Black Lives Matter protest at the Capitol Building in Lincoln Nebraska on 31 May 2020
A year ago, in the wake of George Floyd’s murder by police officers in the US, and the immediate reactions from galleries and cultural institutions the world over, Dr Clive Nwonka convened a panel discussion that called into question what he calls ‘cultural compensation’.
One year on, what has changed? Join us as the panel reconvene to reflect on the ways the creative sector has responded to race and racism across the UK.
Panellists: broadcaster Bidisha, Dr Francesca Sobande from the University of Cardiff, and the Guardian’s Lanre Bakare.
The discussion will last one hour and will be followed by 15 minutes of responses to questions from the audience. Please note the event will be recorded and shared online at a later date.
ABOUT
Dr Clive Nwonka is a Lecturer in Film and Literature at the University of York. His academic research covers Black British and American film, literature, and racial inequality and diversity policy in the UK film industry. He is Co-Editor of the book Black Film British Cinema II (ICA MIT/Goldsmiths Press) and the author of the forthcoming book Black Boys: The Social Aesthetics of British Urban Film (Bloomsbury, 2022).
Bidisha is a broadcaster, journalist and filmmaker. She specialises in international human rights, social justice, gender and the arts and offers political analysis, arts critique and cultural diplomacy. Her fifth book, Asylum and Exile: Hidden Voices of London (2015), is based on her outreach work in UK prisons, refugee charities and detention centres. Her first film, An Impossible Poison, has been highly critically acclaimed and selected for numerous international film festivals. Her latest film project is the ongoing Aurora series which launched in 2020. She is currently broadcasting heavily for Sky News, Channel 5 and the BBC.
Dr Francesca Sobande is a lecturer in digital media studies at the School of Journalism, Media and Culture at Cardiff University. She is co-editor (with Akwugo Emejulu) of To Exist is To Resist: Black Feminism in Europe (Pluto Press, 2019), the author of The Digital Lives of Black Women in Britain (Palgrave Macmillan, 2020), and co-author (with layla-roxanne hill) of Black Oot Here: Black Lives in Scotland which will be published by Bloomsbury in 2022.
Lanre Bakare is The Guardian’s arts and culture correspondent. He recently edited the special G2 issue covering race in the UK, and previously worked in New York and Los Angeles for The Guardian US and was awarded a Scott Trust Bursary.
ACCESS
- Chair intro, 10 mins; questions to panel – each panelist’s contribution will be 5-10 minutes with an additional audience questions via Zoom chat. Running time approx 75 minutes total.
- Watching and listening to 5 video and audio recordings.
- The films are not subtitled.