The Dutch Season returns for Brighton
Brighton Fringe prides itself as a celebration of arts not only from the UK, but...
Brighton Fringe 2023 is honoured to partner up with Culture ConneX and the University of Sussex ‘Black@Sussex’ initiative for this year’s festival season, to present a very special UK edition of the Pan-African Creative Exchange (PACE).
ConneX is a unique multi-disciplinary arts programme supported by Pride Community Foundation and Ironworks Studios and produced by Urbanflo Creative.
Their mission is to develop opportunities for different communities to access the arts and connect with each other.
The performances and exhibitions will take place between the main central hub that is Ironworks Studios, and an array of various locations, from Pheonix Art Space to even the brand new Caravanserai venue at Brighton Fringe.
PACE programme and Culture ConneX will be the perfect place to share ideas, make connections and foster collaborations.
Here at Brighton Fringe, we have gathered a list of all the events taking place:
I MISS MY MUM’S COOKIN’ (INSTALLATION), 5-28 MAY. (Pheonix Art Space)
A free installation by artist/curator and scholar Michael McMillan exploring the themes of Caribbean heritage, home, food and health.
ICONIC LAGOS: PHOTOGRAPHY EXHIBITION, 9-21 MAY (Jubilee Library)
A free photography exhibition celebrating everyday life in Lagos, honouring its inhabitants and exploring what makes the city unique.
Presented by Bolaji Alonge, an artist, photographer, journalist and actor from Lagos, Nigeria with more than two decades of experience in documenting history.
At Brighton Fringe, Alonge presents his work and some mixed art in collaboration with Jason Ogbazi, a talented Nigerian artist. In 2020, Alonge was the Rapporteur of the PACE ENTANGLED festival, a Pan-African exchange forum.
ARTS PRACTITIONER GROUP COACHING PROGRAMME, MAY 18. £30 (Ironworks Studios)
This group coaching programme will develop your skills, knowledge and mindset, to earn income as an arts practitioner. This is not a taught course and there will be no taught fundraising or marketing in a formal sense. You will be exploring the psychological aspects of turning your creativity into a business and sharing ideas and experience
FIRST CONTACT: PHOTOGRAPHY EXHIBITION, MAY 22-JUNE 3. (Jubilee Library)
Through contact sheets and interview material, this free exhibition tells us about the process behind these initial portraits. It explores how their practice is grounded upon a specific type of first contact; one based upon consent and agency which explains why these images capture their sitters in a particular light.
The portraits convey joyful belonging. We see them at ease with themselves and the places they have chosen to be photographed in.
I MISS MY MUM’S COOKIN’- WORKSHOP WITH MICHALE MCMILLAN, MAY 27. £10 (Phoenix Art Space)
Michael McMillan's I Miss My Mum's Cookin' installation forms the backdrop to this unique experiential workshop which will use the handling, smelling and tasting of different ingredients, spices, herbs, seasonings, snacks and drinks to stimulate discussion about the Caribbean and other migrant food cultures.
Workshop participants will be invited to share stories about the food they grew up with and what they cook now, and how this informs their own food cultures and identities.
‘DEEP HISTORY’ ARTIST TALK WITH PHOTOGRAPHER CHARLIE PHILLIPS, MAY 28. £10 (Ironworks Studios)
A talk on Charlie Phillip’s life in photography - joining the missing threads from Jamaica’s independence in 1962 to the present. Charlie will connect the dots between these two moments, in particular the way he has documented Black British life since 1962 – photographing his community in Notting Hill to share with the family back home.
PACE ARTS MARKET PLACE & BLACK BRIGHTON MARKET, MAY 28. £5 (Ironworks Studios)
In partnership with Black Brighton Market, the Pan-African Creative Exchange (PACE) brings you a vibrant marketplace featuring arts and crafts stalls, pop-up performances, a cultural cafe and a drop-in advice salon for the local creative community.
Dinner of the Willing is simply a gathering of like-minded souls who have a willingness and enthusiasm to be part of a shift in how to seriously push diversity conversations into action.
Fusing the ‘Come Dine with Me’ and ‘The Long Table’ formats, they adapt the private form of a dinner party as an informal framework for debating key social issues - providing a space for a proper conversation, the sharing of great insights and stories, and the re-charging of energies and imaginations.
THE COCOA BUTTER CLUB, MAY 28. £15 (Ironworks Studios)
Join a celebration of Black performers in this original award-winning cabaret.
The Cocoa Butter Club’s roster of queer performers of colour is one of the most sought-after black books. They will have you screamin’ “yaaassssss it smells like cocoa buttuh up in here!"
‘INSIDE/OUTSIDE’ ARTIST TALK WITH EDDIE OTCHERE, MAY 29. £10 (Ironworks Studios)
A discussion on Charlie Phillips’ contemporary work and longer other histories of photography in terms of power, position & consent.
PACE MASTERCLASS: ‘VIEWPOINTS’ PHYSICAL THEATRE (3 DAYS), MAY 29, 30, 31. £30 (Ironworks Studios)
VIEWPOINTS is an intensive 3-day physical theatre training process led by international theatremaker Erwin Maas. The sessions offer long-term, sustainable development tools and are designed to enhance acting and presentation skills and performance quality.
PACE MASTERCLASS: NETWORKING & PITCHING YOUR WORK, MAY 29. £10 (Ironworks Studios)
Don't miss this Masterclass led by Nike Jonah and Erwin Maas, the co-directors of Pan-African Creative Exchange (PACE) who share savvy ways to build your professional network and present yourself, and your work, to international producers, programmers and curators.
TO IRENE…WITH LOVE, MAY 29. £15 (Ironworks Studios)
A very special evening of music and poetry performances celebrating the life and creative talents of the late Irene Mensah. Join Irene’s friends, colleagues and peers from art collectives including Writing Our Legacy, African Night Fever and Vocal Patchwork Gospel Choir who bring you a beautiful celebration dedicated ‘To Irene... with Love’
ALGERIAN PERSPECTIVES: ARTISTS TALK, MAY 30. £10 (Ironworks Studios)
A fascinating take on frequently forgotten but crucial African history with Nadja Makhlouf, Sarah El Hamed & Yasmine Boudiaf. The screening of William Klein’s documentary of the 1969 Pan-African Festival of Algiers is followed by a roundtable conversation with three remarkable Algerian artists that will reflect together both on Klein’s film and how their creative practices do connect with Africa.
Reflecting on the politics of the African continent in the 60s/70s, in this seminal documentary William Klein captures the radical atmosphere of the first Pan-African Cultural Festival in the continent that took place in Algiers in July 1969.
Join this seminal anti-colonial documentary screening featuring artists Nina Simone, Miriam Makeba & Archie Schepp.
PACE MASTERCLASS: INTERNATIONAL NETWORKING, MAY 30. £10 (Ironworks Studios)
Don't miss this Masterclass led by Nike Jonah and Erwin Maas, the co-Executive directors of the Pan-African Creative Exchange (PACE). Discover the cultural diplomat inside of you and find out more about international exchange opportunities and (performing) arts networks and platforms.
DIMENSIONS, MAY 31. £15 (Ironworks Studios)
Following on from last year's huge success, Dimensions returns to Brighton Fringe for a second year presenting the best of Brighton’s homegrown R&B and hip-hop talent.
PACE NETWORKING & CRITICAL DEBATE: ‘THE LONG TABLE’, MAY 31. £5 (Ironworks Studios)
The Long Table originated as a performance installation by Lois Weaver, which experiments with using the private form of a dinner party as a structure for public debate. It encourages informal conversation on serious subjects and experiments with formats that inspire public engagement. The Long Table has been installed and performed as a public dinner party between artists, activists, academics, advocates and general audiences on subjects such as performance, social inclusion and human rights.
‘THE FRONT ROOM’ BOOK LAUNCH & ARTIST TALKS WITH MICHAEL MCMILLAN, JUNE 1. £10 (Ironworks Studios)
Michael McMillan’s 'The Front Room': Diaspora Migrant Aesthetics in the Home draws on his critically acclaimed and internationally renowned installation The Front Room, now permanently at the Museum of the Home (formerly the Geffrye Museum).
‘VIEWPOINTS’ FOR SCREEN (STUDENT MASTERCLASS), JUNE 1. £5 (Brighton Film Studios)
An immersive physical theatre workshop offering stage & screen training designed to enhance acting skills & performance quality.
The impact extends way beyond the stage and screen, as Viewpoints develops greater self-awareness, alertness, self-confidence and connection to individual impulses of body, voice, space and time.
BRIGHTON FILM STUDIOS TOUR, JUNE 1. £5 (Brighton Film Studios)
An exciting behind-the-scenes look at the film and TV world at one of the only film lots of its kind on the south coast.
POISON (REHEARSED READING), JUNE 1. £5 (Ironworks Studios)
A rehearsed reading of ‘ POISON’, an internationally acclaimed play about loss and hope. Directed by Erwin Maas, featuring Atandwa Kani & Kerri McLean.
Brighton Fringe prides itself as a celebration of arts not only from the UK, but...
Volunteer With Brighton Fringe and Gig Buddies
Talking to the Box Office...
