Rise Up! – Aberdeen’s groundbreaking festival celebrating black and people of colour creatives in the north-east and across Scotland is returning for a second year.
Officially unveiled today, a host of events will be held over the first weekend in May, with performances – including a cabaret – workshops and talks at the Music Hall and The Lemon Tree, all to highlight unity, creativity and expression.
The festival, curated by We Are Here Scotland and commissioned by Aberdeen Performing Arts was a success on its first outing last year and its return has been warmly welcomed.
Rise Up! A platform for black and PoC artists in the north-east
“Last year we were able to provide a platform for a multitude of artists and creatives from our community,” said We Are Here Scotland founder and director Ica Headlam.
“This year’s festival is a continuation of everything we developed last year, whilst also highlighting the importance of providing a platform for black and PoC artists and creatives from the north-east of Scotland and further afield.
“Our platform’s aim is to amplify black and PoC creatives across Scotland, but we also welcome all to participate, learn and engage.”
The festival boasts some firsts in its programme including the cabaret kicking off weekend performances on Friday May 5 at the Lemon Tree.
The show will feature a diverse array of performances, including poetry from acclaimed Scottish writer and performer Courtney Stoddart and a comedy set from the hilarious Safeena Rashid.
Also on the line-up are the celebrated Egyptian playwright Sara Shaarawi and international talent Dorine Mugisha, who will be performing a dance piece.
Performances continue on Saturday May 6, when The Lemon Tree will play host to an enigmatic line-up of artists.
New pop/R&B girl group 4TUNE will headline with support from gospel-influenced singer-songwriter Rue Cooper and French Cameroonian, award-winning musician and singer Djana Gabrielle. The night closes with a set from Aberdeen-based Iranian DJ Pooyan Saadati.
Rich strand of panels workshops and talks at Aberdeen festival
Between those two performance events, the festival offers a rich strand of panels, workshops and talks.
The festival opens at The Lemon Tree on Friday with a keynote address by Yahya Barry, the community development lead (Scotland & Northern Ireland) for the Film and Television Charity, and a member of the board of Creative Scotland.
On Saturday May 6, a special Rise Under strand, aimed at 12-17 year-olds will take place at the Music Hall, with a series of workshops looking at filmmaking, music and creative printing.
Creative film practitioner Sara Stroud will run a filmmaking on a budget workshop, while rising Aberdeen rapper Chef brings his finishing the song workshop to the festival.
Also at the Music Hall, there will be an Open Mic hosted by Aberdeen poet and spoken word artist Mae Diansangu which will help showcase new talent in the field of music, spoken word, poetry and creative expression.
Adding to the Saturday programme, best friends turned co-hosts of Black Scot Pod, Suzie Mwanza and Shirley Mcpherson, will host a live podcast in the Music Hall’s Big Sky Studio with a special guest. The podcast has garnered significant attention, regularly featuring in Apple and Spotify’s Black
Special performance of art and poetry for Rise Up!
Rise Up! offers further workshops at the Music Hall with decolonisation and pro-liberation coach Ravideep Kaur, who will be facilitating an anti-racism workshop. Widely published writer Andrés N. Ordorica will also lead a workshop exploring the power of friendship.
Other events will include a series of panels exploring important themes, such as mental health and how to encourage and foster conversations around diversity, inclusion and equality in the creative industries.
As a special addition to the festival, We Are Here Scotland recently collaborated with Look Again as part of a new initiative to support black and people of colour artists in Scotland.
To celebrate the launch of their upcoming exhibition, Loved Seeds, poet Noon Eldin and artist Helen Love will host a performance in the Look Again project space on St Andrew Street.
Combining clay, poetry and projection, they will simultaneously make a three-dimensional family tree of the nine children of an enslaved woman from 1832 Jamaica.
Weekend showcase of superbly talented artists
Aberdeen Performing Arts’ head of creative engagement, Susan Whyte, said “We are delighted to be continuing our fantastic partnership with We Are Here Scotland and presenting the second Rise Up! Festival in May.
“The weekend will feature performances which showcase superbly talented artists, and discussions, workshops and talks which seek to explore how we can collectively improve inclusion and relevance for black and POC artists and audiences.”
For more information on Rise Up visit aberdeenperformingart.com
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