Recapping Our Stories Between the Myths and Memories
Stories connect us – through open conversations, a welcoming space, and joyful interactions, the weekender at David Livingstone Birthplace Museum showed exactly that
The weekend opened with a panel discussion with the day’s practitioners and facilitated by writer, editor, and cultural producer Tomiwa Folorunso, exploring the power of stories for Black communities.
While Etienne Kubwabo’s comic workshop brought wonder (and colouring pencils), readings from layla-roxanne hill, Inga Dale, and Tomiwa Folorunso grounded us, exploring both collective and individual identity within the African Scottish diaspora.
At once capitvating and moving, Three60 presented SONDER, a visual arts piece reflecting on community in modern-day society. Rounding off Saturday, Jambo! Radio presented DJ Baron, giving us the time – and music – to let loose.
Tomiwa Folorunso (left) and Adebusola Ramsay (right). Photo: Najma Abukar
Shifting focus slightly, Sunday opened with researcher and artist Adebusola Ramsay in conversation with Folorunso, questioning whether a decolonial museum can ever exist.
A performance from Congolese musicians The Gig Group brought further unity, the audience swaying and clicking and flowing with each beat.
Sharing their commissioned works in response to the museum, Natasha Thembiso Ruwona and Clementine Burnley offered new and divergent ways of approaching the space itself, prior to David Livingstone Birthplace Museum’s team leading a tour of its collections, challenging myths surrounding Livingstone’s legacy.
Ashanti Harris' An Exercise in Exorcism. Photo: Najma Abukar
Finally, Ashanti Harris and co-dancers performed a new iteration of An Exercise in Exorcism, exploring the museum’s colonial history. The end of the performance held the room as much as the actual performance did: there was this feeling of not quite knowing where its story ended and where ours began – truly showcasing all that storytelling can do.
This weekend of crucial reflection and joyful connection has truly brought us together. A huge thank you to Natasha Thembiso Ruwona for programming, the David Livingstone Birthplace Museum for hosting, and to Museums Gallery Scotland for kindly funding.