is that within the event, there are three separate spaces in the online environment in which users can visit before and after the scheduled main performance of each artist. There would however still be collaboration by facilitating how and what the interviewed artist would want to address. As well as having a set of structured questions in which the artists involved would answer to create a sense of coherency, I would also facilitate the collaboration of the artist’s own vision and distinctive input to the interview process. The process would also include the help of other artists involved. Although I would be taking charge of managing the production of the interview, due to the nature of the project, the use of other artists to help in the production of my own interview also plays a crucial part of the process. Therefore, just as they would be included in the process of both mind and their own interview, I would hope to be facilitated and involved in the aspects and creation of their contributed elements.

List of equipment.

ACID Pro 10, Reason, - Digital Audio Workstation

Adobe Creative Cloud

Home Environment, Local Studios, and Software on MacBook and PC

UEL Studio, Recording, Dance and Video Editing Suites

Microsoft Teams

Abstract.

NSFW

References.

Aaron, M., 2004. New Queer Cinema: A Critical Reader. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.

BBC, 2018. Racism against black people in EU 'widespread and entrenched'. [Online] 
Available at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-46369046
[Accessed 11 04 2021].

Boiler Room, 2021. Boiler Room - Live Performances. [Online] 
Available at: https://boilerroom.tv/format/live-performances/16
[Accessed 11 04 2021].

Creative Review, 2021. Great Work: Defected Records' Virtual Music Festival. [Online] 
Available at: https://www.creativereview.co.uk/great-work-defected-records-virtual-music-festival
[Accessed 2021 04 2021].

Griffiths, S., 2021. How record company Defected defeated the pandemic. [Online] 
Available at: https://www.ft.com/content/f5b17ed0-01f0-4179-82d0-b50c98f437a7
[Accessed 11 04 2021].

Resident Advisor, 2021. Defected Records. [Online] 
Available at: https://ra.co/labels/45
[Accessed 11 04 2021].

skiint, 2021. skiint. [Online] 
Available at: www.facebook.com/skiint
[Accessed 11 04 2021].

Stewart, R., 2020. The beat goes on for Defected's virtual festival post-lockdown, but sponsors can wait. [Online] 
Available at: https://www.thedrum.com/news/2020/04/17/the-beat-goes-defecteds-virtual-festival-post-lockdown-sponsors-can-wait
[Accessed 11 04 2021].

Event Planning

3way x

Meeting #001

X_x

so.. group work,, lets get it! I like to be in the driving seat, but I also remember one time when I was in Turkey and I hired a car and let both my friends who didn’t have a licence drive it! (funniest, craziest, adrenaline pumping and scariest thing i’ve ever done) Sometimes you have to put faith in the collective vision especially as we are all on the same playing field, all leading within our specific fields. all with our own creative flair. working with your peers is sometimes the hardest, but most rewarding experience. life is a ladder. and sometimes your at the top, sometimes your at the bottom and sometimes your ladder is part of scaffolding. Time to put the pieces together and create “something new, something fresh, something raw” something we can bring on tour, ;)!.. im excited.. lol its gonna be challenging -.-… but i’m still very excited!

Black, Artist, Gay

Prejudice exists and we're not going to eradicate it over night, so you have find ways in.

there is a difference between artists, gay artist.

Some artist are gay and just artist by default, sexuality never comes into play sometimes because it's just who they are, Freddy Mercury artist before a homosexual. However, Frank Ocean, gay artist ever since his coming out, Nas X gay artist ever since coming out, some black artist loose there hetromormative appeal and right to operate in the mainstream as an artist without the constant reminder of there sexuality.

I'm just an artist, the gay thing never really came up.. Maybe because I've never label my work as gay and Im gonna continue working in that way.

That black gay guy, doing straight things making space for the other, the indifferent, and confused.

Pro noun

Professional noun,,

No

(US/The best)

I feel like pro nouns are a way of creating a culture in the workplace that is strictly limited on how to address someone,, if we had more diversity within the workplace then im sure we wouldn't need to be putting him/her/they on the end of everything! Come be part of my us!

I can't wait for this trend to die! like those squares on Instagram im already over it.

Inclusivity can't be brought nor just pick up because it's the thing to do! Some of us have always been inclusive! So when I talk about me I tend to say us!.. Us in people who fuck with what I do..

So thats “them” to you,, both sides of my personality | X_x

B&W

As a black artist I don't see anything wrong with white imagery,, especially if it helps create spaces for black people, however, it also necessary to let it be known that black imagery can is just ass artistically appealing as white imagery but one, white people sometimes don't fully understand how to read black and they are the ones with £_€ which leads to a lack of representation and two, there is not enough resources to make the alternative black vision that decendes stereotypes in the mass that white media is made. So aren't I adding to the problem? No! Why isn't there a 50/50 split in my work, because eventually no matter how hard I try until I have the same resources awarded as my counterparts I will always run out of references, inspirations, and time. So that's why black spaces or spaces for black people serve such a strong purpose in what I do. That's why I don't do care content warnings only ingredients lists, with allergens not in bold either. hopefully my work stands out in a scene of white mederocracy.. and so do those who come together for mutual exchanges in the moments I create…. That's black art in the making.

We have enough time, what we don't have is the time and space to work together to create more black visuals, photography, media.

Just because you have a camera doesn't mean your a photographer but there a lot more spaces where people can say let's make a movie, let's make a show, let's make music and it happens where people of colour in general just didn't get and still haven't got the memo about the time a place these discussions take place! Sometimes people forget things like asains like rap music and Italians drink tea so if you had these two round the table surely I think they would have some useful inputs or just food for thought,,

The start of something new

I like to work at night,

The smell of the club, the scent of the good looking stranger

That glance under the spotlight.

Who is that? “one night or the rest of my life”

Danger, Adrenaline or the sound of my heart beat which is it.

All I feel is the base so blame it on the music.

Let’s get out of here.

Content warning

I’m not your therapist,, this isn’t therapy!

people always want to know what there getting into but sometimes it can be a double ended sword, it’s easier to avoid situations when you know what you don’t want to see or feel, but sometimes situations need confronting and addressing.

im not saying a tamato soup shouldn’t be label a tamato soup but sometimes it’s about trusting in the process (chefs special)

you wouldn’t see a comedy show if the jokes were on the blurb, you wouldn’t go to a magic show if they told you the tricks before hand, you wouldn’t go to she shit about black culture if it has nothing to do with you…

Dare to wonder

Access Rider

Taking this into consideration,, xyz. I need

My ideal working process would include working within a community and tight network of like-minded individuals to create both individual and collaborative pieces of work to entertain, create social change, and challenge normativity with the arts. My process would include, working alternatively every 3months in London, Amsterdam and Paris, not only within the arts, but also in roles that allow me to further understand the complexity of why black people are still not better represented, in positions of power, and are so disconnected in the diasporas of America and Europe when our struggles seem to be operantly similar. Therby, not only working for the commercial success of me and my peers, but also working to strengthen all of the communities in which I belong too while creating a strong network of creative of black expats in white and black spaces.

5

a week off, crossing over into research practice,, like a farmer you need to know your field

Neurodiversity and DJ

Intuitive,, Performative,, Function,, Because it's more than just a performance but experimental sound design and expression of the mind.

it is harder then it looks, especially when your talking to yourself, one min you want to play house and the next garage.. but its all part of the mix.

Week 4

Leadership, Leading,, Artistic Leadership.

This week we where task with programming! well our vision of what an ideal curated event would look like. Coming from an event background, i feel pretty confident in pushing talent and artist. When i was programing my own nights,, looking back there was a-lot to be proud of.. and also innovation that I feel was before its time but that has helped and given me the resources to guide my current practice.

Highlights,

Promoting female DJ’s,, Promoting black DJ’s who where into House and experimental predominately white genres (Tech House), promoting black DJ’s playing black music all while avoiding the restrictions and the problems many black promoters face. Inclusivity is a hard thing to publish, but i feel like i’ve done a pretty good job at it so far. Its no secret venues in London,, no matter how international it appears to be,, like hosting events that play black music, but when you really look back into history, House (Black Music), R’n’B / Hip-Hop all the west end clubs play (Black Music),, but they dont like black crowds.. so tips and tricks, lol a magician never reveals his secrets but knowledge is power and i’ll share how I got round it… one day! for now ill show you my current event proposed proposal and then you can take from it what you will.

The Venue,

Tate Modern,, why Tate,, I’ve always loved Tate as a Venue, I think the actual potential of it’s layout and spaces could be used to create something phenomenal. Plus, there Soul of a Nation exhibition was definitely a good one! Knowing that they have all-ready hosted events with black themes.. It’s a venue i would be pretty much be willing and open to working with in the future. Instead of having to deliberately wrap up the xmas presents with birthday paper (magician tip).. to be allowed to work with others. Side-note: luckily i was running events before the whole 696 form become popular! I started in 2012, and have never had to fill one in!.. and by the time they where in full swing trying to stop “black events” I was in Amsterdam. end. So now its 2021,, i feel like i’ve all-ready paid my dues to society, snuck into the back doors of many venues and deserve to be given the platform to demonstrate my work and work with venues who in fact want to challenge the oppressive systems within our society. Back to Tate.. Tate Late.. obviously,, I’m a clubkid,, everybody who knows me knows my days start at 1pm and finish at 7am. So I felt like the time of Tate Late, would situate nicely with what people expect from me and also those intrigued to see more of my work and what i’m doing now. Its a nice pre-party to a social and mixer that could happen after.

More than just an artistic rave!

So, Tate Late is the venue, described as a place where, art, music and talks comes together. As the music sorted,, lets get a bit deeper. So yeah, im Bi,, Polar haha. (Defo when I was younger going back to Tumblr did have that Bi-phase but then was like yeah im gay, however, sex is sex no matter who’s performing it) Anyway,, there is some amazing organisation out there to help Artist and Creatives like me. Core Arts in Hackney is one of them and the Recovery College is another. Being part of a community is extremely important to me, as well as giving back to the organisations that helped me along the way! The montage on the front page of this website, Made while at Core Arts, on their Developing Arts Practice Programme.

So yeah, my projects and all my ideas generated while on, before and after their programme as well as being part of the LGBT+ group and Black Mans Reference group are still in development. But!,, they are a Organisation I would heavily like to incorporate into my programming by Delivering and Facilitating workshops between them and the Recovery College, who also are pretty cool in the fact they facilitate classes for everybody with or without mental health meaning there is that open space between all our worlds. So long story short, the work and outcomes of the workshop I would incorporate into my Tate Late Night. (Example workshop here). Especially for me it runs a bit deeper than slapping a charity on something and being like yeah we are doing this to help blabla… NO! its about actively hands down in every-step of the process personally running, planning, participating, delivering and facilitating the work that is then to be brought into a wider context and event where people can come a see and… well the possibilities, potential and outcomes of such work are endless really. Before “Mental Health” was the latest trend, me and a-lot of people went through the stigmas, pressures and own personal journeys without the wider understanding there is today and by giving back and giving a “general opportunity” I hope to pay homage to those many journeys.

Amy Winehouse,, Back 2 Black.. Fun!

So I lied when I said the Music would be sorted please find attached my flyer below,, I would hope to have all the following artist performing to show that you can have Gay, Black, Urban, all under one roof. Plus,, not gay everyday sometimes, heteronormativity. as long as it’s not oppressive… its good to see both sides of the coin and have environments mix.. which leads me on to the final section!,,, Talks,, Now, this is the hardest part because there is so many people I want to put down but to save a whole essay on this blogpost i’m literally gonna try and keep it to the people who fit in to my current them of tackling homophobia and the notion “black masculinity”. I feel like by inviting some of the above artist’s it not only would show a sign of respect to the black gay community, but also open up wider discussion into this pre-concieved idea of “black masculinity” as well the separate idea of homophobia that associated with black identities in general. SOoOo,, basically for the talks part, I would invite the authors I have come across during my time trying to find an answer to the conundrum of my research… :)!

signs out

Levi x

flyer coming soon -

Week 3

[19:13] Levi Morgan HIBBERT

You've never heard of me, like this before

[19:14] Levi Morgan HIBBERT

make sure you pay attention, Pick you head up from the floor..

[19:15] Levi Morgan HIBBERT

Were creating something new, something fresh, something raw.

[19:16] Levi Morgan HIBBERT

something that's our own,

[19:17] Levi Morgan HIBBERT

Something that we can take on tour!!

[19:18] Levi Morgan HIBBERT

Listen with your ears, watch with you third eye!

[19:18] Levi Morgan HIBBERT

Just like number 9, always be aware these lines.

[19:19] Levi Morgan HIBBERT

That come over three am stuff astounding,

[19:20] Levi Morgan HIBBERT

im gonna give you a pounding!

[19:22] Levi Morgan HIBBERT

Make that magic happen just let it go,

[19:23] Levi Morgan HIBBERT

it take some kind of intelect to have this flow

[19:24] Levi Morgan HIBBERT

Im gonna make you mine,

[19:25] Levi Morgan HIBBERT

Put a wring on it while ive got time,

[19:26] Levi Morgan HIBBERT

just shake it like beyonce,

[19:28] Levi Morgan HIBBERT

lets share a onsie, lets take it off pause and hit play!