Session 
7

 

CFCP
NEW VOICES
OF IRELAND
SERIES 8

Against The Odds 2:
Open Studios

Samantha Brown

Samantha draft 1 rotated Migrant Artists & Cultural Diversity

Listening to Gboyega’s music inspired me to walk to the local river leading me to thoughts of the many people that had travelled by sea as migrants, travellers or explorers.

Gboyega Akerele

Gboyega images MG 3148 002 scaled Migrant Artists & Cultural Diversity

I titled this soundtrack ASHE (AMEN) – good wishes for our journey in life. The world needs a lot of courage in this extraordinary times and I hope my tune will inject some sunshine.

Intro

This project is in collaboration with Afrobeat musician Gboyega Akerele during our discussions. I wanted to explore the connection of our shared heritage. Many years previously I did a DNA to discover some family roots leading me to Nigeria and The Yoruba tribe.

Middle Passage is in reference to the stage of the triangular trade in which millions of Africans were forcibly transported to the New World as part of the Atlantic slave trade

Gboyega Akerele was born in Nigeria and therefore has closer family ties to the country. Listening to his music inspired me to walk to the local river leading me to thoughts of the many people that had travelled by sea in many different forms. Whether as migrants, travellers or explorers.

The Work

The Podcast

The Artists

Samantha Brown

Samantha Brown is a photographer and visual artist born in London in 1968. Currently residing in Ireland. She studied Fine Art Painting in Camberwell University of Arts, London Moving from London to Ireland created an investigation in the landscape combining photography and computer aided design to create paintings as a translation of these mediums. Returning to education to study Multi Disciplinary Design at the University of Ulster, 2008. She explored documentary photography, light installations, video and drawing.

Focusing on documentary photography and the significance of being located between Dublin and Belfast in relation to travel between these cities. She also researched employment and the effects on the working community. These explorations lead to working in different media such as collage, cyanotype, analogue and digital photography.

Botany of Silence, a collage project combining her documentary images of Clarks shoe factory being demolished her research into the Clarks family, archival imagery and social media. This project was exhibited at Photo50 in the London Art Fair in 2020.

Gboyega Akerele

 

Launched originally as Colours Afrobeat Foundation – ‘Boye PapaGee (Gboyega Akerele) is a Belgian/Nigerian (Yoruba) born drummer/percussionist, saxophonist, singer/songwriter, musical director/producer, cultural envoy and custodian, overseer and keeper of authentic, genuine Afrobeat in Ireland; he is the founder and leader of Colours Afrobeat a 12-piece Band, Ireland’s first and foremost multicultural Afrobeat band that premiered before a sold-out audience at the Drogheda Arts Centre. With own tunes; the repertoire of songs are all original; culturally pro-active, consciously progressive in nature and the roots of the music is African blended with all the elements of West African music such as Juju music, Fuji/Apala music, and high-life music intermingled with funk and jazz with emphasis on chanted vocals in the form of call-and-response, intricate crisscrossing rhythm on the drums usually in the form of polyrhythmic percussion and all families of percussions such as Congas, Claves, Shekere, Akuba: a set of 2-3 piece small stick-hit Yoruba Congas that plays accompaniment/solos and ostinatos.

‘Boye PapaGee was dubbed in Paris after hearing his soft and mellow voice as the ‘Satchmo of Afrobeat’ during a song recording session in collaboration with Kologbo Oghene ex Fela-Kuti’s African 70 Guitarist (titled ‘Gbogbo-Aye’ – meaning the whole world); recorded and produced by Paris DJ record label in Paris in 2017. ‘Boye PapaGee & Colours Afrobeat has also collaborated with the legendary drummer Tony Allen (Ex Fela-Kuti’s Africa 70 drummer/music director and co-creator of the genre Afrobeat) twice in Dublin, in 2013 at the Ep’s launch at The Sugar Club and the premiere of Feile Afro Culture Summit pioneered by ‘Boye PapaGee in 2016 at the Button Factory, Temple-Bar Dublin respectively with huge success. Fela Kuti was once quoted as saying that, “without Tony Allen, there would be no Afrobeat.” ‘Boye PapaGee & Colours Afrobeat has shared the stage with the Grammy Award-winning American Hip-hop trio ‘Naughty by Nature’, the legendary Ghanaian guitarist, composer, arranger, bandleader and producer Ebo-Taylor to mention a few. ‘Boye PapaGee’s song ‘Prayer for World Peace’ was featured by Star Wax Record Label based in Paris in their limited edition of 33 Rpm Vinyl Afro Disco Dub Volume 4. The high octane in ‘Boye PapaGee’s groove creates such energy in the music that is guaranteed to get you dancing from the start to finish.

‘Boye PapaGee & Colours Afrobeat long-awaited full album was out as download only on Feile Afro Culture Ireland label from the 3rd July 2018 titled AK47 – the idea is to use the craft of music to resist wars, conflicts, terrorisms, bombs, rocket-missiles and bullets resulting in all the senseless killings going on in Nigeria, Africa, U.S.A, in Syria and Iraq, Europe and all around the world. The album also features tracks like Mister President, its high time we start asking questions from the politicians on how we are being governed, ‘Prayer For World Peace’ is also filling European airwaves from the shores of Ireland to France, Belgium, Spain, Brazil, Argentina and The Netherlands and other high octane tracks such as ’Ak47’ and ‘It is good to be Good’ – guaranteed to get you dancing. This album is the finest yet from ‘Boye PapaGee & Colours Afrobeat.

Open Call

 

Call for submissions for visual arts and multidisciplinary projects by or involving migrant and culturally diverse artists for the Centre for Creative Practices’ 2025 programme

Deadline – 25/02/2024

Intro

Open Call | Centre for Creative Practices Programme 2025

The Centre for Creative Practices invites submissions from PROFESSIONAL migrant and culturally diverse artists and local artists working with culturally diverse artists for our 2025 visual arts and multidisciplinary programme. We especially welcome participatory, collaborative, multidisciplinary and experimental proposals by individual artists and collectives. All projects have to include an artist’s talk and a participatory workshop for audiences.

We are inviting project proposals for two strands of our programme:

  • New Voices of Ireland Series
  • Third Space

The
Programme

THE NEW VOICES OF IRELAND SERIES aims to offer broad audiences a unique chance to engage with high-quality work by selected migrant and culturally diverse artists of various disciplines.

THIRD SPACE – collaborative projects between migrant and culturally diverse artists

Artists’ fees, production and marketing costs will be covered, and curatorial and production support will be offered by CFCP for the selected project. Up to 10 projects will be selected.

How to
apply

Interested artists should submit ONE SINGLE PDF document containing the following information:

  • Project/Exhibition proposal – 500 words max
  • CV/History of artistic practice – max 1 A4 page
  • 6 images of recent work – with titles and medium, where appropriate with dimensions
  • Artistic workshop proposal
  • Project budget
  • Proposed timeline venue

Please submit your proposals via email to monika@cfcp.ie In the subject line please state: Programme proposal 2025, CFCP

Should you have any questions, do not hesitate to get in touch via email monika@cfcp.ie or just give us a call at 086-6084020.

The submission deadline is Sunday – 25/02/2024. Late applications will not be accepted.

CFCP

 

 

Centre for Creative Practices Ltd. (CFCP) is a not-for-profit, national development and resource organisation for migrant & culturally diverse artists in Ireland.

CFCP is committed to professionally supporting, effectively showcasing and developing the talent of migrant artists, offering tailored artistic and capacity-building programmes, mentoring, and resources, and helping artists to access the local arts scene and build sustainable careers.

Migrant-centred and migrant-led, CFCP is acknowledged as a pioneer and catalyst for promoting cultural diversity, intercultural collaboration and exchange.

Join In

BACKGROUND TO THE NEW VOICES OF IRELAND SERIES

The New Voices of Ireland Series is a flagship project of integrative, cultural practice between migrant and local artists as well as audiences curated and presented by the Centre for Creative Practices.

The New Voices of Ireland Series aims to:

  • Connect creative talent from new communities and various social groups from all over Ireland
  • Give migrant and culturally diverse artists an opportunity to share their work and talent with a wide local and international audience
  • Engage artists to express their views on social challenges and the role of culture in modern society through artistic practice
riding the giants Migrant Artists & Cultural Diversity

The New Voices of Ireland Series is kindly supported by the Arts Council of Ireland.

Queries: If you have any questions, please contact monika@cfcp.ie or call 086-6084020         

Alpha Eosin Red Ink on Vinyl Co polymer 2.2 x 2.2 cm 2015 M Geddis Migrant Artists & Cultural Diversity
Alpha Graphite Ink on Vinyl Co polymer 2.2 x 2.2 cm 2015 M Geddis Migrant Artists & Cultural Diversity
Bare Life 260cms x 260cms Migrant Artists & Cultural Diversity