We’re exploring how creatives in the South West are using art to amplify, challenge and reclaim narratives

As part of Black History Month we invited creatives and activists in the West of England to respond to this year’s theme ‘Reclaiming Narratives’ through the lens of Citizens For Culture’s core principles: inclusion, voice and influence.

In the second of this content series, writer and actress Mya Fraser shares her poem Justice.

Reclaiming the narrative: Mya Fraser and Justice

Think of a boomerang, an object which is designed to return 

back to that throws forcer. What happens if it doesn’t come back?. History. Left behind whilst they dare to live without them. I believe in clarity. what i would like to clarify is the detachment clarify the sadness the hurt the wonders. I believe in comfort. something you can’t breathe properly without. your beats no longer stating the same rhythms. that irregulation speaks volumes. the very same songs the luth sings isolated. As if there’s a complete loss of control. where lies the control when the one creator’s captured fix stays lost. You’ve Left the hand waiting behind whilst finding that paternal break. The originator plucks the air it once sat. pondering in what it’s doing. Where are you? Hopeful you’re homesick. do theirs caress better?  do theirs care for more?. Remaining wishful of tracing those invisible tracks in which the sand once led for you. Fulfilling the void that formed in your absence. To hear your sound once more would be an extraordinary pleasure in the figure and in the residential care of your beloved. Bring them home. Because again, I believe. and what i believe in most is a happy ending. rewriting a story doesn’t change the idea of the first plot, it manipulates the initial honesty. Here’s to history.

About Mya Fraser

Mya Fraser is a 20-year-old actress and writer, brought up in Oxford. At the age of 15 she decided to begin her acting career by joining young theatre companies based in her hometown. She later went on to receive her acting diploma in 2022 on a two year A-level equivalent diploma course at Bristol School of Acting. 

She has been on multiple international tours with Mandala Theatre Company and is currently in their show Seed Guardians. 

Follow Mya on Instagram

We’re exploring how creatives in the South West are using art to amplify, challenge and reclaim narratives

As part of Black History Month we invited creatives and activists in the West of England to respond to this year’s theme ‘Reclaiming Narratives’ through the lens of Citizens For Culture’s core principles: inclusion, voice and influence.

In the first of this content series DJ, vocalist and songwriter NGAIO discusses her music video Goddess.

Reclaiming the narrative: NGAIO and Goddess

The creation of this music video was so important to me, to tell my story of what it’s been like to find myself and my beauty in a Western world as a mixed-race woman. The beginning scenes were filmed on the streets of St Pauls, where my topless billboard was put up as part of the Censored campaign, which was put together to raise awareness about the sexualisation of women’s nipples and the persecution received when seen in public. Men can go topless at any time, but women can’t, why is that still the case? It folds into a wider discussion about how heavily women’s bodies are policed when we look at reproduction and beauty standards – it all comes back to what external people think women should do with their bodies and how they should look (which changes all the time). These consistent messages of scrutiny in society through the media, and comments made and overheard, led me to feel deep shame, embarrassment, and fear. 

I have been on a journey of loving my curves and accepting – some days even appreciating – my lumps and bumps. Never in a million years when I was young did I think I would feel steady enough to not only be pictured without a top on, but to let that be shown to the world on a street 5 minutes from where I grew up. 

Goddess is about saying we’re all Goddesses – no matter what anybody tells us, we are exactly what we need to be. We don’t need to starve ourselves. We don’t need to have the same face and body. Our uniqueness is what makes us individuals. Whatever the shape, size, colour, or gender; you are a Goddess in every sense of the word. People try to tell us that we should look a certain way or act a certain way. We’re consistently being told who we should be, but how we feel about ourselves shouldn’t be dependent on the external world. We are more expansive than that. 

Goddess is about understanding that we are connected to more than this moment we’re in right now on this planet. It is about the connection that we have with our spirituality and our ancestors which is why in the middle scenes I’m surrounded by foliage outside with my natural hair picked into an afro. These scenes were to symbolise the necessity of connecting with nature and the Earth from which we are all born and will all return. Some see the Earth as a rock we live on that serves us, and that is so sad. This living, breathing, organism has given us and our ancestors life – it continues to connect us in space, spanning time we can’t even fathom. 

The breakdown in the song is a celebration of that realisation that we are our past and our future and if we are ever feeling lost or unsure, we can tap into the Goddesses inside us to find our way. Through connection to nature or connection to ourselves – knowledge and love are always there, inside us. It ends on a scene which was a nod to a duo who have inspired this new chapter of my musical journey – Ibeyi and their first release, River. 

It was filmed by Charlotte Sawyer, a long-term collaborator and lover of nature who’s just won an award for her incredible documentary Rave on for the Avon to raise awareness about the dangerously unsanitary state of our water in East Bristol.

This song – for me at least – was made for moments when I’m feeling unsure, to calm me with melody and stillness, to shake me up with love, before releasing me back into the world. I hope it can do the same for you.

About NGAIO

NGAIO, the versatile artist renowned for her vocals, songwriting, and DJing prowess, seamlessly blends these talents to craft electrifying live performances. This year, she debuts her first self-produced EP ‘Four Quarters’ and accompanying live show, featuring live vocals and recreations of her productions delivered through Ableton Push. Soundscaping trip hop, jazz, bass and global music in a multigenre sound reflecting her travels – there’s something for everyone. As a mixed-race woman, NGAIO infuses her artistry with personal experiences, enriching her music with poignant storytelling told through spoken word and jazz-infused vocals delivered with passion.

It’s rare to find a performer with this many strings to their bow. NGAIO’s versatility as an artist has seen her moving audiences to standing ovations with soul-striking vocals, spark tears through truth-laden spoken word, and destroy dancefloors with selections old and new. Each performance takes her audience on a journey of nostalgia and discovery. Transitioning from band and DJ gigs to curating a solo show, she intricately weaves jazz and underground bass influences, earning comparisons to the eclectic iBeyi and Greentea Peng. Beyond music, NGAIO advocates for cultural understanding, bridging divides between races and classes.

Check out NGAIO’s website or socials @ngaioamusic

Videographer – Charlotte Sawyer

Photographer – Charley Williams

We’re connecting with cultural leaders to explore the civic and democratic tools that we, as citizens, can access

In this piece Dr Edson Burton, Curator at Trinity Community Arts, reflects on the role of voting in democratic decision making.

Opinion: voting matters, Dr Edson Burton

‘Politics time again, are you gonna vote now?’ lamented the reformed Buju Banton, alluding to the lethal elections of his native Jamaica. But the question could equally be applied to the forthcoming British election. During the last General Election (2019), 67% of the population voted, up from the all-time low of just over 59% in 2001.

While that figure is on the rise, it still means that over 30% of the population has no say in how they are governed. According to a recent YouGov poll, the reasons given for not voting include a lack of access to polling stations, ineligibility, and no forms of ID. However, the most prominent reasons are a lack of trust in politicians and a feeling that voting will make little difference.

One might argue that cynicism is rife in politics, with pledges that are misleading if not downright dishonest. It has ever been thus, but in a crowded information world, voters may become so confused as to become indifferent.

Perhaps the dance of truth owes as much to us as to our politicians. Few would jump for joy at the thought of higher taxes, but without increased taxation, how can we fund our troubled public services, invest in green technology, or ensure education offers opportunities for all?

Responding to concerns over national identity, political parties offer a raft of immigration control measures that, if implemented, would lead to a national staffing crisis. Yet, to extol the virtues of immigration is to risk electoral suicide.

The convergence between the main political parties may also fuel voter apathy. “There’s no difference between them” is the often-heard lament. Despite the barbs and bites, there appears, at times, to be more that unites than divides the main parties. They vie to expose the actual commitment to an agreed-upon agenda rather than the agenda itself.

But it is worth remembering that this consensus is the result of political participation. The impetus to secure or woo working-class votes in this election is a result of the extension of the franchise beyond a small property-owning class. Once enfranchised, all parties have had to take seriously the interests of a wider range of citizens with divergent interests and lives. Further franchise expansion was not some benign gift of a ruling class but the result of blood and guts campaigns by working-class men and women. Think Chartists, Unions, the Suffragettes.

What is the point of voting if you cannot meaningfully participate in society? If your race meant you could be legally denied access to jobs or employment? If your gender meant you were denied promotion, let alone equal pay? If your sexuality or sexual identity could lead to your imprisonment?

Such was the case prior to major civil rights campaigns: the Bristol Bus Boycott, the Gay Rights Movement, the Disability Rights Movements of the 1960s-1990s. These campaigns or movements have led to legislative changes that have, in turn, transformed our social attitudes.

Broadly speaking, all our political parties have arrived at baseline of inclusivity consensus. In recognition of new voting demographics and the reputational damage of appearing to be illiberal parties may wish to appear to be race, gender, and disability friendly

But how safe is this consensus? Is it a pragmatic concession to the present while some hanker for an illiberal past? The USA has recently demonstrated the danger of complacency as civil rights advances have been eroded by reactionary forces. Could the same thing happen in England? Perhaps if it is electorally beneficial, but certainly not if it is electorally damaging. It could only be so if we vote or hint that our vote is for the preservation of our rights.

Beyond preserving our rights, further changes that we want to see in society will inevitably involve legislation, which in turn will involve exerting pressure upon politicians. The time scale of change may not suit the urgency of our demands, but rather than lose heart, we must continue to exert political pressure through campaigning and ultimately through the ballot.

Not voting is a verdict on politics, but it cannot lead to change; rather, it will maintain the status quo. In the calculus of win or lose, only voters and their interest’s matter.

Vote.