Wordlife Presents: Building Anti-Racist Futures

Wordlife Presents: Building Anti-Racist Futures

Creative Lounge, The Workstation, 1st November,  7.30 pm, Donations

Fringe Event to the Fearless Cities Conference (https://www.fearlesscitiessy.org/)

Part of Pluto Press Reading Rooms Network. (https://www.plutobooks.com/the-reading-room/)

Wordlife is the literature project of We Are Opus (https://www.weareopus.org/) that brings together poets, writers and activists.

Featuring

In Conversation with Desiree Reynolds and Josh Virasami - Author of A World Without Racism – Building Anti Racist Futures

A World Without Racism offers a set of clear-eyed, radical and accessible principles and strategies for building working-class power through anti-racist organising. The book features ten contributions from collectives such as Sisters Uncut, No More Exclusions, Tipping Point and Greater Manchester Tenants Union on subjects including: women's liberation, land and food struggles, healthcare and housing, culture, imperialism, policing, prisons and climate justice.

''With the racism of poverty and state violence deepening relentlessly in Britain, new generations have responded, drawing on the legacies of their predecessors to create new forms of antiracist struggle. A World Without Racism is an essential guide to this work and the possible futures it beckons.'Arun Kundnani, author of What is Anti-Racism? And Why it Means Anti-Capitalism

Joshua Virasami is an anti-racist activist and organiser. He is the author of How to Change it: Make a Difference, a handbook for young activists, published with Stormzy and Penguin's #Merky Books. He has also written for the Guardian, Independent and Novara Media, and contributed a chapter on anti-racism to Futures of Socialism.

Poetry Performance from Dzifa Benson & Sarah Lasoye & Wemmy Ogunyankin

Monster by Dzifa Benson is a bold and lyrical exploration of the Black female body as a site of oppression and resistance. At its heart is a brilliantly imagined study of the world of Sarah Baartman, aka the Hottentot Venus, a Khoikhoi woman from South Africa who was displayed in freak shows in 19th-century Europe. In her multi-faceted, highly inventive title-sequence Dzifa Benson frames Baartman’s voice within the social, political and legal structures of the day.

'This is an amazing collection, not only for a debut but for a poet at any stage. It’s versatile and virtuosic, experimental and moving, complex and culturally important.' – Bernardine Evaristo

Sarah Lasoye is a poet and writer from London, based in Sheffield. She is an alumna of the Barbican Young Poets, Octavia Poetry Collective, and Apples and Snakes' Poetry in Performance programme. Her work has been featured in Porridge Magazine, Bath Magg, The New Statesman & Poetry London. Her debut chapbook, FOVEA/AGES AGO was published by Hajar Press in 2021.

A Panel Discussion with local anti-racist activists and organisers

Give Over Exhibition

The Give Over Exhibition features work from artists commissioned to respond to racist reporting from mainstream media on immigration and borders. Our artists work will be on the ground floor of the Showroom Workstation in Sheffield, running from the 22nd of October to the 12th of November on weekdays. The artwork will also be available to view on Saturday 26th October, and Saturday 2nd November.

This is a free art exhibition so please come along! No pre-booking or tickets are required.

Content notice: Global Majority audiences should be aware that this exhibition and work will contain upsetting language regarding racism and the mistreatment of Black and brown people.

Nevertheless, this is also an exhibition of love, solidarity, and connection.

Event Venue & Nearby Stays

The Workstation, 15 Paternoster Row, Sheffield City Centre, United Kingdom