The centenary of James Baldwin’s birth, and his powerful legacy as a writer, intellectual, civil rights activist and fashion icon will be celebrated at Conversations with Baldwin, a one-day festival at the Southbank Centre on Sunday 21st July 2024.
Curated by Words of Colour, and presented in collaboration with the Southbank Centre, Conversations with Baldwin will explore the iconic American writer’s artistry, literature and enduring influence with some of the country’s most exciting contemporary artists, writers and academics.
Running from 12pm to 9pm, the festival opens with an examination of Another Country – Baldwin’s masterly story of desire, hatred and violence – with author, academic and broadcaster Emma Dabiri, poet and writer Nikita Gill and writer Mendez.
In Notes of a Native Son: Baldwin and Artists’ Roles, a staged reading of his non-fiction collection will be followed by a discussion on the role of activism and being an artist with actor and director Burt Caesar, Douglas Field, Founding Editor, James Baldwin Review, and writer, broadcaster and social advocate Yassmin Abdel-Magied.
The one-day event ends with a celebratory exploration of Baldwin and Fashion. Baldwin’s stylish prose, sartorial flair and how we dress to shape identities will be unpacked by TV, film and theatre actress Sarah Niles, fashion designer Nicholas Daley and writer, performer and theatremaker Travis Alabanza.
Mendez, an award-nominated novelist (Rainbow Milk), said: “Another Country, considered to be James Baldwin’s fiction masterpiece, captures him at his free, forthright best, and shows – with its diverse cast of characters – that he backed himself to see the world through anyone’s eyes. Reading him again to mark his centenary, I’m struck by his boldness, his attitude, his self-confidence, his eloquence and his talent for voice.”
Academic, broadcaster and bestselling author (Don’t Touch My Hair) Emma Dabiri said: “James Baldwin’s work is enduring and remains so compelling because of the singularity of his voice. Explorations of the complexities and dynamics of race, gender and sexuality are central to his work, but rather than reify identity, Baldwin unravels it, and in doing so offers profound insights, not just into the specificities of the identities he examines, but rather into the very nature of what it is to be human in the 20th century.”
Joy Francis, Executive Director, Words of Colour, added: “Conversations with Baldwin honours how relevant, resonant and vital James Baldwin continues to be for artists, activists, writers and readers, especially from the global majority. Baldwin speaks the truth about what makes us human, gives voice to how blackness is weaponised and eloquently exposes the insidiousness of racism. His writing defies convention, leaps from the page into your subconscious and dares you to live boldly, and with agency. We are happy that the Southbank Centre shares our appreciation of Baldwin’s timeless value.”
Ted Hodgkinson, Head of Literature and Spoken Word, Southbank Centre, continued: “From the beauty of his prose to the lasting resonance of his perceptions, James Baldwin is a vital touchstone for the generations and a figure at the heart of the Hayward Gallery’s exhibition Tavares Strachan: There Is Light Somewhere, which takes its name from a Baldwin sentence. This enduring message is central to the Southbank Centre’s summer programme You Belong Here, so we are thrilled to be collaborating with Words of Colour on Conversations with Baldwin, for what promises to be an illuminating celebration of Baldwin’s many dimensions and defining works.”
The day-long Conversations with Baldwin is part of the Southbank Centre’s You Belong Here season, which explores themes of community, identity with a message of welcome at its core. The season takes its name from a work shown as part of the Hayward Gallery’s current exhibition, Tavares Strachan: There Is Light Somewhere.
Tickets, which start at £15, with concessions, can be purchased from the Southbank Centre website.