Introducing Our Croydon
Our Croydon, led by Talawa Theatre Company amplifies and weaves stories of historical, recent and current figures of African and Caribbean heritage who are either from or have lived in the borough. Talks, workshops, events and exhibitions taking place from 11 November - 14 December 2023 across the borough, bring these stories to life for all to enjoy.
Visit the dedicated Our Croydon project website, including photos, videos and documentation of all the public programmes and exhibitions.
Our Croydon explores experiences and ideas of community archiving and storymaking across generations, reflecting on how people make a place. Together, members of the community and commissioned artists have been defining what shared heritage and personal legacy means to them.
Exhibitions at Croydon Clocktower Atrium Galleries, Stanley Arts, Talawa Theatre and Turf Projects will feature a new photography and text installation by actor, poet and artist Jeremiah Brown, a new audio installation by composer and sound designer felix taylor and a film made in collaboration with elders from Croydon’s Caribbean community made by poetic-activist, drama therapist and performer, Nina Mdwaba.
Workshops, talks and events include a Talk and Theatre Workshop at Talawa Studios by Rachael Nanyonjo - Co-Creator and Director of Recognition and a listening and scoremaking workshop with Our Croydon commissioned artist felix taylor.
Our Croydon is a series of transdisciplinary exhibitions and events that incorporate archival practices, film/moving image, photography, sound, text and performance that celebrate the wonder and surprise embedded in the stories of the everyday of living and working in Croydon.
Meet The Team
Our Croydon is a project by Talawa Theatre Company, in partnership with Museum of Croydon and Stanley Arts, as part of London Borough of Culture.
Co-curators and Co-producers: Dr Cecilia Wee & Lehni Lamide Davies
Assistant Curator and Producer: Amina Jama
Community Engagement Assistant: Regina Agard-Braithwaite
London Borough of Culture is a Mayor of London initiative, with support from Arts Council England and National Lottery Heritage Fund. This is Croydon is delivered through a unique collaboration between the cultural organisations and people of the borough in partnership with Croydon Council.
Lehni Lamide Davies
As a Creative Producer, Lehni works in partnership with artists and cultural institutions that are committed to social change and having a positive impact on the world. Lehni finds great joy in supporting artists, creatives and arts organisations to bring their exciting ideas into reality. She has worked with Shona Hamilton, Brian Lobel, Up In Arms, The Salooni Project, Othello De Souza Hartley, Magic Me, Arts Admin, Rich Mix, Africa Utopia Festival, The WOW Festival, Southbank Centre, Praxis New Voices Festival, The British Council and The Children's Commissioner for England. Lehni is currently the Programme Director of the BA (Hons) in Theatre and Social Change at Rose Bruford College. Lehni is also a Trustee for arts charity Speech Bubbles - providing strategic and organisational support.
Dr Cecilia Wee
Dr Cecilia Wee fRSA (she/they) is an independent curator, artist, educator, consultant, coach, and equalities activist working with arts and culture, community, health and wellbeing, and trade unions. She is passionate about working with historically underserved communities to address issues of equity and precarity in the workplace and beyond, explore more equitable resource circulation, and to make strategies and infrastructures of learning, thriving and dreaming together. Cecilia has edited books, curated exhibitions, events, workshops and led research with organisations including Arts Council England, Akademie der Künste Berlin, Contemporary Visual Arts Network, NHS Grenfell Health and Wellbeing Service, Resonance FM, Shape Arts and Tate Modern. Cecilia wrote their PhD on the documentation of Live Art and is Associate Lecturer in Visual Communication at the Royal College of Art.
Amina Jama
Amina Jama is a writer, facilitator and curator. Member of Octavia WOC Poetry Collective and inaugural Frieze x Deutsche Bank 2021-23 Curatorial Fellow at Chisenhale Gallery. Jama's debut poetry pamphlet, 'A Warning to the House that Holds Me' published by Flipped Eye Press is 2020 is the recipient of an Eric Gregory Award. Their work focuses on decolonising archival practices, exploring heritage and displacement.
Samantha E Adams
Samantha Adams is a HCPC Registered Dramatherapist & Creative Arts Supervisor. Samantha's practice as a Consultant Dramatherapist is grounded in the position of artist and therapist. Samantha works regularly as an in-house production (rehearsal room based) Dramatherapist, most recently on NT’s Othello and Barbican’s/Bristol Old Vic’s, The Meaning of Zong by Giles Terera and at Shakespeare's Globe. Alongside this, Samantha leads on Health & Wellbeing at Clean Break Theatre Company to women in the community and teaches on the Dramatherapy MA at the University of Roehampton, where she also trained.
Nina Mdwaba
Nina (She/They) is a South African-born Spoken-word artist, writer, performer and HCPC registered Dramatherapist /Creative Arts psychotherapist based in London, UK. They completed their Master's programme in Drama and Movement Therapy at the Royal Central of Speech and Drama in 2021. Their therapeutic practice currently consists of working therapeutically adopting an intersectional and trauma-informed lens with a variety of clients, including Gender-based violence survivors, refugees, and asylum seekers, Looked- after children, children in SEMH settings, and artists, theatre-makers, and performers alike. In 2021 they founded Elenina - a culturally responsive trauma therapeutic and creative outreach company that prides itself on exploring mental health creatively with underrepresented communities.
Jeremiah Brown
Jeremiah Brown is a Black British-Jamaican writer and actor based in Croydon. He’s a Royal Court Writers Group, Soho Theatre’s Writers Lab, and Barbican Young Poet alum. His debut solo show Likkle Rum with Grandma had a sold out run at the Albany in 2019. Jeremiah’s commissions include Nationwide Building Society, St Paul’s Cathedral, UNESCO and The Poetry Society. His Sugar Shots newsletter comes out every Wednesday where he offers you a likkle suttin suttin every week to make you think and feel. Photo cred: feruza.co.uk
felix taylor
felix taylor is an artist and composer from South London working with sound and image. His work uses field recording, musical composition, computer programming, radio broadcasts, collage and film making. Previous projects include performances, collaborations, workshops, exhibited works and soundtracks for The ICA, Chisenhale gallery, BBC Sounds, Somerset House, South London Gallery, FACT Liverpool, Reduced Listening, Audible, The Black Cultural Archive, GOMA, Thames Festival, Uber Boat, Musicity, NTS Radio, The Arnolfini, The Jewish Museum, 1020 Radio and We the Curious. Previous awards include; Arts Council England - ‘DYCP' funding, Theatre in the Mill - Tech, Learn, Play grant, London Creative Network Mentorship programme 2021, Help Musicians Creative Development funding 2023 and the Henry Moore Foundation Artist Award, 2023.