Host Ica Headlam speaks with sisters Rhea Lewis (Project X Dance) and Jeda Pearl (Scottish Black and POC Writers Network) about supporting Black and POC artists in Scotland. They chat about growing up in a creative household in Edinburgh, how 2020 completely shifted their approach towards artist development and care, and the ongoing challenges of exploitation and tokenisation in the creative industries. The conversation gets into what real support actually looks like – from proper commissions to rehearsal spaces to mental health support for artists making work about trauma. They also celebrate both organisations receiving Creative Scotland's Multi-Year Funding, which is a massive deal. And they dream about creating Black cultural centres in Scotland with archives, libraries, rehearsal spaces, and cafés – taking inspiration from London's Black Cultural Archives whilst imagining a community-owned Scottish approach with satellite locations across the country.

Find out more:

• Project X Dance: www.projectxdance.com (sign up for their artist newsletter – for Black & POC artists only)
• Scottish Black and POC Writers Network: www.scottishpocwritersnetwork.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Host Ica Headlam speaks with Kim Loliya, founder and director of Black Psychotherapy in London, about culturally attuned mental health support for Black and Global Majority communities. Kim discusses how they've grown from a solo practice to a team of 31 practitioners, the problems with Eurocentric therapy models, and why mainstream NHS provision often fails racialised communities. The conversation explores generational trauma, the fears many hold about accessing mental health services (including higher rates of sectioning and restraint), and the power of community healing through care circles. Kim also shares their vision for abolishing Western therapy models in favour of more indigenous approaches to healing, the importance of anti-oppressive practice embedded throughout training curricula, and Black Psychotherapy's work from their shipping container therapy space in the heart of Brixton. This episode examines what real healing looks like when it's designed for us, by us.

Find out more: Black Psychotherapy - www.blackpsychotherapy.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Host Ica Headlam speaks with Talat Yaqoob, founder of Pass the Mic, about the gap between Scotland's progressive rhetoric and actual investment in change for communities of colour. They discuss creating your own spaces versus engaging with existing systems, the extractive nature of unpaid labour in media and activism, and how austerity has decimated the community centres and youth clubs that once anchored Black and Brown communities. Talat shares how Pass the Mic has grown from a desktop spreadsheet to a database of over 300 women of colour experts, and why sustained prioritisation matters more than reactive responses to trending moments.

Visit Pass the Mic - https://passthemicscotland.org

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.