Join us and special guests asking the question "How do you shake off the ‘emerging’ label?". We will be turning the space into a studio-esque with audiences sitting on judges chairs. Guest speakers are auditioning for YOU to turn around and agree, elaborate, challenge, provoke or even disagree with their statement.

Hosted by

Sebbie Mudhai: Sebbie is a young creative and entrepreneur from Coventry. Founder of start-up business and lifestyle blog YAP Collective, where she empowers young people through digital content and facilitating workshops. She is also a spoken word artist, currently representing the West Midlands as the BBC Local Poet 2018, as well as being a member of this year’s Southside Producers.

Guest Speakers

Chloe Deakin: Chloe Deakin is a young filmmaker and activist from the West Midlands. Chloe has directed a professional commercial with Moshka Beauty, spoken about Brexit at Covi's "Millenifest" and discussed the history of activism at Flatpack's "How Does Change Happen" panel; alongside the likes of Vanley Burke. Chloe is ambitious, positive and creative; and creates work that makes you question the world around you. This year Chloe has set up her visual arts company "HerculeanVisuals", has been selected as one of the first ever BAIT cohort participants, is being mentored by Roger Robinson and will showcase a brand new original visual at Festival Of Audacity in September.

Sade Brown: Sade Brown is the founder of Sour Lemons – a social enterprise that addresses diversity in leadership within the creative industries. Sade is a Creative Producer who specialises in nurturing emerging talent, co-designing projects and training programmes, curating events & cross art festivals and partnership development. Sade started her career as an apprentice at the Bush Theatre and has since then worked for The Lyric Hammersmith, Ogilvy & Mather and the Barbican Centre. She is currently the social entrepreneur in residence at UnLtd where she is co-leading a project around the power of lived experience in the social sector. Sade is an advocate for using your life experiences to create change and has spoken at a wide range of settings including The House of Commons, City Hall and the Southbank Centre. In 2015 Sade received an award from Prince William for ‘Turning Her Life Around’. Sade currently serves as a trustee for the Lyric Hammersmith Theatre.

Ben Norris: Ben Norris is a poet, playwright and actor. He is two-time national poetry slam champion - 2017 BBC Poetry Slam and 2013 UK All-Stars Poetry Slam - and has appeared everywhere from Latitude Festival to the Proms at the Royal Albert Hall. His debut solo show, 'The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Family', won the 2015 IdeasTap Underbelly Award at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival before touring the UK and Australia, and his first short film, commissioned by Channel 4, was nominated for a Royal Television Society Award. He has also written commissions for BBC Radio 4, Southbank Centre, IdeasTap, and Ditch the Label, among others, and was recently writer-in-residence at Theatr Clwyd. He is currently developing a new show for the Roundhouse. He studied at the University of Birmingham before training at the Royal Welsh College of Music of Drama. He is originally from Nottingham.

Shirley May: Shirley May is the director of Young Identity writing collective, in partnership with the Contact Theatre. She has worked for 18 years to promote a culture around performance poetry to make it “cool” and happening. Her work includes mentoring and supporting new writers in schools and community groups. She joined Commonword in 1996 and was the only woman writer in Cultureword.

Information

BLAB stands for BackLash Against the Bland. It brings together aspiring artists and activists with people on the cutting edge of relevant fields and goes beyond the tired panel discussion format to inspire debate and foster deeper connections. It asks questions which don’t have easy answers, but impact directly on an artist’s life and work.

The way BLAB works

We will release the question posed & time of event with no venue or guests, in the run up we will announce guests. With 48 hours before the event, everyone signed up to the eventbrite will receive a private email on location.

We promise

• To shake the event up (from content to format)

• To never ever just give you a panel discussion. Think hanging guest speakers to mockery TV shows.

• The venue will always be as close to city centre as possible.

• The venue will always link to the question.

• You will have a chance to say your piece

We can not promise answers to your questions, just a different perspective.

This event is brought to you by Free Radical, as part of the Beatfreeks Collective.