A space where history and imagination intertwine

THIS October, the Civic invites you to join in a celebration of Black History Month, curated by Esosa Ighodaro, Associate Artist at the Civic.

Through art, performance, storytelling and discussion, they ask “Whose history? Who gets to tell the story? Who owns the story? Whose story?”.

A gallery exhibition running from October 1 to 31 explores historical Black connections to Ireland through myth, folklore, and storytelling. Step into a space where history and imagination intertwine, challenging dominant narratives and celebrating untold stories.

On October 23, Esosa will be performing a staged reading of ‘Down With Jazz’, experimenting with the form of face to highlight the racism in Ireland.

An evening of comedy, dance, and film can be anticipated on October 24 with ‘Black and Irish’, followed by a panel discussion and open forum exploring creativity, identity, and representation in Ireland today.

‘Reimagining the Story’ marks an evening of drama, song, and storytelling, followed by a panel and open discussion on the power of storytelling and the future of Black Irish narratives on October 25.

Finally, the month will be rounded out by the RAP (Rhythm & Poetry) party featuring spoken word artists, poets, and musicians, presented by the Arinola Theatre on October 26.

This week, The Echo sat down with Esosa to discuss the Black History Month events in the Civic; please check the Civic website for more details.

What made you want to become an artist?

It has never felt like a question of becoming an artist – I think it’s just being an artist. I always sang as a child, then I started writing poetry and songs, and I became a professional singer which led to acting and from acting I started to write scripts more specifically, and that has led me to directing.

So perhaps the question is more about the choice to try to make a living as an artist, and that is because I haven’t felt fully fulfilled when I have worked in other fields.

The desire to create and perform feels like a primal need.

What inspired this festival?

As an Associate Artist at the Civic Theatre, Donal and I had been talking about figuring out different ways we could engage and highlight more people from the different communities in the area.

We thought Black History Month would be a good time of the year to begin to do this.

I have lived in Ireland for over 35 years now – most of my life.

I am a Black woman, but Ireland has shaped a part of who I am.

It feels important to me to try to reconcile what this dual identity of being Black and Irish means.

Black History Month is a slightly tricky thing to celebrate in Ireland because the general story seems to be that there is no real history of Black people in Ireland.

But I don’t believe that is strictly true.

There have always been ties between Ireland and the UK, and of course, because of colonialism, people from the former UK colonies have moved (and been moved) around, so there have been

Black people moving through Ireland.

But there is very little in the way of a written and easily accessible history of Black people in Ireland for us to celebrate, so I am keen for us to start recognising this identity now – in essence we are creating history and attempting to leave a mark along the way.

What processes did you have to go through in putting all of this together?

Thankfully I have a wide network of other Black artist friends.

Last year, I called on my friends to participate. The network has grown, and so this year I’m thrilled to be meeting new artists and discovering their work.

Did you run into any challenges or struggles while organising this? if so, how did you overcome them?

Funding is always the biggest challenge.

We are grateful to have some funding from the Arts Council for this.

And the Civic Theatre has been incredibly supportive and encouraging.

It makes things so much easier and enjoyable when you know that you have people rooting for your success.

What has been your favourite part of organising this festival, and why?

Getting to meet new artists has been a highlight. There is so much talent out there – people just need to be given a platform to showcase their skills.

I feel the more we support each other, the better it is for all of us. We enrich our lives and society in general.

What is next for you; do you have any other projects in the pipeline?

As a freelance artist, I’m always juggling multiple projects.

I just finished co-directing a show for Dublin Fringe – Octopus Children, which went very well.

We hope we get to bring the show back.

At the moment I am working on The Baptiste Programme First Look readings – part of the Dublin Theatre Festival.

The programme is for new and emerging theatremakers and writers of colour to develop a new piece for theatre.

And after our Black History Month festival, I will be shooting a new short film. As well as balancing other writing projects.

I am also developing plans for more theatre directing work.

Who would you like to thank for helping you to organise this?

I’d like to thank the Arts Council, Donal Sheils and all the team at the Civic Theatre.

Wonderful actor Leah Minto has been helping me organise and strategise – she just held a fantastic feeder event for Culture Night, ‘Boy to Man’, a storytelling event held at a working Barbershop.

My sister, Abi Ighodaro, a visual artist, has been a great sounding board and advice-giver.

She is creating an installation for the event – it will be in the gallery space at Civic all month.

Grace Euh designed our logo and posters.

Tishé Fatunbi is not only hosting the RAP party event, but she is also managing our social media marketing.

There has been a very generous group of Black artists who engaged in discussions and planning, and together we came up with our theme – ‘WHOSE STORY’.