Events Overview 2022
These events were held for everyone and anyone willing to attend, we welcome all to our events.
The events and activities held throughout the month provideda space for Black and Brown communities to come together and learn, share, celebrate, and experience different stories and cultures from the past, present, and future. These events allowed individuals to connect with people they may not have had the opportunity to meet before, learn about different life experiences, and challenge their assumptions, prejudices, and stereotypes.
Throughout the month, we increased the visibility and highlighted the diverse business owners, the different organisations, and networks that are in Plymouth aswell as supported our partners and our selves to become leaders in addressing diversity issues.
The virtual library was a collaboration between Diversity Business Incubator (us) and Azza gasim (azza_urbanista) an artist in Plymouth that helped us curate the library. The library had a mix of resources for adults and young people in it such as books, movies and printable games for both kids and adults. The library is up and still running for anyone who wishes to access it.
The Black History Month Scavenger Hunt began on the 1st of October and ran all the way to the 28th of October. The aim of the Scavenger Hunt was to bring together people in a fun and engaging way by involving a number of businesses and organisations in Plymouth (Real Ideas, Plymouth Argyle, Lisbon Restaurant and Bakery, Wonda Foods Africa, Grace Connections, University of Plymouth, Plymouth College of Art, City College Plymouth, Indiana Healthcare, The Plot, The Clipper, National Express, Soul Food Vendors, Mama Rita’s Kitchen, and Eldertree).
The event allowed people from all walks of life to explore parts of Plymouth that they may have never thought to and to engage with businesses and cultures they were not aware of. This benefits the community as well as BAME business owners in Plymouth.
Movie nights were held at various venues every Wednesday during October as a way to share media about Black History or made by black/BAME creators.
Cultural food demonstrations were organised to help share and have discussions using food as a conversation starter.
The Storytelling Night took place on the 21st of October an was tailored for kids to come learn about various tales from different cultures. Azza Gasim was the storyteller and she brought a range of books from her culture (Sudanese) as well as stories about inspiring stories about people from the BAME community.
This was one of the biggest events of the month in terms of attendance. Families and children came to enjoy the enriching tales Azza told as well as face painting provided by Doa Shayea. The initial 20 tickets sold out and we added an extra 10 which were filled too. The stories that were told included: Little Leaders: Visionary Women Around the World by Vashti Harrison, Hey You! An Empowering Celebration of Growing Up Black by Dapo Adeola, The Clever Sheikh of the Butana and Other Sudanese Folk Tales retold by Ali Lufti Abdallah, Amazing Muslims Who Changed the World by Burhana Islam, and A Letter to my Daughters by Barack Obama.
We put out 10 tickets to the public and 6 attendees with one late comer. We had 2 guests from America turn up and were happy to share how they celebrate BHM in America and share insight on Black History Month history in America. This was also beneficial to our guest as she got to learn more about Black British History.
The night started out slow and we had to keep everyone entertained and engaged, we had 5 categories of games and each one had 5-10 questions and answers for our attendees. They were on music, literature, movies and general knowledge, the best part was seeing our attendees learn more about Black History in England as that is something that is taught openly in our schools. In conclusion, learning and talking more about Black History in England is essential as it is a great way for individuals from all backgrounds to be educated and ignorance is lack of knowledge on the subject matter.
The aim of the art fair weekender was to summarise and bring together all of the wonderful people and work put together during Black History Month 2021. It was held over two days (29th & 30th October) and collaborated with Nudge’s annual Halloween party.
Plymouth City College created a brief for their students to create artwork to display at the weekender. They took the theme ‘Proud of Your Roots’ and responded to it in the form of video, tapestry, and collage. The result was an installation set up inside the greenhouse in the Plot. It was a powerful and intimate space that allowed visitors to engage with the artwork in a thoughtful and introspective way. Alongside the installation there were two vendors: Kerrie Holbrook and Lorna Empson who are both local cerators in Plymouth. They sold a range of handmade jewellery and sweet arrangements, which proved to be popular.
The fair was busiest on the 30th as this was when Nudge’s Halloween party took place and it drew in a wide variety of people as well as people we had invited.
