MAIA Weekender: Friday 7th March, Archiving and Storytelling

Featuring an archive library, exhibition, talks, performances and food. At Birmingham Hippodrome, Thorp st entrance.

 

EXHIBITIONS

SEED ARCHIVES, POP-UP

11:30 - 17:30 (Exhibition)
12:00 - 13:00 (Lunch with Christian Cassius)

Join us in Studio 4 for a special pop-up of Seed Archives, a living library and cultural space celebrating African and Caribbean heritage through art, design, and material culture. This growing collection connects diaspora communities with their histories through free access to books and traditional objects within an intentionally curated home environment. More than an archive, it is a space for cultural reconnection, learning, and community dialogue.

We’ll also be having tea, coffee + pastries with Christian Cassiel, Seed Archives founder in the Artist Lounge at 12:00.

RUDY LOEWE

11:30 - 17:30

A presentation of digital print on textiles by artist Rudy Loewe, responding to archival images documenting the resistance of Black communities. This includes a collaborative piece created with pupils from Hollyhead Primary School in Handsworth, inspired by the work of Birmingham-based photographer Vanley Burke.

 

TALKS + PERFORMANCES

Keynote: Archiving the Unseen with Christopher Samuel

13:15 - 14:15

Keynote by Christopher Samuel, a multi-disciplinary artist whose practice is rooted in identity and disability politics. Often reflecting the many facets of his own lived experience as a Black disabled man, his work tells stories that highlight the often unseen experiences of his daily life and those of others in similar circumstances.

This event is hybrid (sign up for a virtual ticket if you are unable to join in person).

We will have a BSL interpreter present, and live captions streamed during the event (more access info below).

Panel: History In Our Hands

14:30 - 15:30

What does it mean to bear our stories, unaltered? How do we collect and cultivate our legacies, ensuring that Black history presented through art and design is not lost or destroyed but remains accessible for generations to come? A panel discussion with:

Christian Cassiel (Founder, Seed Archives)

Dr Panya Banjoko (Founder & Managing Director, Nottingham Black Archives)

Rudy Loewe (Artist)

Chaired by Lisa Anderson (Curator, founder of Black British Art, and former Managing Director at Black Cultural Archives).

This event is hybrid (sign up for a virtual ticket if you are unable to join in person). We will have a BSL interpreter present, and live captions streamed during the event (more access info below).

Presenting History through Performance

16:00 - 17:15

Artists working with archives and history bring to life the results of their research and in-depth explorations of their own cultural histories.

Featuring:

Jamaica & Her Daughters (Excerpt) – Ioney Smallhorne

Between Preservation & Construction: Verse and Archival Imaginaries – Ibrahim Hirsi

Followed by a Q&A with Ioney Smallhorne, Ibrahim Hirsi, and Lisa Anderson.

This event is hybrid (sign up for a virtual ticket if you are unable to join in person). We will have a BSL interpreter present, and live captions streamed during the event (more access info below).

 

Key info

Timings: The day runs 11:30 - 17:30. In the evening we host Scratch Night for Black artists and audiences to attend (18:00 - 21:00) - tickets sold separately.

Food and drink: Pastries + fruit at 11:30, with tea, coffee, and biscuits available throughout the day.

Additional spaces: A quiet space and prayer room will be available.

Access information - Birmingham Hippodrome:

  • Birmingham Hippodrome has step-free access throughout

  • The venue has accessible bathrooms including grab rails (but not hoists)

  • The Patrick Studio and Studio 4 are accessed from the Ground Floor

  • BSL will be available for all daytime events (12-6pm)

  • BSL is available on-request for the Scratch Night. Please mention when you book, or fill in our Access Request Form.

  • We have hybrid tickets available for the key note, panel talk and performances.

Access information across all sites:

  • We have ear defenders & stim toys available.

  • We have a single pendant-style induction loop available.

  • We politely request not attending our events if you have covid, cold or flu like symptoms.

  • Masks are not required at these events. Masks & Covid tests will be provided at entrances.

  • We have an Access Request Form to request BSL, Audio Description, Live Captioning, travel expenses, childcare expenses and other access needs to attend any of our events.

If you have any questions or specific needs we can support you with please email us at programme@maiagroup.co