Black Art Hub launches in Medway
Plus Ghost Ships navigates the Dockyard's past, we review Boyce's Bakery, our weekly events guide, and more
Local artist Michi Masumi has created The Black Art Hub to provide a platform for Black British visual artists and poets. With the start of Black History Month next week, it seemed like a good time to find out more. Further down, our resident theatre critic Anne-Marie Jordan has been down to watch Ghost Ships, Icon Theatre’s spectacular new immersive show charting the history of Chatham Dockyard, we review Boyce’s Bakery in Gillingham, our weekly events guide, and more.
Black Art Hub launches in Medway
Ahead of Black History Month, which starts on 1 October, we spoke to local Black British artist Michi Masumi about her work setting up The Black Art Hub. We’ll have a more lengthy interview with Michi as part of our Sunday interview series in the coming weeks, but we wanted to share the story of the hub's launch and the events they have organised in Medway.
The Black Art Hub aims to provide a platform for Black British grassroots visual artists and poets. With Arts Council support, founder and Medway artist Michi Masumi intends to do that through research and development, exhibitions and networking. Located within Nucleus Arts on Chatham High Street, the Hub is primarily Michi by herself, but that hasn’t stopped organisations from stepping up to provide support. As well as Nucleus, the hub has also partnered with, amongst others, Intra Arts, Wordsmithery and Medway Libraries, and they have a volunteer academic research librarian.
Michi would love to have more people involved, but she recognises that people don’t have the time to become directors of a CIC. However, she does have an advisory board. “What's vital is that it's not just my ideas, my words,” she says.
She sees the focus as using their keen interest in arts to support the community. “It's important as a community that we do have black-owned or black-led community organisations.” She doesn’t see that as being about being anti any other community or marginalised group. “The core of it is Medway. It's just that we're doing it with an authenticity of our black aesthetics.” The hope is to encourage non-black people from the community to get involved, try out the activities they organise, and give feedback. ‘I hope in a year's time, maybe you come back and say, ‘How was your first year?’ And I say the feedback was actually, they got it.” Michi admits that she has been ‘flabbergasted’ by the support she has received from community organisations, artists and individuals so far.
The Black Art Hub have launched a crowdfunder, aiming to establish the Benjamin Library, named after the great poet Benjamin Zephaniah, who passed away this year. Michi was heartbroken when he passed, not least because she would have loved to interview him. She is keen to make it abundantly clear it is not her intention to use his name to raise money. If her crowdfunder is successful she will name the library after him as a fitting part of his legacy. She hopes that the library will have a positive environmental impact, by largely being filled by second-hand books. “Half of my family is from Ecuador. We're very astute to what's going on in the rainforest and the ecosystem and how it affects Latin America and the rest of the world.”
Despite this, Michi loves books and the feel of them. She struggles to read books on a tablet and wants to champion them. She found that books about the black community were often hard to find, whilst some people had them just collecting dust on the shelf. “I just thought, why would people throw away creative industry books, technical art books, books on black culture, heritage, the African diaspora, Afro, Latino, Caribbean stuff, and especially black British. I'm really sourcing black British books.” What she hopes is that people will clear out the books they have on these topics and donate them. “My ethos has always been no matter how small my income is, I must donate first to that cause.” She has already donated some of her own books to the collection and is eager for others to do so. “That will help us build a black British community library that's specifically for the whole community, and I'm hoping that it stays in Medway.” Michi hopes that the library will remain even if she leaves and that it will evolve and develop.
As part of a series of events for Black History Month, The Black Art Hub is holding an exhibition at The Halpern Gallery within Nucleus Arts from 4 October. ‘Insectionality’ will showcase work from Black British visual artists, with a Black Art Trail spreading out to other venues like Intra Arts and No 64 Coffee and Brunch. A launch event and private viewing of the exhibition will be held on Thursday, 3 October. Limited tickets are available where you set your own ticket price, with all proceeds contributing to efforts to create the Benjamin Library.
If you feel you have something you could donate to The Black Art Hub, you can drop off books at the reception of Nucleus Arts in Chatham, labelled for Michi at the Black Art Hub.
Hauntingly Beautiful: How Ghost Ships navigates the choppy waters of the Dockyard’s past
A new stage show by local theatre company Icon charts the long and complicated history of Chatham Dockyard. We dispatched Anne-Marie Jordan down to experience the show firsthand.
I knew I was in for a thought-provoking evening, but even I wasn’t expected to be so moved by the emotional experiences explored during Ghost Ships’ 90-minute performance.
Forty years after the Dockyard closure, an act which brought 400 years of shipbuilding and Royal Navy presence in Medway to a brutal end, this ambitious and atmospheric theatrical event provides a powerful portrayal of its rich and, at times, problematic history, unafraid to shine a light on some of the lesser known and darker stories that impacted communities both here and across the world.
Personal highlights included the engaging voiceovers of Dockyard workers sharing memories, the moving moment Olaudah Equiano bought his freedom and the unflinching look at the Bengal Famine of 1943. It was also a nice touch that tickets contained nautical terms to help the audience locate their seats.
The innovative staging in Slip 5, where ships were built and launched, effortlessly lent itself to showcasing the explosive energy of hip-hop dance and the heartbreakingly elegant Kathak, all underscored by original live music and a gorgeous community choir.
For me, the screens could have supported the storytelling a little more in places – with the on-stage dancing, props and costumes so captivating, it was easy to miss key information.
Although haunted by some of the harder-hitting elements, I was left feeling buoyed by the energy, ambition, and emotion on display while reflecting on how lucky we are to have such spectacular and accessible art on our doorstep.
You can find out more about Ghost Ships on Icon Theatre’s website.
Out to Lunch: Boyce’s Bakery
In which Steven Keevil assesses the lunch options available in our towns. This week, he’s been down to Boyce’s Bakery in Gillingham...
Firmly established along the library end of Gillingham High Street, Boyce’s is a small bakery chain without outlets across Kent, including others in Rainham and Parkwood. The Gillingham shop has a good space for queuing customers, of which there are often many, and a small seating area outside. They have two large cake displays, one chilled and one ambient. There is a warm pastry display and a chilled area for drinks and premade sandwiches.
The team are personable and always moving, so even when there is a large queue, you’ll get served promptly. They also make sandwiches to order. I had cheese and ham in a long soft roll with piccalilli for this lunch. Personally, I request sliced cheese, as grated cheese ends up everywhere but in this reviewer’s mouth, and they were happy to oblige. A Belgian bun was staring at me while waiting for them to make the roll. So, reader, I had that too.
The roll was well portioned and very tasty. The Belgian bun was fresh, with a good amount of icing on top. I enjoyed both, and if you are looking for somebody to make you a packed lunch or fancy a snack while you are around Gillingham High Street, Boyce’s Bakery is highly recommended.
Events this week
🛍️ Rochester City Vintage & Artisan Market is holding a new traders event on Rochester High Street tomorrow (Sat 28 Sep). Stalls will sell jewellery, toys, decorations, food, and more. Free.
⚽ Chatham Town Football Club is hosting a celebrity football match for charity on Sunday (29 Sep). Danny Dyer and many other reality TV and soap stars will take part. Tickets £12.
📜 Rochester Cathedral is hosting another light show within its historic confines, starting on Tuesday (1 Oct). Scriptorium: The Illuminated Histories brings to life Anglo-Saxon artefacts and medieval manuscripts. Tickets £8.50-£10.
🎤 Regarded by many as the greatest concert film ever made, Jonathan Demme’s Stop Making Sense recorded Talking Heads at their height in 1983. Odeon in Chatham is holding a one-off screening on Wednesday (2 Oct). Tickets £10.
More Authority
There is often a perception that crime is running out of control, but what do the figures say? We’ve been looking through Kent Police’s data to understand the picture of crime in our towns. While the issue is complicated, there is evidence that things are moving in the right direction.
This week's Sunday interview will be with the new Gillingham and Rainham MP Naushabah Khan. She talks to us about her experience on election night, her position on the two-child benefit cap and the Winter Fuel Allowance, and rebuilding trust in politics.
Remember that our Medwayish shop contains a wide range of Medway-related gifts and products designed by local creatives. We have books, mugs, t-shirts, prints, and other fun bits and pieces. Check it out!
Footnotes
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