This year marks the launch of Govanhill Baths’ second Black History Month celebration. Join us from the 24th – the 28th of October for a week-long programme of events that we are running as part of Black History Month.
This year’s programme is a celebration of the lives and accomplishments of BME communities in Glasgow. As well as a highlight of the structural inequalities which operate on many different levels – personal, social and institutional and the effect this has on the lives of BME communities.
Talk: Angela Davis Women, Race and Class
When: Tuesday 24 October, 6.30pm
Where: The Deep End, 21 Nithsdale St, Glasgow G41 2PZ
“You have to act as if it were possible to radically transform the world. And you have to do it all the time.” – Angela Davis
In this event, Ruby Hirsch, activist and member of Stand Up to Racism Glasgow, joins us for a talk about African American political thinker and activist who was once on the FBI’s most wanted list, Angela Davis.
Davis, has been a leading anti-racist as well as a leading anti-capitalist during a time in the USA when any semblance of radical thought could get you fired from your job, thrown in prison or worse.
Described as the godmother of intersectionality, Davis’ writing, particularly her book Women, Race and Class has had an enormous impact on debates in antiracist theory. But it is her active involvement in the struggle for civil rights and against all oppression and exploitation that shapes and informs Davis’ thinking – her amazing story and her important ideas are invaluable for anyone challenging racism and capitalism today.
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Book Talk: Making the Black Jacobins
When: Wednesday 25 October, 6.30pm
Where: The Deep End, 21 Nithsdale St, Glasgow G41 2PZ
Rachel Douglas, who works in Caribbean literature, history, film, visual art, and archives at the University of Glasgow joins us to discuss her book ‘Making The Black Jacobins’.
C. L. R. James’s, the Black Jacobins remains one of the great works of the twentieth century and the cornerstone of Haitian revolutionary studies.
Douglas’ book traces the transformation and afterlives of the Black Jacobins landmark work across the decades from the 1930s on through close examination of his manuscripts, notes, interviews, and other texts—showing how James continuously rewrote and revised his history of the Haitian Revolution as his politics and engagement with Marxism evolved. This is a talk not to be missed by anyone interested in Caribbean and world history, particularly those interested in James’s ‘bottom-up history’.
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No Permission Needed: A Celebration of Black Culture
When: Thursday 26th October, 6.30pm
Where: The Deep End, 21 Nithsdale St, G41 2PZ
Join us for an evening celebrating Black culture, exploring creative expression and asking what it looks like and means to be Black in Scotland today. A jam-packed evening of performances, including a piece from actor Hannah Jacobs, poetry from Hazel Peters, music from Shamie Zvandasara , and a screening of Simone Seales short film ‘Nothing Between (Black Women’s Joy and Liberation)’ Everyone welcome!
In collaboration with No Permission Needed Zine and contributors, this event seeks to bring people together to show that there is an amazing creative and anti-racist movement which is beautiful, proud and challenging the narrative.
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Film Screening and Q&A: Expensive Sh*t
When: Friday 27 October, 6.30pm
Where: The Deep End, 21 Nithsdale St, Glasgow G41 2PZ
We are delighted that Adura Onashile, actor, playwright, and director, will join us to screen her short film Expensive Sh*t. Onashile wrote and directed the 2013 play Expensive Sh*t and adapted it into a film in 2020.
Winner of the Best Short Film at the 2021 BAFTA Scotland Awards, the audience and the critics award at the Glasgow International Film Festival, as well as The Scottish Audience Award and The Jury Award at the 2021 Glasgow Short Film Festival.
In a Glasgow nightclub, Tolu, a Nigerian toilet attendant desperate for survival, manipulates the behaviour of unsuspecting women for the titillation of men watching behind the mirrors. But tonight, a line has been crossed, and as the night spins out of control, Tolu has to find the strength to change everything. Expensive Sh*t is a fictional story inspired by real events at The Shimmy Club in Glasgow, which was forced to remove one-way mirrors from its women’s toilets.
The screening will be followed by a short Q&A discussing some of the themes of sexual exploitation and precarious work which are addressed in the film. Expensive Sh*t is produced by barry crerar, developed through the Scottish Film Talent Network programme and co-funded by BBC Films.
Please be aware that this film contains themes of sexual exploitation.
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Film Screening: Maud.
When: Saturday 28 October, 6pm
Where: The Deep End, 21 Nithsdale St, Glasgow G41 2PZ
We are thrilled to invite you to a screening of Maud. This short film is a call to celebrate the life and work of the Scottish-Ghanaian artist Maud Sulter (1960 – 2008) who grew up in the Gorbals, Glasgow.
Through conversations with Black artists making art in Scotland we consider Maud’s memory and reflect on her contributions to excavating history, challenging world politics, and community-building.
In addition to this screening, and for this Black History Month programme, the film’s director Natasha Ruwona and its executive producer Tomiwa Folorunso, have written a letter, in-conversation with each other, which will be available at the screening paying homage to this trailblazing Scottish-Ghanaian artist, and her significance on multiple fronts – as a Black Scottish, Black British, African, Ghanaian, queer, working class and female artist – whose extremely diverse output of artistry; writing, image-making, curating, filmmaking, and sound has until recently largely gone uncelebrated.
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Workshop: A Guided Response to A Quiet Fire
When: Saturday 28th October, 11:30am
Where: Tramway, 25 Albert Dr, Glasgow G41 2PE
This workshop is led by Beulah Ezeugo and is a response to Billie Zangewa’s “A Quiet Fire”. This workshop is exclusively for BPOC who take work by black queer and feminist thinkers into consideration in their daily lives.
Billie Zangewa is a Malawian artist who creates intricate, hand-stitched silk collages exploring objectification, self-fashioning, racial stereotyping and constructions of identity.
We will explore the artwork through shared observation and engaging in a deliberate, collective reflection within the gallery’s space. The workshop will also involve working together to create a collaborative tapestry.
Book a ticket here
