'It's just another way to be human': Model and transgender activist Munroe Bergdorf in studio
In this extended interview, Essex-born model and activist Munroe Bergdorf speaks about her childhood, passions and her new book 'Talk to me.'
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BBC News
2 hours ago
- BBC News
Essex artist Elsa James opens British slavery exhibition
A renowned Essex-based artist is looking to reflect on three centuries of Britain's involvement in the transatlantic slave trade through her new James recently launched It Should Not Be Forgotten at Firstsite museum in Colchester, with the intention of "exposing the atrocities of this history".The collection of work features colonial archive records alongside photography, soundscapes and a mixture of media."The work is melding all of those fragmented bits of history together using new media," James told the BBC. "It's a response to what this history has done to people in the African diaspora - that rupture and erasure." Within the exhibition, James presents a series of text screen prints that give a voice to two enslaved women that were featured in the journals of the British plantation enslaver Thomas said: "I tried to give the women a voice that wasn't abused, but a voice of their own."As humans, I've given them back their humanity and womanhood."Visitors can also explore a large-scale photographic installation that draws inspiration from American academic Christina Sharpe, larger-than-life-sized images created in collaboration with choreographer Seke Chimutengwende, and a collection of drawings, photomontages and said: "It urges audiences to reflect on three centuries of Britain's involvement in the trafficking of African people - recognising it as a crime against humanity that has led to racist ideologies that still impact Black people today." Follow Essex news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
BBC News
4 hours ago
- BBC News
Clubbing in Essex to be explored by new exhibition
Two former 1990s ravers are laying on a series of events exploring the rise and fall of the clubbing scene in Essex and across the Emma Edmondson and writer Tim Burrows, both 41, grew up on opposite sides of the Thames Estuary but enjoyed mirroring experiences of the nightclub pair are hosting an exhibition at the Westgate Shopping Centre in Basildon on Saturday as part of the 2025 Estuary Festival."The dance floor was the Tinder of the late 90s," said Emma. The duo told BBC Essex that "before acid house, before Ibiza, there was Essex".But in the last five years, about 400 clubs have closed in Britain – more than a third of the total number. Emma grew up in Herne Bay over the water in Kent, but is familiar with the once iconic Essex clubs of Raquel's in Basildon, Talk of the South in Southend-on-Sea and Goldmine on Canvey was brought in by government in the 1990s criminalising unlicensed raves and large gatherings, and some of the county's best known venues started to close. "Looking at the Southend strip and how all of those nightclubs have turned into bowling allies or are just laying empty... me and Tim wanted to interrogate what has actually happened to Southend, Basildon [and] south Essex's nightlife," Emma continued."There are very few places where we can commune with strangers unless we're commuting."She said their project aimed to "reaffirm the social importance of the dance floor." Emma and Tim's events will start with an exhibition at 17:00 BST on Saturday in Unit 10 at Westgate in Basildon, which will include a video installation housed in a deconstructed frame of a noughties Ford Fiesta a series of sculptural paintings, and a panel discussion hosted by day will conclude with a Raquel's reunion event at the Owl and Pussycat pub in the Tuesday, Tim will talk again at Unit 10 about some of the themes in his new book - a collection of essays called "Clubbing and commune-ing in Essex" - joined by fellow Guardian writer Dan Hancox. Tim, from Southend-on-Sea, said the Covid-19 pandemic had played its part in the decline of clubbing.A recent Night Time Industries Association study of more than 2,000 people aged between 18 and 30 found that nearly two thirds were going out less frequently than the year before.A separate YouGov survey of 18 to 24-year-olds showed Gen Z continued to be the most sober age group, with 39% of them not drinking alcohol at all."It's all of the usual things like rising rent, it's tuition fees being higher than they have been before - so students can't afford to go out as much," said Tim. Follow Essex news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
Cambrian News
18 hours ago
- Cambrian News
Bala's Palé Hall launches art programme with solo exhibition
Palé Hall ( will also be opening a pottery studio with classes later this year and has invested in a sculpture trail in the beautiful and extensive gardens which have been redesigned by noted New Zealand-born landscape designer Anthony Paul.
