From the Artist:
At the time of writing I have a lot of questions and I’m curious: WHAT IS BLACK and BROWN JOY? Is it a Solo Joy or a Collective Joy? What does it look like? Sound like? Taste? Behave like? Is it about power? Decolonisation? Is it possible to discuss Joy without discussing colonisation and racism? Is Black/Brown JOY even possible? Sustainable? Is it an Alternative Futurism
There are no right or wrong answers, I’m curious about what participants will bring to the workshop.
Who is the workshop for?
Cross Discipline Creatives/Artists and Artistically Curious folk from BIPOC/Global Majority with an interest in exploring the theme/question. All genders and intersections are welcome – including but not limited to Queer, Disabled Identifying and their carers.
About me
whatsthebigmistry is Priya Mistry – Multidisciplinary artist, Socially Engaged Worker and Curator-Producer. Their practice straddles Performance, Visual Art, Film, Photography, Clay, Digital Art works and Archive. Mistry’s practice is underpinned by the deconstruction of language and exploration of sensory/non-word based vocabularies. Their work explores and generates discourse at the Intersection of Identities. It connects on the topics of invisible dis/ability/neurodiversity, BIPOC/Global Majority, Queer and Feminist politics; whilst investigating human bodies, functional and everyday objects as sculptural propositions, generating choreographies and arrangements between bodies, objects and space.
whatsthebigmistry | multidisciplinary artist
Context of this Workshop:
In 2021-22 I was commissioned to make a moving image work entitled The Empire’s Old Clothes. This commission was brought about specifically because the Commissioner’s senior producer (at Unlimited) was awarded an MBE (Order of the British Empire), which she accepted, a controversial and awkward decision. As a response of sorts Unlimited sought to commission work that responded to this, and to the Queen’s Honours List. The Empire’s Old Clothes was presented in September 2022 with The Southbank Centre. The same week the Queen died, as a result this work was removed from viewing by The Southbank Centre.
In response – my current Commission and Research begins by exploring what we mean by Black or Brown Joy. I’m not sure where this will take me or what the final outcome/s will be. This workshop forms research as part of an International Commission with Unlimited & The British Council which involves me working with South African digital artist Tsoku Maela.