Black Gold Arts Festival 2021 with Contact

Kristy Stott, Theatre Editor

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Black Gold Arts Festival

Contact Theatre, Manchester
19-29 October 2021

Always double check opening hours with the venue before making a special visit.

Black Gold Arts Festival 2021
Image courtesy of Graham Clayton-Chance.
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This October Contact and Black Gold Arts will present an outstanding line-up for Black Gold Arts Festival. Taking place during Black History Month, the festival will feature a powerful programme of Black-led art, performance and film.

A powerful programme of Black-led art, performance and film.

The festival Launches on 19 October with keynote speech from Kleaver Cruz. Examining topics of Black Joy, the speech will focus on Kleaver’s work on the Black Joy Project. Festival momentum continues with an online panel discussion on 20 October; Black Gold Arts will bring together a panel from the worlds of journalism, arts and psychology to explore the theme of Black Joy: why is it so important and how do we make more room for it?

A live world premiere of mandla rae’s eagerly anticipated film, as british as a watermelon.

Highlights of the festival include a live world premiere of mandla rae’s eagerly anticipated film, as british as a watermelon. Weaving poetry and storytelling, the work explores mandla’s fragmented asylum and migration experiences. Experience Mele Broome’s Wrapped Up In This, a new 40-minute film, blending vocal melodies, movement and spoken word, paying tribute to the women from the Caribbean and West Africa who uprooted themselves in the ’50s and ’60s to save the NHS.

There will also be an exciting new podcast launch. Created by Suriya Aisha, Sickbabe is a series of witty, honest chats with people who live with disabilities and long-term illnesses, plus a film screening of Chanje Kunda’s dark satirical comedy Plant Fetish. Additionally, the festival brings a lively panel discussion looking at the importance of community in music, and a movement workshop facilitated by choreographer and director Mele Broomes.

Take a look at the full line-up via the button below.

What's on at Contact Theatre

Where to go near Black Gold Arts Festival 2021 with Contact

Manchester
Music venue
The Deaf Institute

The Deaf Institute is a vibrant gig venue and nightclub for which it is well worth taking a jaunt out of the Northern Quarter.

Manchester
Catalog Bookshop

Find Peter and his Christiania cargo bike around All Saints Park, a hop, skip and a bunnyhop from Manchester Poetry Library.

Manchester
Bar or Pub
Sandbar

Sandbar, just off Oxford Road in Manchester, is a well-loved watering hole, with a great selection of ales and some eccentric seating.

Johnny Roadhouse store
Manchester
Shop
Johnny Roadhouse

Buffeted by fried chicken outlets, legendary musical instrument emporium Johnny Roadhouse has been serving the local music community for over 50 years.

Manchester
Café or Coffee Shop
Eighth Day

Eighth Day is a co-operative shop that sells ethically-sourced food, wine and cosmetics. There’s also café that serves hearty, healthy meals in the basement.

Manchester
Event venue
The Proud Place

Based in the heart of Manchester on Sidney Street, The Proud Place houses The Proud Trust and serves as a community hub for the wider LGBT+ population across Greater Manchester and beyond.

What's on: Theatre

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From £21.20
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Piece of Work at The Edge

James Rowland’s acclaimed one-man show is a witty and quietly moving story about identity, friendship and finding your place in the world.

From £16.00

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From city-wide art festivals to open-air sculptural installations, we have exhibitions from all around the North, both indoors and out.