Showcasing Black Photographic Archives From BlkInTheDay
At the time of the generation of Windrush in the 50’s and thereafter, when survival was the key to progressing; the lives of those living in the U.K were not documented as such on a frequent basis. Fast forward to this point in time when technology is easily accessible documentation has become a prominent fixture in our daily lives thanks to social media. At a time when positive representation of Black people and black culture is lacking— it is important to present ourselves in the light we would like to be seen in.
In light of this, 24 year old Tania Nwachukwu a poet, writer and actor collaborated with mutual creative Jojo Sonubi to build a platform that exhibits black people and culture in a nostalgic light. They created a sort of timeline showcasing Black Britishness during the 50’s, before and after.
The pair presented the idea on Twitter and got a vast response. The notion that there will be a forum whereby you can submit pictures and curate a unique timeline told by the people themselves was welcomed and needed. However when it came to contributing, there was a sense of hesitation. “Submission online were slow and so the idea for the scanning social came about; People understood the importance of what we are doing.” says Tania.
Jojo and Tania met about a year ago and the conversation seemed to be geared towards common interests and the idea for BlkInTheDay was formed; “the aim is to bring people together to share their stories. This is first hand accounts being told by the people who were present”
According to Jojo this project is great “because we get to see so many angels of Black life in the U.K. We see so many things you wouldn’t see in a museum because the archives are from artists observing, this is from the source, it’s organic, social based”
BlkInTheDay is a continuous archival project that will be traveling in and around the U.K. gathering information and telling these stories; “this is something I do with my family. I’ve always been very interested in pictures of my family from back in the day.”
On Friday night October 28th BlkInTheDay will hold held their third scanning social at V&A Museums as part of Gal-Dem #FridayLate takeover. There will be soulfood, DJ’s Female MC’s and exhibitions celebrating women.
I definitely recommend (if you’re comfortable with your pictures out there) that you share and partake in this or just go and see what it’s all about. The vibe is definitely authentic and organic.
See here for more details. Also check out some of the pictures people have submitted. It may make you want to participate. A lot of these pictures tell beautiful stories and you get to share them with others at the scanning social.
