Community Ensemble Presents: Unearthing Our Joy!
"Unearthing Our Joy" "Through the Power of Human Revolution” transforms stereotypes and misperceptions, revealing our true selves Individually and collectively. Utopia Creative Hub, the Centre for Equity and Inclusion and Dr Steph Ejegi Memeh collaborate on this Performance which offers a hopeful, joyful and celebratory message, turning the impossible into “I Am Possible” and highlighting the power of self-discovery and unity.
The performance took place at the Festival of The Mind on Friday 27 September, 4pm to 5pm. Festival of the Mind is a biennial festival showcasing a unique collaboration between University of Sheffield researchers and the city’s cultural and creative industries, to help bring research to life in exciting, entertaining and innovative ways.
The festival takes place in various venues across the city of Sheffield including the iconic Spiegeltent in Barker’s Pool, the Millennium Gallery on Surrey Street and Persistence Works at Yorkshire Artspace on Brown Street. The festival is free and open to all and has brought more than 170,000 visitors into Sheffield city centre since its first edition in 2012.
The community ensemble is a collective of unpaid creatives who have joined together as an ensemble to explore and develop their creative skills, and their understanding of the creative industries.
The Community Ensemble are:
Darlene Galabe: (co-producer, performer) Aminat Abari: (writer, co-producer,performer) Tema Nwulu: (performer, costume design, montage collaborator) Charity Adu-Amankwah: (co-content creator, performer, rehearsal lead, production team) Jana Ndubuka: (drummer, performer, costume design)
The Ensemble are supported by:
Mojisola Kareem- Artistic Director Tanya Brown and Emmanuel Adetoye- Choreographer Omobolanle Akanbi- Artist Stage Manager Rose Farrar- Senior Producer Julius Obende- Artist Content Morgandy Mckinnell and Maddie Whitby- Tech and Stage management Angela Barrows- Therapist
Audience Feedback:
'I love everything about the show, it's very culturally entertaining, making us all aware that racism exists but we are all the same black white doesn’t matter, we are all human and all have feelings.'
'I found this performance thought provoking, powerful and inspirational - an amazing group of women.'
'The monologues were so personal and poignant and of course joyous and inspiring. I loved the video of African history and independence and also the quotes from Black writers and politicians.'
'I love the variety of spoken work, music, dance, dress, movement and visual backdrops providing a space to express and speak openly about personal experiences as a black woman.'
'Very impressed at the enthusiasm and joy produced - just what we need! More please!'