In October 2020 we brought you Black History Month the only way we know how. By bringing together dance, spoken word, music and Bristol artists; showcasing incredible talent and looking at Carnival as a form of resistance. 

Carnival is a day in which Bristol, inspired by African-Caribbean arts, comes together to create a vision of what diversity can look and feel like. 

Throughout Bristol’s Black History Month we looked at the origins of Carnival, the stories and meanings behind the dance, costume, song and spoken word traditions of this celebration.

'Carnival - Ketch a Fyah' was an action-packed programme of events that shone a light on the underrepresented history of our local, national, and international Carnival.

 We discovered that Carnival began as a form of resistance to the dehumanizing impact of the slave trade, that many of the dance and spoken word forms were born out of oppression and that the spirit of resistance continues to this day.

Helping us to overstand Carnival were some of Bristol’s best-known artists, performers, and activists including Educationalist Aisha Thomas, Costume Artist Ruth Ramsay, Poet Muneera Pilgrim, Nature Activist Manu Maunganidze, Senegalese dance artist Batch Gueye and many more. It was big! 

In the year that COVID-19 and Black Lives Matter cast a spotlight on inequality, Carnival’s radical spirit never felt more relevant.