By Sam Wise. Photo by Charlie Hislop.
On Saturday 28th September, a festival of black business, music and arts will be held between 11 am and 7pm in Guildhall Square. This is the second year for BBAM (Black Businesses, Art and Music) in Southampton. Last year, there were 5000 visitors, 63 stalls, 46 live acts, 15 artists – across 4 venues (O2 Guildhall, Guildhall Square, MAST Mayflower Studios and John Hansard Gallery), and this year promises to be bigger still.
I caught up with Dr Abdoulie Sanneh, amongst whose various roles is Chair of The United Voice of African Association (TUVAA), to discuss the genesis of the festival. As a port city, Southampton has long been very multicultural, and does quite a good job of celebrating the cultures which come together here. We have a Thai festival celebrating the culture of South East Asia, the Melah festival celebrating culture from the Indian subcontinent, and an annual Chinese Lantern Festival at Chinese New year. Until recently, though, there has been no similar celebration of black culture.
Dr Sanneh told me that while working with black owned businesses and cultural associations, he heard again and again that there was little sense of cohesion amongst the African and Caribbean community in Southampton. Discourse in the right wing press might lead you to think of the black community as a homogenous whole, but Southampton has diaspora communities of many different African and Caribbean countries, as well as plenty of second or more generation children of immigrants who identify more with this country than with that of their parents. Without a binding sense of identity, many people feel disconnected from their lineage and culture, and yearn for more of a sense of belonging. The BBAM, then, was Dr Sanneh’s response to this desire, an opportunity to bring together arts, music, business, food, all the major aspects of culture in one place.
At BBAM 2024, you can try food from a wealth of different cultures, find clothing you would never see on the high street, dance to rhythms that are as unexpected as they are irresistible, and most of all, make a connection to the rich black culture of Southampton. Dr Sanneh hopes that the festival will be a gathering and connecting point for all the different cultures of our city, and an opportunity to celebrate things too long neglected. More than anything, it sounds like a really joyful and fascinating time; be there if you possibly can.
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BBAM Festival – a rich and immersive experience into African and Caribbean cultures