Afro blooming, photographed by Samuel boateng

Southnord Artfest: Caring Weekend

This closing weekend themed CARING, will focus on care for oneself, for others, for nature. We will explore alternative ways of believing and maintaining our spiritual and mental health through art. The weekend will be filled with film viewings, performances, workshops, art chats and more!

Date: 11-14 January 2023
Opening hours: See details below

Venue:
Kulturhuset Stadsteatern,
Sergelstorg Norrmalm
111 57 Stockholm, Sweden

Thursday 11 January

    • Svartmåla (11 min) by Benjamin Zemui (SE)

      A short film about two black men discussing why the color black is always used to describe things negatively, while a white artist in a parallel life uses the color black to express their art.

      Inspiration comes, among other things, from the discoveries from the famous work "black square" by the artist Kazimir Malevich, texts have been found embedded in the work.

    • In Tete’s Footsteps (20 min) by Lola Akinmade (NG/SE), Noo Saro-Wiwa (NG/UK) and Erik Jaråker (SE).

      In the 1960s, Togo-born explorer Tété-Michel Kpomassie set off on a decade-long journey from his home in West Africa to the Arctic, becoming the first African we know of to explore Greenland. He chronicled his journey in his book, An African in Greenland.

      Nigerian-born storytellers, Lola Akinmade and Noo Saro-Wiwa, whose careers were inspired by Kpomassie’s work, teamed up with Swedish videographer Jaråker to follow in Kpomassie’s footsteps, exploring the question: Who gets to tell the story of a place?

    • Mirage (8 min) by Iida Valme (FI)

      Mirage tells a story about the power of reciprocity in communal relations. It brings forth the life-changing impact that seeing oneself reflected back from another’s image can have on a person.

    • After We Are Gone (10 min) by Ima Iduozee (FI)

      Zena enters an underground shrine to meet the royal priestess. As the ritual begins, she re-imagines the journey of the African Diaspora. Using the narrative conventions of documentary and fiction, the now, the past and the future are rethought to create an ode to those who have paved the way. Unfolding through the lens on Ima Iduozee, the film features archival footage of Lola Odusoga, Rosa Emilia Clay, Donata Pennanen, FESTAC 77, Windrush 1948, Sun Ra, Barbara Ann Teer, Miriam Makeba, Muraina Oyelami and more.

      After We’re Gone is the second part of Diaspora Mixtapes, a series or works that celebrates the past, present and future of the African Diaspora.

    • Villa Villekulla (30 min) by Patricia Bbaale Bandak (DK)

      Family portrait of eight Bbaale siblings from Uganda. Through conversations and childhood games in their home town of Falster, we experience the dynamics between them and get a glimpse into a unique family history that has been marked by equal parts joy and trauma - a childhood that the Bbaale children have never quite grown out of.

    Panel discussion moderated by Issraa Elkogali Häggström, a Sudanese-Swedish filmmaker, writer and producer who co-produced GOODBYE JULIA (Freedom prize- Un Certain Regard- Cannes 2023). She is an alumna of Riksteaterns writer residency 2021 and executive producer and screenwriter of the award winning short film adaptation A HANDFUL OF DATES (2020). Issraa has a film MFA from Boston University 2003 and is currently pursuing a screenwriting MA at Stockholm University of the Arts. She works as a screenwriting coach/ consultant and producer through her company Riverflower. As a founding member of Sudan film factory Issraa continues to champion Sudanese art in all its forms from her home-base in Sweden. Her celebrated, documentary directorial debut IN SEARCH OF HIP HOP (2010), purchased by BBC Arabic in 2014 is also available on the streaming service Shasha's permanent library collection.

    Still image: Villa Villekulla, photographer Loui Ladegaard

Friday 12 January

  • DEEP DIVE is a community and empowerment workshop by multidisciplinary artists and siblings Adam and Amina Seid Tahir that delves into the inspiration for their piece SEVERAL ATTEMPTS AT BRAIDING MY WAY HOME.

    Together with the participants they reflect on (Black) Hair, shapeshifting and dorsal practices and examine their potential as Black technologies of transformation and belonging. Both, the workshop and the piece were inspired by American writer, poet, and activist Alexis Pauline Gumbs' book "Undrowned: Black Feminist Lessons from Marine Mammals", which poetically weaves together the transformative adaptive practices and survival strategies of marine mammals with meditations and Black feminist practices. Together you will read, write and meditate on grounding practices and the sensorial abilities of our hair. The texts will be mainly in english, but the language will be adapted to the participants.

    This workshop is open for all people interested in the topic, even if you are not a dancer or artist. This workshop is open to you who identify with the term global majority/BIPOC. This refers to people who are Black, Asian, Brown, dual-heritage, indigenous, and or have been racialized as “ethnic minorities”. Please only book this workshop if you identify with these terms.

    The workshop is held at 13:00-16:00 and afterwards a light dinner is served. Entry and dinner is free with registration. To register for this workshop, email mmabatho@mdtsthlm.se. In your registration email please specify your allergies and dietary specifications.

    MDT and Southnord collaborate on presenting two iterations of the DEEP DIVE workshop. This is the second iteration.

  • Exclusive FutureBrownSpace performance: The Mothership is not a Metaphor at Studion, Kulturhuset. This is a limited event for BIPOC only. Only 25 seats available. Please RSVP with number of tickets and names to: john-paul.zaccarini@uniarts.se

    Welcome to an afro-optimistic flight into the future, on the research vessel The AfroStar Galactica, boldly and blackly going into the luminous darkness of your inner space. A performance lecture by Professor of Bodily and Vocal Practices at Stockholm University of the Arts, John-Paul Zaccarini, director of the Vetenskaprådet research project FutureBrownSpace.

    Cabin crew assisting on this evening’s flight are Lucie Maisha N'Duhirahe, Toubab Holmes and Susan Swartzberg.

    FutureBrownSpace is a creative space of recovery, discovery and project/artist development, designed for diasporic practitioners. It is a trans-disciplinary research project Funded by Swedish Research Council and Stockholm University of the Arts.

    Portrait image: John-Paul Zaccarini by Andrea Davis-Kronlund

Saturday 13 January

  • #afroblooming drop-in workshop for kids and grown-ups with Good Hair Day (Galleri 3/Mama Yetundes Tea Room)

    Good Hair Day's #afroblooming aims to lifts up the lack of representation in Finland in particular and the Nordics at large. It celebrates afrohair and expands beauty standards.

    At the station hair is decorated with flowers, visitors get a chance to learn more about their hair and receive hair care tips, but above all everyone's beauty is celebrated and self-love is encouraged through self-care culture.

    Good Hair Day (GHD) is an anti-racist collective working towards the wellbeing of the AfroFinnish community through hope and joy. They celebrate Afro hair & Afro Finns while challenging existing beauty norms and making AfroFinnish stories visible.

  • Ayesha Jordan, Gather (g)Round: Soft Landings performance in the exhibition space, Galleri 3.

    Gather (g)Round is a multi-iterative research project seeking to redefine concepts of community, ecosystems and gathering.

    In this iteration of Gather (g)Round, we are guided by performance-based artist Ayesha Jordan, who takes us on a journey rooted in care and grounded by her practice with regenerative agriculture and performance.

    Ayesha Jordan is a multidisciplinary performer and creator based in Oslo, Norway. Her current research is based in applied permaculture studies, regenerative community/ecosystem formation and adaptation, event curation, heritage, and how these can be explored through performance, and inform performance methodologies. This research is currently being integrated in a forthcoming project titled Shasta Geaux Pop presents: Shasta Greaux Crops.

    In 2021 and 2022 Ayesha presented two iterations of Gather (g)Round (Observe & Interact and In Relation). The ongoing multi-iterative research project incorporates twelve permaculture principles within its stages of development. Each principle is broken down into immersive events spread over the course of several days or several weeks.

    Ayesha's artistic pursuits extend beyond conventional boundaries, intentionally amplifying marginalised voices, especially from the global majority and disenfranchised communities. Her work encompasses themes such as ritual-making, multigenerational knowledge and exploration, archives, legacy, and collaborative and cooperative modes of production.

  • Future Brown Space performance: The Mothership is not a Metaphor at Studion, Kulturhuset. This event is open to all. Purchase tickets here.

    Welcome to an afro-optimistic flight into the future, on the research vessel The AfroStar Galactica, boldly and blackly going into the luminous darkness of your inner space. A performance lecture by Professor of Bodily and Vocal Practices at Stockholm University of the Arts, John-Paul Zaccarini, director of the Vetenskaprådet research project FutureBrownSpace.

    Cabin crew assisting on this evening’s flight are Lucie Maisha N'Duhirahe, Toubab Holmes and Susan Swartzberg.

    FutureBrownSpace is a creative space of recovery, discovery and project/artist development, designed for diasporic practitioners. It is a trans-disciplinary research project Funded by Swedish Research Council and Stockholm University of the Arts.

    Portrait image: John-Paul Zaccarini by Andrea Davis-Kronlund

  • Welcome to an evening dedicated to diving deep into Ernest Mancoba’s painting, The Ancestor, and the artistic interpretations of this painting by master weaver Joseph Ndlovu and filmmaker Abdulcadir Ahmed Said.

    • Screening - Ernest Mancoba at Home by Bridget Thompson (28 mins)

    • Screening - Reading the Ancestor by Abdulcadir Ahmed Said (8 mins)

    • Screening - Joseph Ndlovu – Master Weaver by the Art and Ubuntu Trust (19 mins)

    Short break (10 - 15 mins)

    Panel presentations and discussion:

    • Bridget Thompson (15 mins on meeting Ernest Mancoba in 1994, on the making of the tapestry, on Joseph Ndlovu and on understanding the first system art)

    • Abdulcadir Ahmed Said (10 mins on decoding the painting - process and thoughts)

    • Hendrik Folkerts (Moderna Museet) (10 mins on incorporating Ernest Mancoba in the current exhibition Seven Rooms and a Garden)

    Comments and discussions with audience in the cinema to follow.

    Photo: T.J. Lemon

Sunday 14 January

  • Reading from Minna Salami’s “Andra Sidan Berget - en svart feministisk väg till sensuös kunskap för alla” by Ellen Nyman. The reading will take place in Mama Yetunde’s Tea Room, Galleri 3.

    With poetic warmth and intellectual brilliance, Minna Salami tackles some of the biggest questions of our time: How has our view of knowledge been mutilated by the European patriarchy? How can we dismantle systems of power that have long since penetrated our innermost being? And where can we find better paths to wisdom, beauty and freedom? In building her knowledge, Salami draws on insights from, among others, Lauryn Hill, Beyoncé, Audre Lorde and Toni Morrison. Weaving together scientific traditions and activism, popular culture references and African mythology, she creates a work full of wisdom and life.

    Minna Salami is a Nigerian, Finnish and Swedish writer, blogger, social critic and international conference lecturer. She is the founder of the multi award-winning blog MsAfropolitan blog and has contributed to anthologies, textbooks, children's books and magazines such as The Guardian, Al Jazeera and The Philosopher. Elle magazine has listed her as "one of twelve women twelve women who are changing the world" alongside the likes of Angelina Jolie and Michelle Obama.

    Ellen Nyman is an actress, performance artist and theatre director. She is also a PhD student in Performing Art currently working on her research project: “Performative strategies, dimensions of emancipation”.

    The book cover is designed by Parasto Backman.

  • Join us in an exploration of your amazing afro. Where the GHD collective members Saida Mäki-Penttilä and Jessica Eboreime will guide you through a discussion on AfroNordic identity, representation, self care, self love, haircare and community care,

    The talk will encourage discussion about experiences, explore expectations, analyse myths and reflect on hopes surrounding our hair in the future.

    Jessica Eboreime is a hairstylist from Finland specialising in kinky, curly, textured hair. A contributing member of the Good Hair Day Collective since 2018. Passionate about sharing knowledge, empowerment, building community, providing transparency, addressing misconceptions and challenging beauty standards. Experience in salon, editorial shoots, BTS tv and music, education and workshops.

    Saida Mäki-Penttilä is a coordinator, creative strategist, community organiser and a global connector.

    She has lived and worked in Africa, Europe and the US. Currently she works with topics such as equality, cultural diversity, wellbeing and antirasism. Changing the narrative in Finland to include and to make visible AfroFinnish stories was and still is the passion that lead Saida to join the Good Hair Day collective in 2016.

  • Join artist Cecilia Germain and multidisciplinary performer Ayesha Jordan in conversation about their practices with moderator Ro Averin.

    Cecilia Germain is a Swedish-Canadian artist living in Uppsala since 2018. After her studies at the Department of Art at Konstfack in Stockholm, 2000-2006, Germain has worked on themes that often deal with colonial structures, historiography, memory work, grief processes, pathways to healing and decolonisation, black public health and social justice. Painting, photography, text, graphics and performance are recurring mediums of expression the artist uses, but she also works with olfactory botanical materials and with certain botany as a growing archive and a way into stories, knowledge, history and hope for the future

    Ayesha Jordan is a multidisciplinary performer and creator based in Oslo, Norway. Her current research is based in applied permaculture studies, regenerative community/ecosystem formation and adaptation, event curation, heritage, and how these can be explored through performance, and inform performance methodologies. This research is currently being integrated in a forthcoming project titled Shasta Geaux Pop presents: Shasta Greaux Crops.



    Ro (they/she) is a writer, consultant, researcher, and educator centering mindful and intersectional approaches to social, racial, and environmental justice in many fields through UNLRN PRJCT, and in the arts through Rafiki Art Initiatives. Born in Turtle Island/Canada, Ro now calls Sápmi/Northern Norway home, her heritage stretching through diaspora to Jamaica, and to the African continent. Outside of work they can be found in nature, writing and editing in a variety of mediums, on a yoga mat teaching or practicing, and organizing art and wellness retreats like Hearing Home.

  • Join us in closing rituals and a joint meditation lead by Veronica Näslund Kwansa, a medium, soothsayer and Reiki Master. This is a chance for us to give thanks for all the offerings, experiences and exchanges that the Southnord Artfest has made space for and to all who contributed.

    By invitation. If you wish to attend please e-mail hello@southnord.com

    Photo: Holistic House