Join us for a special night of live poetry and music, curated by Otis Mensah.

Throughout the evening, artists from across the UK and Europe will explore core themes of memory, sense-of-self and journeying, including a headline performance from literary and sound artist, and former London Laureate, Belinda Zhawi (MA.MOYO). They’ll consider how language and sound intersect in live performance and how resonance impacts the sung or spoken word, with a live in-conversation chaired by Sheffield-based artist Ashley Holmes.

Doors at 7pm.

Line up:

Belinda Zhawi - MA.MOYO

Belinda Zhawi is a Zimbabwean literary and sound artist based in London, author of Small Inheritances (ignitionpress, 2018), and experiments with sound/text performance as MA.MOYO. Her work has been featured on various platforms including The White Review, NTS, Boiler Room and BBC Radio. She’s held residencies with Triangle Asterides, Serpentine Galleries and ICA London. Belinda’s the co-founder of literary arts platform, BORN::FREE.

Moyo Ray

Hamburg based Singer-Songwriter Moyo Ray has lived and breathed music since day one. The singer's soulful voice is accompanied by a gentle guitar that drifts through worlds of jazz and folk riffs. Her lyrics come to life by connecting feeling and thought through vivid metaphors of the tangible surroundings of everyday life. As she tells stories of love, pain and self-reflection she touches upon her own experience of being a young black woman in today's world. To the core personal, inviting the listener for a trip through her biography that has been shaped by times of crisis and detours as well as the constant flow of bringing up the strength for new beginnings.

Safiya Kamaria Kinshasa

Safiya Kamaria Kinshasa is a British-born Barbadian-raised interdisciplinary poet, dancer and choreographer. Her dynamic and innovative style has been wowing audiences across the UK & US with her unique style. She is a multi-national and international slam champion. In 2020 she won the New Voice in Poetry prize and was shortlisted for the Out-Spoken Page Poetry Prize and Creative Future Writer’s Award. Notable collaborations include BBC Bitesize and The Wailers. She is an Obsidian Foundation fellow and Apples & Snakes/ Jerwood Arts Poetry in Performance recipient. Her work has appeared in a variety of journals including The Caribbean Writer, Poetry London and Magma. Safiya’s first collection, Cane, Corn & Gully is forthcoming with Out-Spoken Press in November.

Ashley Holmes

Ashley Holmes is a multidisciplinary artist based in Sheffield working across sound, installation, radio broadcasts and performance. His practice is informed by ideas of ancestral transmission, collective memory and citizenship to explore the histories of anti-colonial resilience embedded in Black musical and sound-based practices.

This event is part of the programme of events complementing the exhibition Creative Connections Sheffield, at Millennium Gallery until Sunday 2 October. It showcases portraits of prominent people connected to Sheffield – from pioneers and performers to athletes and artists – presenting works from the National Portrait Gallery and Sheffield’s own collections.

A note on ticket pricing:
The standard ticket price is £10, but we know that cost is a barrier for some. “Pay What You Can” tickets are also available so that those who need them can attend, paying whatever they can afford to give. Equally, if you are able, you may choose to pay above the standard ticket price to cover the cost of someone else’s ticket.