Queer African Voices was organised as part of the ‘Survival Guides’ artistic programme of events in Brixton, curated by Jacob Joyce and produced by Alice Moon. It also had a charitable element to its design, raising funds for the Out and Proud Diamond Group, a collection of LGBT asylum seekers from Africa.
Emotional speeches were given from members of the group, with one speaker having to cut herself off halfway through due to tears when speaking about a friend who was killed.
Moments such as these brought back the seriousness and real dangers and threats faced by LGBT people in countries all over the world, to face a thankfully liberal society that has just legalised gay marriage. But there was also a sense of celebration too, with dancing, spoken word poetry and singing making up a large part of this fascinating and eclectic night.
Pretty Miss Cairo – who was very pretty – hosted with wit, va-va voom and intelligence, whilst we were honoured to hear poets such as Dean Atta, Sirena Reynolds and PJ Eye-See grace us with their words.
The midway part of the evening was an ‘immersive theatre experience’ inspired by the hundreds of immigrants that drown each year in the Mediterranean, trying to cross by sea from Libya to Italy.
Projected white text on a black background informed the audience that the Italian authorities regularly receive distress signals from boats in trouble and do nothing, informing nearby Malta to take care of the problem.
Then twenty people from the assembled crowd were brought to the fore, surrounded by material to affect waves in the dark, as flashlights dazzled, to the sound of the roaring sea. It ended with water being poured into vessels, a powerful and emphatic description of the fragility of human life and the horror of apathy.
Overall, this was a brilliant and important event in raising awareness and opening our eyes to the plight of others in the world. LGBT rights are human rights, and we should never forget.
• Art Nouveau Brixton, 77 Atlantic Road, SW9 8PU
Sunday 4th May
