Pete Chambers BEM writes for The Observer
A SERIES of special events is to be hosted by Coventry University to celebrate black British music culture in the city. I popped in for a look, and got engrossed in this fascinating journey brought to life at Coventry University.
Black Sound Coventry tells the story of 100 years of musical creativity and DIY ingenuity with an exhibition, a panel event and a citizen curation day – all taking place at the university’s Delia Derbyshire building.
The aim is to shine a spotlight on the pioneers that made it all possible, from the players and promoters to the punters who supported the city’s music scene. It also seeks to show the importance of black British music to wider culture in Coventry.
Co-curated by acclaimed creative director Scott Leonard, and Lloyd Bradley, one of the UK’s foremost black music experts, Black Sound is a collaboration involving the Gallery of Living History, which has previously worked with Coventry University for the Gallery of Living History Schools Competition.
The Gallery of Living History’s aim is to encourage people to re-visit our history by telling the stories of those who may have been overlooked, forgotten or ignored.
The Black Sound exhibition (January 18 to February 28, 10am to 5pm), previously on display at the Black Cultural Archive in Brixton and the Bernie Grant Arts Centre in Tottenham, plots the narrative of contemporary black music in Britain from the arrival of the Southern Syncopated Orchestra from the USA in 1919 to Fuse ODG’s afrobeat answer to Do They Know It’s Christmas more than 100 years later.
As the home of 2-Tone, Coventry is ideally placed to host the event, though Black Sound aims to delve more deeply into the city’s wider black music heritage. It will feature exhibits tailored to Coventry in addition to those telling the national story.
As part of the wider event, special panel discussion events will also take place during a presentation evening on Friday February 7 (7pm to 9pm) and on Saturday February 8 (10am to 6pm), featuring films, talks and Q&As diving into the city’s sound system history, the underground black recording industry, the importance of community spaces and pirate radio.
Visitors will also get the chance to experience live performances from Coventry Youth Orchestra and a number of contemporary artists, including Danniella Dee, one of the founders of Sisters in Dub, Coventry’s first all-female sound system.
The final event of Black Sound Coventry will be the Heritage Collection Day on Saturday February 8 (10am to 6pm), encouraging people to share their memories of the city’s black music heritage. Visitors are asked to bring in objects or souvenirs to be 2D or 3D scanned, digitally preserving them for future generations to discover, learn from and enjoy.
