Works Archive - Jukebox Collective

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In Feb 2023 Artistic Director Liara Barussi and Strategic Director Lauren Patterson visited Nairobi on a scoping trip in partnership with SSAP Wales.

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In December 2022, our creative director, Liara Barussi, revisited Ghana through the WAI fund. Liara attended conferences and events, including AfroNation, a pan-African festival celebrating the art and cultural experience of black people across the globe. As well as the Black Star Line festival, an intercontinental collaboration committed to fostering connections between people of African descent globally.

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Founded by Vic Mensa and Chance the Rapper, the Black Star Line festival is a week-long series of events, including panel discussions, fine art exhibitions and nightlife events culminating in a large-scale concert at black star square in Accra.

The festival featured artists, intellectuals and influential individuals from around the world for an international celebration of global Blackness. A radical diasporic intersection of music thought and creativity at a moment when the African identity is evolving rapidly, with Ghana serving as a gateway to the continent.

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This trip was part of our Future Creatives initiative, connecting Black Welsh creatives with a Pan African network of change makers.

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HOMECOMING is a movement; igniting new cultural conversation and creative development across Africa. The festival empowers the continent’s young generation with the knowledge and resources they need to inspire and enable future innovation and growth.

Jukebox Collective’s Liara Barussi, and Gabin Kongolo attended the festival in April 2023; a 4-day cultural exchange that brings African creatives and creativity back to Africa, and gives them what they need to take their vision to the world.

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“I see the opportunity to galvanise the incredible creativity of this young generation and share it with the world,” says HOMECOMING founder GRACE LADOJA. “HOMECOMING exists to ignite a celebration of cultural heritage and creative exchange, through the lens of music, fashion, sport, art and education.”

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From explosive live performances by the world’s most exciting African and International stars, to a Streetwear Pop-Up where local and global designers release world-exclusive product collaborations, HOMECOMING presents the best of contemporary culture through the lens of Africa’s trend-setting creative generation.

“African fashion and music is happening now,” said Joey Lit, the founder of streetwear brand Free The Youth. “It’s about time that the Western world embraced young talents from Africa,”

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2023 saw the return of another programme packed with art tours, panels, pop-ups, performances and even friendly celebrity football matches, Homecoming 2023 brought together Lagos locals and the wider diaspora for an extended weekend of activities to inspire and cultivate these powerful creative exchanges. Tiwa Savage, NSG, Cruel Santino and dozens more joined the festival’s legacy of exciting line-ups that have always championed emerging and established talent from its inaugural show headlined by Skepta and Wizkid to early co-signs of Pa Salieu, Rema and Central Cee in previous years.

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The trip was delivered as a part of our Future Creatives project. The project began in 2021 through a community investigation into the experiences of black and minority creatives’ in Wales, and has since grown into a highly collaborative and supportive network. The project highlighted a need for more inclusion of creatives in decision-making, community-led initiatives, and tangible long-term support for artists. In response, we’re curating events, and opportunities for this network in 2023 and beyond – forging unforgettable moments for our culture.

Photography Danielle Mbonu / Photography Adedamola Odetara / Photography by Gabin Kongolo

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Representing Wales at the Rugby World Cup 2023, Jukebox Collective were commissioned by Wales Arts International to develop a bespoke street culture performance.

The performance took place during the quarter finals of the Rugby World Cup in
Marseille. Performing on the streets of the Old Port at the Marseilles Official Rugby Village
on the 14th of October, as part of the Wales in France Culture Programme.

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Andrew Ogun, Changemaker at Arts Council of Wales added:

“It’s very exciting that Jukebox is offering opportunities for young people from Cardiff to
work and experience France. Breaking connects with people across the world as both an
art and now an Olympic sport and it’s great to connect young Welsh talent with the
opportunities ahead whilst also sharing the history of two port cities whose cultures have
been shaped by migration. I’m excited to see what relationships come out of this visit and
how relevant breaking and hip hop in Wales is internationally.”

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For the launch of Spotlight on Culture UK/France 2024 ‘Together We Imagine’ Jukebox Collective was commissioned to represent Wales with a Breaking performance directed by Liara Barussi.

Led by British Council France, the event was a celebration of artistic co-creation and cultural partnerships. With France in the international spotlight as host of the upcoming Paris 2024 Olympic & Paralympic Games, and Cultural Olympiad.

The performance featured dancers Kai Easter and Youness El-Mouffaq.

@bboycri6

@bboy_.kai

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Jukebox Collective curated a series of performances and short films highlighting Welsh creatives for Gŵyl 2021.

Jukebox Collective worked with Jaffrin a Welsh, Bangladeshi, Muslim poet and multi-disciplinary artist living in Cardiff. Her two poems SKN & FAITH have been brought to life through poetic visuals filmed in the National Museum Wales. Directed by Liara Barussi and styled by local Welsh-Somali stylist Asma Elmi.

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SKN draws similarities from the British royal family, questioning the parallels between them and the ideologies that families from racially minoritised backgrounds uphold in order to retain a good reputation within their community. The short questions colonial narratives and how western standards of beauty have been ingrained into South Asian communities.

“Growing up, skin colour was a regular topic of conversation in my family and I was often encouraged to stay out of the sun because my skin would get darker, implying that it would make me less desirable.”

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The poem draws from Jaffrin’s personal experiences, including a trip to India where she was faced with the unnerving reality of the country’s devotion for Queen Victoria. This narrative became even more obvious when a news article broke about Meghan Markle breaking royal protocol by crossing over her legs rather than sitting with a slant. Something which was similarly frowned upon in her own family, and inspired part of this poem, “is that what happened when we adopted their ideology”, she asks.

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Jaffrin says, “I have felt alone in my skin and my soul so many times and I know that is a very relatable thing – I just want people to feel comfort in relating through my work and to understand they are not alone.

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FAITH draws heavily on Jaffrin’s own experiences, exploring religion, rituals and the battles between ‘deen’ and ‘dunya’ (religion and real life).

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Gŵyl 2021 was a collaboration between Festival of Voice, FOCUS Wales, Other Voices Cardigan and Aberystwyth Comedy Festival. Together they assembled some of today’s most urgent and exciting voices, from Wales and beyond. The result was a digital experience like no other: a heady mix of cutting-edge comedy, thought-provoking talks, energetic showcases and jaw-dropping headline sets.

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Watch the full films on our Youtube:

SKN

&

FAITH

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Reggae & Riddim Festival is an incredible celebration of Jamaican culture, heritage and music held in Newport, Wales. Hosted by @urbancircle alongside collaborators including the Rastafari Indigenous Village and the IRITS Alliance Project JA.

Jukebox Collective agency produced the opening performance with a line up of professional dancers as well as youth from Jukebox Academy and G Expressions.

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~ Performance produced by @jukeboxcollectiveagency

~ Choreographed and directed by @reuelelijah

~ Featuring a line up of proffesional dancers @gx_wales @itstalieh @bulletproof876_chukkky @notnicegram @kush_taylorx

Visuals by Naomi Ferne

+ our community dancers joined us on stage for their first festival performance –
Jukebox Academy and @gx_wales ✨

The performance took the audience on a journey through Jamaican dancehall @dingdongravers 🔥

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Agency talent Renae Brito features as the lead in the latest music video “The first day” from the Villagers, filmed in 2020 between lockdowns. A paean to human connection, directed by Daniel Bereton.

Youtube Video

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“The First Day” is the first release from the Irish indie-folk band since their 2019 EP The Sunday Walker. O’Brien says of the record, “I had an urge to write something that was as generous to the listener as it was to myself. Sometimes the most delirious states can produce the most ecstatic, euphoric and escapist dreams.”

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