I was recently asked to take part in an in-person ‘Exploding Appendix’ panel event, to talk about Arts and Culture in Brighton. It was such a rich and rewarding discussion, I’ve included my contribution below.
Thank you so much for coming and for such a brilliant contribution. Your answers were really thoughtful and engaging.
When we talk about solidarity in a city like Brighton & Hove, what does it actually look like within your practice?
I’m a coach for women in tech and creative industries – I run free events and groups bringing people together.
I run the Women of Colour Brighton Facebook with other volunteers, and most of the time we support each other through a fun monthly meetup and sharing advice and resources in the Facebook group. Once a year we hold an awesome all day event filled with joy called the Self Love Festival – all the workshop leaders are black and brown women – running yoga classes, singing workshops, poetry and dance – this year was the first year we had a trans woman run a voguing workshop. Solidarity is all about creating spaces where the marginalised groups can come together, be themselves and make strong creative connections. We are a force with over 2000 members now.
What makes something “radical”? I wanted to play a short clip from episode 88 of the Refigure Podcast, where you reflect on the word “radical.” You suggest there might be limits to how we understand it—could you expand on that?
It’s an interesting word for me, because in most circles we understand it to mean left-leaning, exciting, innovative, courageous, change-making, dynamic… Something is RAD, these are all positive words that make me proud to be unconventional and different. However, because my circle of friends include people who are more conservative, I was interested to hear that for many people “radical’ is synonymous with dangerous behaviour, mixing up “Radical” with ‘radicalized’ = extreme views that lead to violence.
It’s similar to how the media have made the words ‘immigrant’, ‘refugee’ and ‘asylum seeker’ all negative words linked with illegal activity instead of compassion, endurance, vitality, vibrancy… the words diversity and inclusion are now becoming negative too. We have to stay vigilant not to drift into being apologetic for what we stand for, my passion for creating inclusive spaces are too important – I won’t let them fizzle out, or be diluted because they aren’t seen as mainstream.
As I have been running these sessions, I keep hearing people complain that they don’t know what is going on in the city, that they only find out about things after they have happened, and that information is often fragmented across social media. I’ve really been enjoying listening to your podcast Refigure. It is such a comforting listen. You and Chris are wonderful hosts and the whole thing feels very chilled and relaxed, as if you are both right there just having a chat. And I also come away with so many things I want to check out. One of the things that I notice is that you often mention and credit different people, organizations, restaurants or events you have been to. Partly because the show is based around reviewing things, I think you are really good at highlighting the different pockets of things going on in the city. How much does this consciously inform your practice?
I think it’s about being open to getting out of your comfort zone, having a broad spectrum of places, people and organisations to follow online and constantly curating your feed – in real life and online. I’ve been in Brighton for 20 years and over that time I’ve been involved with the radio stations like Juice and PlatformB Radio, I’ve sat on the boards of Lighthouse and Marlborough Productions as well as often going to see music, plays and comedy that I wouldn’t normally go to. When I curate Shesays Brighton events – which is primarily for women in tech and creative industries, I am aware that many women in my sphere never connect – we’re all in our silos or tribes – so I consciously bring together women from the arts and music to the tech community. For a small town we have a lot going on, we used to have more printed media like the Source for example but now I mostly hear about stuff online or newsletters and word of mouth. Even going to a different cafe like Sunbirds on London Road, or the new queer record shop Dream Street Records in the North Laine, can help you expand your horizons.
I often feel like there are a lot of things going on in Brighton and Hove, yet this is somewhat hidden. You are the founder of SheSays Brighton and Spring Forward Festival, and you chair the Women of Colour Brighton network. In what ways do you see yourself fostering and amplifying voices that are already here?
I’m a natural connector, I collect people via linkedin and facebook – I’m always putting people together, and through my SheSays Brighton events I give women a space to speak about their personal journeys, in their careers not just the successes but the struggles as well. The last event I put on for International Women’s Day had the new CEO of the Brighton Dome, Lucy Davies, as well as someone who runs a global network of Gen Z copywriters who used to be a sex worker. I think my ability to keep serving up interesting events with compelling speakers makes me a trusted curator – audiences sign up for my events way in advance because they know I’ll deliver something unexpected and cool.
What role does creativity play in making solidarity possible, or sustaining it over time?
Being consistent. Showing up and delivering good quality events and making people feel welcome is key to making solidarity possible. Having free events makes your audience more diverse – and having creative activities are always welcome to get people out of their heads, out of their comfort zone. I ran an all day SheSays event, as well as the usual speakers, we ran flower crown workshops so at one point we had lots of women running around with Frida Kahlo head pieces. We need a lot of fun and joy if we’re going to sustain ourselves.
Thinking about Brighton right now, where do you see the need for solidarity being most urgent? And how can people respond in meaningful ways?
Anti-racist activity is the most urgent for me. We need to stay vigilant each and every day and I’m heartened by large turnouts for anti racist marches in London and spontaneous surges of solidarity in Brighton like we saw in August 2024. But every day activism like sharing online positive news is always welcome. Read more books and see more art by people that don’t look like you… supporting local people of colour owned businesses is key too. I’m a coach for women and I run free online events I’ve got one on 28 April – details on my website rifa.co.uk/events
