CELEBRATING QUEER CULTURE

Launching our Community Survey

The words, community survey, are placed on the centre of a pink square tile. They are surrounded by triangle shapes in purple and yellow. The Andro and Eve logo sits at the top, whch features the words Andro and Eve in white, over a purple inverted triangle.

With 2020 drawing to a close (phew), and with pretty much nothing this year turning out how we expected it, we, like many other organisations are looking ahead to 2021.

COVID-19 has affected the way we share queer culture with our community, with the delivery of online workshops and the publication of our first zine, Centre in 2020. We, like everyone, are unsure what 2021 will bring, and are keen to plan ahead using the views of the community which we serve. So we’re launching a Community Survey, to get a sense of what, and when you’d like us to be doing in 2021.

A slim, Black man is striking a old school vogue pose with his hands framing his face. He is wearing a pink jumper and big, black shades and we can just see his head and shoulders.
Who knew we’d be delivering Vogue dance workshops online in 2020?

As a community – led organisation your opinions matter to us very much, so if you have 5 – 10 minutes to share your thoughts, and you have either been to one of our events / workshops, bought a copy of Centre zine, or just follow us online, please do complete our survey.

What you say will likely have a direct impact upon when we return to live events, or what other offers we can make in 2021.

As a thank you, if you leave your email address we’ll add you to a prize draw, where you can win a bundle of Andro and Eve goodies, including our new tote bag!

Open until 1 February 2021 you can complete the survey here. Thank you!

We are Andro and Eve

a set of faces appear in outrageous costumes in a zoom gallery

We’re Andro & Eve and we celebrate queer culture! Check out this new film sharing our work. If you’ve been to one of our events or workshops before, you might just spot yourself! You can also find out more about what we do here.

We’re proud to have continued to bring you creative activity during the last 6 months. This has been made possible through public donations and Arts Council funding. We’re continuing to fundraise behind the scenes to support activity in 2021.

You can help us. Want to know how? Here’s some ideas!

  • Buy a copy of Centre zine – packed full of queer goodness – a brill way to stay connected to queer culture.
  • Tell your workplace / boss about our new Gender Awareness Training, helping support more inclusive service provision for Transgender and gender diverse people.
  • Buy some of our cute new merchandise!
  • Sign up to our newsletter. Link below.
  • Donate using the ‘Support Us’ button on our website.

Your support the last 6 months has been so appreciated. It has enabled us to continue to bring people together and celebrate queer culture in these most challenging of times. Thank you.

Participants enjoying our Cabaret College with LoUis CYfer. September 2020.

new merchandise has landed!

A turquoise and black cotton tote bag featuring the Andro and Eve logo sits underneath a pile of Andro and Eve merchandise. Including postcards, stickers and badges.

We’re thrilled to share our brand new merchandise! Available on our online shop now! 

The new merchandise includes Tote Bags, Postcard Sets and Mini Badge packs. After consulting with our community a few weeks back, we chose two colour ways for the new tote bags. They are made from sustainably sourced cotton and are available in Turquoise or Black. Designed and printed in Sheffield, they’re a fab way to show your support for Andro and Eve and send out low key queer vibes!

4 postcards with different designs are laid on a turquoise surface. They feature hand drawn images. One is of rapper, Bad Lay-Dee, one of drag king Sammy Silver and the other Christian Adore. The fourth depicts the words 'Reyt Queer' with patterns including moustaches and rainbows around the words. The postcard of Christian has been coloured in with vibrant colours.
Our brand new Postcard Set.

The Postcard Sets features hand drawn artwork, by Andro and Eve co-founder, Katherine Warman, and showcase three of the artists who have previously performed at our events. The Mini Badge packs feature 4 different designs and are a perfect way to spread some queer joy!

4 badges. The badges say, Andro and Eve, Reyt Queer, and Queer Joy. The fourth badge is a 5 stripe rainbow.
Brand new Mini Badge Pack!

You can win everything pictured for you and a friend. Head on over to our Instagram or Facebook pages to find out more and enter the prize draw. Deadline is midnight on the 25th October!

All profits from sales of our merchandise are used to support the work of Andro and Eve. Find out more about our work here.

Happy browsing!

Stop the scandal

As part of Centre zine, we chose to highlight the Stop the Scandal Campaign. This grassroots campaign was created by Yorkshire’s Racial Justice Network and supported by Yorkshire Resists. They wrote the following piece for our new zine, which is on sale now. 50% of profits from sales of Centre zine, will be donated to the Racial Justice Network. Read on to find out more about Stop the Scandal.

The Stop The Scan campaign challenges a move initiated by West Yorkshire Police in 2019 to introduce mobile fingerprint scanning linked to immigration databases, using equipment funded by the Home Office.

These biometric devices are used with officers’ mobile phones, as they detain people in the street. This adds an extra, dangerous dimension to Stop and Search protocol, which according to the government’s own research, disproportionately targets Black and Brown people (with Black people 10 times more likely to be targeted by police¹).

The technology is used once police officers have deemed an offence to have been committed. This could be anything from loitering to dropping litter. If the officer doubts the given identity from the person detained, they may then use a scan of their fingerprints in order to carry out a person search on their identity. It’s crucial to emphasise that an officer uses their own discretion to determine how authentic your given identity is, a subjective judgement, which in the campaign’s view, has the potential to even further discriminate against trans people within Black and Brown communities.

Black painted text says 'Hands off our prints' with a stylised fingerprint placed behind some prison bars to the left

Scans like this have only previously been carried out at police stations following an arrest. But what future lies ahead, where one’s dignity is stripped down and reduced to the opinion of a police officer, and a frequently inconclusive fingerprint machine?

The officer may choose to check identity against records held on IABS (the immigration fingerprint database). Stop and Scan is part of an immigration system that a 2019 inquiry into the Windrush scandal showed, to hold not only “poor quality systems and data”, but a “failure to monitor the impact of compliant environment measures” (now known as hostile environment measures)². A flag on the database – which could exist for any type of activity – may prompt a call to Home Office enforcers, heightening the risk of entering indefinite detention, or being deported.

The question remains: why use a device which could only identify those with fingerprints either on the IABS or criminal database, IDENT1?

The Stop The Scan campaign was created by the Racial Justice Network and supported by Yorkshire Resists. We are a network of individuals and organisations working together to end racial injustice. Our campaign is about alerting you to the racist nature of the intrusive power that biometric technology extends to the police. These technologies are being introduced, but they lack any meaningful scrutiny of their impact on the communities that the police are supposed to protect.

After the pilot by West Yorkshire Police ended, no evaluation of its use and impact was done before the technology was rolled out nationally.

Aside from West Yorkshire Police, no other police force is publicly recording the ethnicity of the people they are stopping and scanning. The lack of transparency makes it difficult to ensure that the use of this technology does not target certain communities unfairly.

In response to what we know, and what we can only speculate, the Stop the Scan campaign is calling for:

  1. The dismantling of the Hostile Environment: the UK must be a safe place for all people to seek and live a decent life.
  2. The severance of all links between the Police and Immigration, including a firewall between the police and all Home Office databases.
  3. An end to Stop and Scan.

We are looking for support from people able to help raise awareness, to advise on the shifting legal rights landscape during the pandemic, for advisors who may help construct a legal challenge to the roll out, and for people who have been scanned and are willing to offer their experience as a case study.

To find out more, visit StopTheScan.co.uk and search the #StopTheScandal and #EndStopAndScan hashtags. To get involved in supporting the work, email stopthescan@racialjusticenetwork.co.uk.

Sources:

  1. https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/sn03878/

2.https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201719/cmselect/cmpubacc/1518/151806.htm#_idTextAnchor025

Launching centre, our new zine!

A white person's hand holds Centre zine. It has a bright yellow cover with bold black letters overlaid with a purple triangle. The text says 'Centre Zine'.

We’re thrilled to officially launch our very first zine! CENTRE is a collaboration with artist Okocha Obasi, founder of Racezine Collective.

We believe in artists. They have the power to make change. We also believe that everyone has the ability to be creative, and therefore creative opportunities should be available for everyone. Creativity helps us explore. Helps us dream. Helps us find a way back to ourselves. Or discover who we are. Something people LGBTQ+ identified need. In a world that often taught us we didn’t fit, discovering ourselves can take that much more.

Our mission at Andro and Eve is to bring the community together to celebrate queer culture. The COVID-19 crisis has given us an opportunity to adapt our offer and find new ways to reach our community.

CENTRE is one such way to connect our community with one another, in a year in which everyone has been in some way affected by the global pandemic. Okocha has curated and designed this unique collection of stories, poems and creative works, bringing voice to a range of LGBTQ+ people living in the North of England.

4 copies of Centre zine sit on top of a pink surface. The zine has a bright yellow cover with the words Centre Zine in bold capitalised typeface covering the whole page. A big, purple triangle sits on top of the text.
Centre, a new zine, designed and curated by Okocha Obasi and produced by Andro & Eve.

We also believe Black Lives Matter, and stand in solidarity with those who fight against the structural racism here in the UK and across the world. CENTRE contains a piece by Stop the Scandal, a grassroots campaign to stop the use of mobile fingerprint scanning linked to immigration databases by police. We’ve also connected with our friends at LASS (Lesbian Asylum Support Sheffield) to bring you an interview with one of their members. 50% of all profits made from sales of CENTRE will be donated to Yorkshire’s Racial Justice Network, who bring together over thirty organisations in the West Yorkshire region to proactively promote racial justice.

A look inside Centre Zine. With bold black and white typeface. The title says 'you could be happy.
A sneak peek at one of the pieces to be found in CENTRE.

The stories, poems and creative works in CENTRE are about things chosen by LGBTQ+ people living in the North of England that matter most to them. Andro and Eve, as a queer arts organisation based in South Yorkshire, is proud to serve and represent ‘Northern’ voices and we hope you will enjoy reading CENTRE.

Our thanks in producing this zine go to organisers from LASS, Stop the Scandal and Racial Justice Network. A huge thank you to Okocha Obasi for his creative vision and hard work, and to the artists and members of the Andro and Eve community who have contributed their work to CENTRE.

Ready to get a copy? Order from our shop here. And celebrate its launch with our special online party, A REYT QUEER NIGHT IN, on 10th October. We’re bringing the party direct to your front room! We hope that we’ll connect with you online soon.

Katherine Warman. Creative Producer / CEO Andro and Eve. September 2020.

#CentreZine

This zine has been made possible through Arts Council England’s emergency funding in response to the COVID-19 crisis.

Introducing Mama Ghetto and DJ Xzan

Next month we launch our new zine CENTRE, with a special online event, REYT QUEER NIGHT IN, to bring our community together. And of course queer culture will be served up front and centre!

A Black dancer strikes a classic old school Vogue pose on a runway. His hands are around his face and he wears a light suit jacket, jeans and T Shirt. He is lit dramatically by pink and purple lighting.
Darren Pritchard

Part of our offer is a Vogue dance workshop with Mama Ghetto aka Darren Pritchard. Darren is a performer, choreographer, producer and director. He is also a celebrated Vogue performer and Mother of the House of Ghetto Manchester. We’re thrilled he can join us to teach some Vogue moves and flair via Zoom!

Darren says ‘Vogue is important to me, because it embraces my love of dance, my love of QTIPOC culture and allows me to be me and who ever else I want to be. Through the ballroom culture as a Mother I have seen people grow and develop and do things they thought they could never do’.

Manchester’s House of Ghetto have made their name in the Manchester Vogue ball scene with tight choreography performed solely by Black female dancers. House of Ghetto also feature in documentary ‘Deep in Vogue‘, which examines the North West’s Vogue ball scene, and which premiered at BFI Flare in 2019. Darren has produced Vogue Balls throughout the UK including Manchester’s first Black Pride Vogue Ball as part of 2019’s Manchester Pride. Read more about the House of Ghetto and Darren here.

Christian Adore looks sultry, directly at the camera. Christian is 5”5’, dashing young man with a glint in his eye stands before you - Imagine, if you will, that Johnny Depp and Oscar Wilde had a glittery love child, and raised him in the wings of London’s West End. That’s this guy. Thick eyebrows, olive skin, and a finely groomed pencil moustache, with a dark stubbly beard along a sharp jawline. Oh, and a thick mane of wavy black hair which reaches his buttocks
Christian Adore will be leading a PARTY EYES makeup workshop! Photo. Ndrika Anyika.

Our REYT QUEER NIGHT IN is about having fun with your community, so before getting your vogue on with Mama Ghetto, we’re encouraging you to join drag star Christian Adore with his ‘Party Eye’s’ makeup workshop, for all genders. Because remember, makeup has *no* gender! Its bound to be an irreverent and joyful way to get ready for your queer party at home!

A Black non binary person DJ's on some decks. They are lit by purplelighting and wearing a green, geometric patterned shirt and glasses.
DJ Xzan will be performing a live DJ set!

Finally, we’re super excited that DJ Xzan, will be performing a live DJ set 9 – 11pm bringing the party direct to your front room. They’ll be playing a high energy set with plenty queer pop party anthems to help you share in the queer joy. DJ Xzan aka Xandice Armah is an open format DJ from London  and co founder of Gal Pals, the LGBTQ+ dance party centring womxn and excellent pop music. Xzan has supported the likes of Big Freedia, JD Samson, Anna Clavi, MNEK and Mabel, as well as playing at Glastonbury on the Sisterhood Stage.

All those who pre order a copy of CENTRE will get sent a link to the DJ set for free, but if you want to join us from 7pm, you’ll need to get your ticket via Tickets For Good. Sliding scale prices to suit all budgets are available! We hope you can join us on the 10th October, serving your best party looks, and bask in the queer joy!

CENTRE will be available on our online shop for pre sale on the 1st October and posted out around REYT QUEER NIGHT IN on 10th October. The zine is a collaboration with artist Okocha Obasi and created using Arts Council England’s COVID-19 Emergency Funding.

On Live Events

Sister Mary Berry, of drag act, Shesus and the Sisters, wears a hard hat and high vis vest and is squirting an audience member with mist from a bottle looking cheeky.

We are sorry to say we will not be returning to host live, in – person events until Spring 2021 at the earliest. We have taken this decision in light of the ongoing situation with COVID-19 and the need to plan ahead as best we can.

As a queer – led social enterprise, which means we put people before profit, and care of the most vulnerable and marginalised at our heart, we cannot see a scenario in which we can bring properly safe and inclusive events to our community until next year. We know many of you, like us, are struggling with anxiety about returning to any sort of normal, and we recognise that we need to adapt.

We have spoken at length with our partner venues about the measures in place to maintain social distancing, and keep audiences and workers safe. Sadly, the capacities allowed in venues would in no way enable us to cover the costs of producing the events we have become known for. We also have the health and wellbeing of our artists, staff team and volunteers to consider. A Reyt Queer Do and The Kingdom Come are meant to be joyous and cosy events. We would rather wait and bring these events back when it feels much safer to do so. Right now, we couldn’t in good faith, host live events indoors when so many people are still shielding, or taking extra precautions to protect those around them.

A crowd, underneath lots of umbrellas hanging from the ceiling at Theatre Deli Sheffield, some seated and a lot standing click their fingers at the live drag artist on stage.
The crowd at A Reyt Queer Do 3, no social distancing needed back in 2019.

Under lockdown we are proud to have continued to support queer artists, delivering a range of creative activity and developing talent in the North of England. It’s been been wonderful to see new and familiar faces at our online workshops. We will be applying for more funding to continue to adapt our offer during these challenging times.

We know this has been a tough time for so many. We plan both to continue to offer online and remote activity, and take time to develop the organisation. We may start hosting in person workshops in Spring 2021, but we also realise there are many unknowns.

We’ve got plenty plans in the pipeline and will share those with you as soon as we can. If you’d like to support our work you can do so by donating via our website. Your support ensures we can continue to support LGBTQ+ artists in these difficult times.

Our new zine, CENTRE, will be launching in October, so make sure you’ve signed up to our newsletter  to be the first to get your hands on a copy and hear about a special online event to mark the occasion.

We can’t wait to return with a bang when it is safe to do so. Till then, we hope you can join us online soon.

With love and solidarity

Andro and Eve x

What makes a Zine, a Zine?

a hand holding a printed copy of RACEZINE

What exactly is a zine? As the Zine (pronounced zeen) becomes more and more a part of mainstream art and culture, and ahead of our new Zine, CENTRE, we decided it was well worth answering the question many of you may have been pondering quietly, but never dared ask aloud: “Just what exactly is a Zine?”

Is it a cheap way of displaying and disseminating art, a vehicle for the distribution of political ideas, maybe a glossy collection of photos in a trendy indie bookshop, or perhaps an important format of 20th and 21st century art? Are they handmade, each one unique, printed in small circulation or in bulk quantities? Are they ‘high-art’ or punk?

The not so simple answer, (you’ll be pleased to know) is nowadays people use ‘Zine’ to refer to any, and all of the above. This may seem like a bit of a contradiction, and that’s because it very much is.

In order to understand this contradiction, it’s helpful to have a very brief history of Zine-making. It’s hard to pinpoint a particular time or instance of The First Zine, but there are a few pretty good examples throughout the 20th century of the format, for instance, Sci-fi fan literature and ‘fanzines’ from the 1930s onwards. Fans of existing Sci-fi literature used the format to discuss published stories and share theories/fanfiction amongst themselves, bypassing the need for controlling or selective editors and publishers.

The format also became popular amongst hardcore fans of different music genres, including Rock ‘n Roll, Punk, and paving the way for commercially successful publications like Dazed, Vice, and NME. Latterly Zines were used as a way of disseminating political ideas and organising political thought, like the Queercore and the Riot Grrrl movement of the 80s/90s. These zines were characterised by a Do-It-Yourself aesthetic, and at their root was a desire to centre marginalised voices (although Riot Grrrl as a movement was fairly white and heteronormative), to subvert and challenge unequal power structures, and to foster a sense of community in shared experiences. (woo)

Unfortunately as with most things, as the Zine has become increasingly popular, it has also begun to be appropriated by corporations. (boo) For example, that expensive glossy photo-book in the trendy indie bookshop that we mentioned earlier. The Zine DIY aesthetic is also one that corporations have attempted to appropriate. Despite this, and the introduction of the internet, the Zine as a physical object, continues to be an important format for contemporary activists and creatives.

So what content actually goes into a zine then?

So we’ve covered where Zine’s come from, now what’s in them…This time the answer is pretty simple…anything goes! Just some examples of things might be; stories, poetry, prose, collage, photos, drawings, visual art, recipes, scanned objects/items, song lyrics, reviews, letters, articles, research, infographics, political manifestos…the list goes on!

Feeling intrigued and inspired? Check out our open submission to have your work printed in CENTRE Zine in collaboration with RACE ZINE and Okocha Obasi.

Image credit: Race Zine, 2019, courtesy of the artist, Okocha Obasi.

Lets meet LoUis CYfer!

With just over a month until our our Cabaret College, we caught up with award winning drag king and actor Lucy Jane Parkinson, aka LoUis CYfer who we’re collaborating with for this set of online workshops..

LoUis CYfer was the first Drag King to win the crown at Drag Idol UK and has gone on to become a well known performer in the UK cabaret scene. A regular collaborator with theatre company Milk Presents, they have performed in theatre shows across the UK, balancing their acting and writing alongside appearances as LoUis CYfer. Having led some drag king workshops for us back in November 2019 we’re thrilled they are back to work with us on the Cabaret College. 

An androgynous person dressed in plastic gold armour poses with a hobby horse while a glitter canon goes off behind them
Lucy Jane Parkinson in JOAN. Milk Presents.

Q. Can you tell us about your past work?

As well some stints working in a Chinese takeaway and Morrisons, I have worked in in some of the best cabaret bars in the UK. I’ve travelled all over the world from Texas to Australia, performing both cabaret and theatre. I’ve run workshops which raise awareness around gender, masculinity and drag, alongside some of my favourite people in the whole world (Milk Presents). Together we cleaned up at the Edinburgh fringe a few years ago winning a Fringe First, a Stage Award and Spirit of the Fringe for our hit cabaret theatre show: JOAN. I’ve done lots of work with Milk Presents with shows such as BULLISH and video poetry projects like MY ENGLAND. Before lockdown I had just finished a restoration comedy at the Young Vic Theatre and a drama for the BBC.

Q. What is the character of LoUis CYfer like?

LoUis is like nobody I’ve ever met, he’s charming yet cheeky, he’s strong and masculine but delicate like a soggy dandelion. He’s a dickhead that you can’t help but have fun with.

Q. What got you into drag / cabaret and what do you like best about it?

I was an artist studying my masters and at the same time was having a complete identity crisis; LoUis was my way of processing my confusion. The best thing about cabaret is that the show isn’t someone else’s script, it’s all your own, and having a stage for your voice, (albeit to pissheads), feels like a great opportunity to create discourse in an entertaining manner.

Q. Is there anything about drag and cabaret you’d like to see change? 

Drag and cabaret is always changing and is constantly in flux, if you want me to say I’d like to see more kings I’m not going to do that … What I would like is to be able to see more arts funding for this genre as lots of cabaret artists are living hand to mouth. It would be good if we could apply for funds to make our travelling performances more like conventional touring theatre in terms of having a team and budgets for lighting and sound. Being on your own and doing everything can be a real stress and sometimes you forget to enjoy it.

Q. What do you hope to achieve through the Cabaret College? 

I want to improve the quality of the work on the scene. I’m sick of seeing people have to enter all these competitions to get recognition. It’s not a good start and doesn’t facilitate self – sufficiency and critical reflection for the artist. It is crucial to equip creative people with the tools to make good quality work.

Q. As someone working in the performing arts how have you adapted under COVID? What are you excited about working on in future? 

I’ve gone digital baby!!! This includes working with my own avatar as a way to explore character and technology. I’ve started my own podcast called FANNY KLUB and have been working with my partner in crime Rebecca Banatvala on our queer theatre company Korupt Kabuki. We have been writing monologues for actors to perform to camera, writing our own comedy show BOXTICKERS and thanks to Daisy May Cooper we have been writing our first treatment for a TV show about how we met. It’s been all go here at HQ.. Before lockdown I was due to start 6 months at Shakespeare’s Globe theatre in Twelfth Night so once things open up again I’m hopeful they will begin rehearsals and I’ll get my big break back!

Lucy leans over a table to help share drag king makeup skills to two participants who have painted on some thick eyebrows
LoUis facilitating a drag king workshop for Andro and Eve. Nov 2019

Can you tell us about someone that inspires you? 

Without trying to sound like a dickhead, no particular person inspires me. I find moments and memories inspiring but to be inspired I feel like you have to see something in someone else that you aspire to be or have.. I don’t feel like I’ve had the opportunity to see myself in anyone yet. Having said that I wouldn’t mind waking up one morning to find I am Jodie Comer, Victoria Wood, Robin Williams, Cathy Burke or Daisy May Cooper.

To find out more and apply for a place on the Cabaret College course head here and complete the short application form. Deadline 30 July. You can find out more about LoUis CYfer by following him on Instagram. 

Who is Okocha Obasi?

Head & shoulders portrait of Okocha Obasi. He is stood against a white wall in bright sunlight, wearing some oversized and chunky orange sunglasses.

Ahead of the launch of our new zine, Centre, we caught up with RACEZINE founder, recent graduate and our latest collaborator, Okocha Obasi (he/him).

Okocha is a graphic designer and recent graduate from Leeds Arts University. In the past three years, he has created an array of projects, characterised by bold designs and themes that are socially engaged and conscious. Obasi is the creator of the RACEZINE whose aim is to platform creatives of colour, and Okocha has produced many projects including a non-profit zine, performance events and colourful and infamous club night TONGUE N TEETH. (All whilst completing his Bachelors degree – crazy right!?)

Q: So, Kocha, what can you tell us about your previous projects?

A photograph of a RACEZINE clubnight.
A party-goer at TONGUE N TEETH, image courtesy of the artist, Okocha Obasi.

Okocha: I do a range of different projects ranging from styling, art direction to speculative focused critical design. I use whatever medium is needed to prove or communicate an idea. I like to blur the lines between different practices in order to create visually cathartic pieces of work, hence why I see myself more as artist, than ‘graphic designer’. Whether it’s a poster, club night, event, motion graphic or textile design, all my projects have purpose and direction for impact. For example, my brand RACEZINE COLLECTIVE was made out of the pain of being the Othered my entire life. I created a zine publication known as RACEZINE to share the voices of creatives of colours who tend to go unnoticed in the white dominated Northern art-spaces. Other projects include TONGUE N TEETH, a club night which welcomes those othered, in a temporary carnival-like space, offering moments of escape.

Q: When did you get into zines, and what is it you like about them?

Okocha: I have always been into zines, and since I was young have enjoyed looking through independent bookstores or zine libraries up and down the country. I like how they can take any form, style and narrative, allowing less-heard voices to become physically achieved and known. There’s something very timeless about how zines represent certain eras, highlighting different the social issues of different periods, provide commentary and can be a form of liberation or rebellion. I like the power of self-publishing things, which bigger establishments might view as too
‘risky’. Zines themselves are forms of protest against what is allowed or expected, which naturally makes them an expression of punk. And punk, has always been political and pushing the boat where’s it’s never been and that’s very exciting.

Q: What do you like about living in West Yorkshire/Leeds?

Okocha: What I love about Leeds is the definitely the club nights, as I have had many good (and messy) nights out!  I also love that many people are very down to earth and genuine, it feels like you can breathe more so than London at times. There’s definitely been a surge in creative collectives which is always inspiring. I love the D.I.Y attitude that comes with these collectives, that often comes with being thoughtful about who and why they are creating spaces. On a personal level, I grew a lot in Leeds as well for a range of different reasons, which I will always thanks the city for. Overall as a creative it’s a good place to fail, learn and succeed, as it cheap and accessible for many different things. 

Q: What do you find challenging about living in Leeds?

Okocha: I think there are a lot of white dominated spaces, which can feel very suffocating as PoC. I think also the mass amount of students made me very anxious as some people views definitely did not align with my own. I wish there were more regular art shows which are not inherently fine art and white. I think it’s great a lot of different art spaces are created by DIY collectives, but I wish there were more radical exhibitions and shows, led by established art organisations & spaces.

Q: What do you hope to achieve with Centre? 

Okocha: I hope to represent all the voices meaningfully and create a loud, bold and visually cathartic zine publication. One which will be cherished by all those who get a copy. I definitely want it to be completely different to all my past work in regards to style….just expect every page to be visual ecstasy….that’s all I’m going to give away for now 😉 

Q: Can you share with us someone that inspires you?

Okocha: My mother’s strength runs through my blood. Being completely resilient to any downfall what comes her way has always made me realise even in the darkest times we can rise. My mum taught me how to survive independently and warned me about every bad wolf in the world from a young age. I think that’s why I see the world the way it is and with that, find strength in using light to reveal the dark.

Q: I think it’s only fair to finish by asking you the same question we’re asking of all the artists who submit a response to Centre. Can you tell us, in 50 words or less, what matters most to you? 

Okocha: Being unapologetic. I am young but feel like I’ve lived a long life due to a range of experiences, good and bad that have shaped who I am today. I have grown, broken myself and grown again, which has taught me now, more than ever, to be completely unapologetic in everything I do.

a hand holding a printed copy of RACEZINE
RACEZINE, 2019, image courtesy of the artist, Okocha Obasi

You can see more examples of Okocha’s work, and follow him on Instagram, here.

Title image credit: Okocha Obasi, photographed by @undinemarkus.

 

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