Artistic & Production Team
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Bilkis Malek
Transculturalvisions - Director
Bilkis Malek is the founding director of Transculturalvisions, which delivers creative projects inspired by the cultural experiences and heritage of diverse communities.
Bilkis has a passion for conceiving projects that provide creative spaces for participants and audiences to navigate questions of culture, identity, belonging freely and without the constraints of binary opposites. “‘I thoroughly, thoroughly enjoyed it. Wow! And for me it’s a challenge to our senses. That we don’t just have a voice. We have a voice that can do all sorts of things. And we have breath that does all sorts of things.”
www.transculturalvisions.com
Marva Jackson Lord
Writer, Digital Media Consultant
Marva Jackson Lord is a Jamaican Canadian multidisciplinary artist and writer. She was a participant in the 2021 VAGW INTERLUDE Bursary and Mentoring Programme, supported by the Cultural Recovery Fund in Wales. She is the founder of Griots Arts, a digital media consultancy. She is a recent member of Coding Black Females and BCS Chartered Institute for IT Professionals.
She has worked independently in media for over 30 years in Canada and the UK. She lives in Wales where she produced the first major Black History Month event in Powys. She has worked in many areas of the creative industries as an event organizer, artist manager, booking/touring admin consultant, and social media coach. She has been a club/concert DJ and community radio music/spoken word programmer, Indie PR person and Station Manager, in particular at the legendary station ckln-fm where she was an active member of the Black programmers caucus, helping produce transformational programs. She has in the past supported promotions featuring artists like dub poet Lillian Allen, Gil Scott-Heron, Third World, Burning Spear, Michael St. George, and many others. She helped promote Canadian digital media pioneer Marlon Stephen. She was an inaugural and active member of the Toronto Blues Society for many years, and was part of a group called CAN:BAIA which was instrumental in helping develop a national network of Black artists in Canada.
She sometimes writes poetry (a partially completed book is floating somewhere in the Google cloud or bits can be found on Instagram), is often immersed in some far away place tinkering with digital tools, and she may be heard on various karaoke sites singing dubious heavy metal or blues cover songs.
Fez Miah
Digital Content Producer
Mohamad Fez Miah is a multimedia producer and consultant. He is passionate about all things lens based, that help nurture the global family as well as connect and increase visual line of sight of people’s empathy. As the head of communications for award winning youth agency Urban Circle and as associate for Turner nominated Gentle Radical, Fez has created over 400 video and media productions amassing well over 100 million views and visitors. These projects involve representation, story telling and insight into the unheard and quiet communities that underpin a globally connected village. As the youngest brother of 4 sisters and 3 brothers and uncle to a total of 12 nieces and nephews, working with families, communities and groups of multiple and varying backgrounds and sizes have proved to be the most rewarding uses of his experience and knowledge for him.
You can add Fez on www.twtter.com/Creativefez
Debbie Golt FRSA
Arts Consultant, DJ, Writer
Debbie Golt FRSA of Outerglobe is a dynamic arts consultant, broadcaster, DJ and writer of many years successful experience. She is a passionate advocate of women in all aspects of music-making and is Chair of Women in Music, whose successes include orchestra auditions being behind screens and several Festivals. Known in the Music Industry, she has been a panellist at Womex, In the City, Radio One Sound City, Umbrella (precursor of AIM) and at SOAS amongt others over the years. Previously an Artist Manager and Promoter, Debbie gave Oumou Sangare her first UK dates with her then partnership Half the Sky and did Angelique Kidjo’s first UK published interview.
As a respected radio presenter/producer/editor/trainer she currently has The Outerglobe – a weekly African Music and wider arts programme on Resonance FM, and Outerglobe Abroad on Threads Radio, interviewing major and upcoming artists alike and playing new and classic African/inspired music, having been on radio since 1992 when she was part of Brazen Radio, one of the first all women stations. Debbie was on Gaialive the world’s first internet station late 90s/early 2000s as well and has broadcasted on Radio Womex, Worldwide FM and Soho Radio amongst other stations over time. At one time she contributed a regular Taste Maker Chart to Music Week. Debbie DJs feisty African and Reggae focused sets and is a founder member of the increasingly popular Vinyl Sisters, beginning Djaying in 1977 with Rock Against Racism. She’s also part of Foreign Office Crew and was a guest Mixcloud Live Curator with Future Female Sounds during lockdown. Her Djaying has taken her all over including Shambala, Bestival, Womex, Öland Roots and Fusion Marrakech. Debbie is closely associated with the Mboka Festival, Gambia and writes very fine poetry, reading when invited.
Find Debbie on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram = @outerglobe
Mixcloud + www.mixcloud.com/outerglobe | outerglobe.co.uk
Clare Marshall - Cem C
Artist
After studying Art and Design and kinetic sculpture in the 1970s at NELP (now UEL). I took a different career path, working with people and diversity, in teaching, training, counselling and community development.
Life changing health issues forced my early retirement and so singing and art became a big part of my life again, along with open air swimming. I used a variety of mediums including pastel, pencil, oil, acrylic, charcoal, collage and watercolour. I was happiest sketching people in the moment, in a variety of settings and so my sketchbook and pencils went everywhere with me. I would happily sketch whilst waiting to board at airports, train stations, on buses, beaches, at festivals, live performances, music venues and rehearsals, sometimes giving the pictures away to the subjects, never to see them again. I loved the experience of such brief creative connections in a given moment in time, in this way. These creative connections inspired my painting.
During 2020/2021 lockdown, the restrictions on live music and singing, meant I felt the strong need to escape the oppression of long hours, confined indoors alone with only online communication. I yearned for fresh air and nature. So, I took daily short solitary walks in woodland close to my home, accompanied only by trees. I observed the trees like never before. They seemed to be observing me. I began to notice their bark exhibited natural pieces of art that told stories from within. I found these pictures fascinating and was excited by the element of surprise, imagination and personal interpretation I experienced. I photographed over 100 naturally formed bark pictures, over the lockdown period, and began to recognise the trees by the unexpected picture stories they offered me.
I called this series of photographs ‘Being watched’ and used this experience and the photographs as inspiration for more paintings.
Loving that thrill of the moment and the unexpected, I more recently took the opportunity to work alongside musicians, and singers, connecting directly with their sound, lyrics and subject matter and channelling and reflecting that connection into colour and form on canvas, improvising as one might with music.
I found painting in this way a freeing experience for my spirit and soul, providing the same level of anticipation and surprise that comes from a new travel adventure, a new relationship or a journey to a previously unknown destination. Thus, allowing both myself and viewers the room for increased imagination and personal interpretation.
Sharing this experience again through ‘Stranger Fruit’ means that another painting fusion adventure begins.
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