Brixton Diaries
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ONE FROM THE ARCHIVES
Finding Yourself in the Indies.
“A book isn’t supposed to be a mirror, it’s supposed to be a door.” – Fran Leibowitz
A lifetime of watching independent film led up to covering this years’ Tribeca Film Festival, which allowed for screening films including the Tribeca Film Festival Official Selection Blondie: Vivir En la Habana, receiving its North American debut at Tribeca after having premiered in Italy at the SeeYouSound festival in Turin, as well as festivals including Sheffield Doc/Fest, and the upcoming RIZOMA film festival in Madrid, Spain. This opportunity to tell a story of my own, as all writers do in one way or another, in the context of telling the story of the concert documentary short Blondie: Vivir En La Habana inspired exploration of what it is to find yourself in the indies…
Read the rest on our website, linked in our bio.
#brixton #franleibowitz #londonlife #exhibitions #creativecommunity #independent #filmmaking #makeitinbrixton #indiefilm
Join us for an amazing evening of art tomorrow at The Lounge Brixton @byxaviart will be showcasing his new body of work and taking a Q and A. Don’t miss it, 6-9pm tomorrow! #xavierart #brixton #loungebrixton #londonlife #exhibitions #creativecommunity #makeitinbrixton
You are invited to @xaviarts 'Artist Night' this Thursday 17th March 2022, from 6-9pm at The Lounge Brixton.
Xavier Leopold is a self-taught contemporary artist, exploring abstract portraiture and illustrative styles incorporating Cubism and Surrealism.
His vibrant pieces draw inspiration from his lived experiences, relationships, ideology, and worldview.
In this exhibition, Xavier shares a selection of pieces from his latest body of work. They explore female empowerment, his Sierra Leonean cultural heritage and faith.
Join us on Thursday for @xaviarts Artist Night, an opportunity to see the exhibition and meet the artist. See you at The Lounge from 6pm-9pm! #brixton
My Own Personal Lebanon: exploring the fragments of my identity.
This piece is a co-commission between Make It Brixton and TAPE collective, written by Theo Panagopoulous…
“Μια ζωή ανάμεσα σε δύο κουλτούρες, τρεις γλώσσες, δύο μισά και κανένα ολόκληρο”
“A life between two cultures, three languages, two halves and no whole”
This phrase encapsulated the feeling I started having a few months after migrating to Scotland. I was born and raised in Athens by a Greek father and Lebanese-Palestinian mother and moved to the UK four years ago to study documentary film.
Read the rest and watch the documentary film via our website, link in bio.
@theos_perspective
@tapecollective
THE CLOTHING THAT MAKES US.
Brixton based Designer Eells (@_eells_) was featured on Make It in Brixton after being interviewed by Sophie Tolhurst (@sophieytol) a London-based writer and editor who has written for the likes of Disegno, Frieze, and FX Magazine.
“What makes a favourite item of clothing? The fabric: is it soft? The cut: is it flattering? Is it your favourite colour, or do you like its logo, slogan, or other details? Did you buy it, first- or second-hand, or did you once “borrow” it from a friend? The average person gets through many clothes in their lives: some we grow tired of and some we treasure long beyond their worth; there are also those we’ll leave behind when we’re gone.”
Read more on our website, link in bio, https://inbrixton.org/exploring-the-clothing-that-makes-us-with-brixton-based-designer-eells/
Support Eells @_eells_ and www.eells.co.uk
Don’t miss our latest Make It Residency at The Lounge Brixton!
On until the 9th April, Xavier's art draws on mythology and blends it with his futuristic style to create pieces that are both beautiful and modern. One of the pieces being shown in this show is called ‘Mami Wata’ which was inspired by the African water spirit of the same name who is usually portrayed as a mermaid or a snake charmer.
We spoke to Xavi (@byxaviart) about finding his creativity during lockdown last year, watch our interview now on Make It in Brixton.
Introducing our new theme for this quarter, Identity...
“Drawing inky dreams into our skin, braiding histories into our hair, piercing constellations across our bodies: how do we express all the moments we have lived through, all the moments we have survived, all the things that have shaped us.
Identity, the way we paint ourselves into the world, can be dissected along multiple frameworks, we can sit at the intersection of rigid categories, we can explore how the versions of us are known and unknown, both to ourselves and the communities in which we circulate.
Often we are asked to claim our identity back; to shout, to march, to guard its boundaries, to battle against the moulds we are forced into. Sometime identity can feel less of a celebration and more of a heavy mantel to carry.
We are masked by these versions of ourselves, but what role do our masks have, and do we notice when we remove them anymore? Do we slide with less friction between this version of ourselves in this room, and this other one, over here. Do we still believe that our ‘truest’ selves lie behind these characters we are playing?
Chiselled by perceptions, sculpted by experiences, constantly morphing dependent on age, location, on our cultural capital, we hold these complex identities in our hands and ask who am I? Who are we?”
Welcome to 2022!
Make It in Brixton is back for another year! We will be continuing to showcase the creativity of South London, sparking conversations and amplifying the people voices and work of people who make in Brixton. This year our online publications will run on a quarterly basis, with four themes that will anchor our thinking this year: Identity, We Are Here, Common Threads and Brixtopia.
Read more about these theme and pitch us your pieces via link in our bio.
The continuation of this project has been made possible by funding from @lambeth.council’s Lambeth. Now’s The Time.
MAKE IT X THE LOUNGE
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Make It in Brixton will be curating a year long exhibition programme at The Lounge, Brixton.
This month we will be showcasing The Lost Artworks of Brixton.
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In 2020 seven forgotten canvases were discovered in a dark forgotten corner of The Brixton Recreation Centre by The Brixton Project.
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We believe they may be paintings from the 'Haiti High!' exhibition that was shown here at the Brixton Art Gallery in 2004. ‘Haiti High!’ presented for the first time in the United Kingdom, work from a collective of Haitian painters. Many of the 60 artists were self taught, trained in their family tradition, or trained at the Ecole Villa Art International in Port Au Prince. Their large paintings draw on traditional Haitian representations of everyday life through vibrant, colourful, abstracted patterns rendered rhythmically across the canvas.
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We want to find out more about the identity of the artists and how these spectacular paintings ended up in the Rec. If you have any information we'd love to hear from you contact us on info@inbrixton.org.
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#brixton #loungebrixton #londonlife #exhibitions #creativecommunity #haiti #brixtonrec #makeitinbrixton #lostart @loungebrixton @better_brixton
We have teamed up with The Lounge (@loungebrixton) to showcase local, young and up and coming artists in an exhibition programme throughout the year.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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Join our first Artist Night on Tuesday 30 November at 7pm and meet artist Cherise Hewitt (@artsvdme).
To celebrate our new exhibition programme at The Lounge, we will be hosting an Artist Night on Tuesday 30 November from 7pm.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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Come down and meet the artist Cherise Hewitt (@artsvdme) whose work focuses on African culture and representation of the black community.
