New contributors announced for the 8th Annual Stuart Hall Public Conversation with Françoise Vergès

Ahead of the 8th Annual Stuart Hall Public Conversation on Saturday 17th May, we are pleased to share news of additional contributions to the programme and details of the schedule.

The event will feature the screening of a newly revisited work written and performed by poet and essayist Selina Nwulu, filmed in Manchester by videographer and photographer Alice Kanako. Selina Nwulu’s ‘The Audacity of Our Skin’ was originally commissioned by Counterpoints Arts as part of the Who We Are festival at the Tate Modern in 2018. This newly revisited version is commissioned by the Stuart Hall Foundation in 2025, supported by Comic Relief. Its presentation at the 8th Annual Stuart Hall Public Conversation is its premiere.

Arts and culture organisation Skin Deep will host a pop-up library, continuing their efforts to support creative work in service of racial justice. This free library of liberatory texts offers attendees the opportunity to relax and flip through Skin Deep’s back prints, readings from collaborators, and sources of inspiration from their creative journey via their latest print issue, Anthology.

(Left to right) Alice Kanako, Selina Nwulu, Skin Deep

Doors will open to in-person attendees at 2.30pm. The event will commence at 3pm with an introduction from SHF Director Orsod Malik, followed by Françoise Vergès’ keynote speech, ‘There Will Be No Future Without Seizing the Present’. After the interval, Françoise Vergès and Mohammed Elnaiem will participate in a discussion and audience Q&A. The event will close with the premiere of ‘The Audacity of Our Skin’.

From 6pm, attendees are invited to remain at Conway Hall and join us for an informal reception with complimentary plant-based food and soft drinks catered by Goodness Gracious Feast. Bowls of hearty dal, rice, samosa and salad, served with chutney and chilli sauce, will be available.

Newham Bookshop will hold a stall with titles related to the programme available for purchase throughout the event, and refreshments will be available for purchase at the bar.

The 8th Annual Stuart Hall Public Conversation with Françoise Vergès takes place from 3pm – 7.30pm on Saturday 17th May at Conway Hall, London and online, as part of the Stuart Hall Foundation’s In Search of Common Ground programme. Register for the in-person waiting list or book tickets for the live online broadcast here.

Supported by Comic Relief, the Hollick Family Foundation and the Paul Hamlyn Foundation, in collaboration with Conway Hall, Words of Colour and Pluto Press.

About Selina Nwulu

Selina Nwulu is a poet and essayist of Nigerian heritage. Her work has been widely featured in a variety of journals, short films and anthologies. Her full-length collection, A Little Resurrection, is a Poetry Book Society recommendation and was published with Bloomsbury in 2022. It was an Irish Times book of the year and highly commended for the 2023 Forward Prizes. Her debut essay collection, Black Climates, is an exploration of Blackness and climate justice and will be published by Vintage in summer 2025.

About Alice Kanako

Alice Kanako is a freelance videographer, photographer, facilitator and DJ, active within Manchester’s creative scene. 

Beginning as a DJ in 2018 and working at community radio station Reform Radio, Alice Kanako has been immersed in Manchester’s grassroots music scene. Their love for all things archival and visual and inspiration from Manchester’s teeming talent meant it was a no-brainer for them to start documenting the scene.    

With experience in self-shooting/editing music videos, promo videos and short-form documentary style content, behind their work is a drive to showcase cultures and communities with their signature style that combines warmth with hints of sharpness. They have collaborated with grassroot music promoters, creatives and artists, plus charities upskilling young people into employment and uplifting community activists.

About Skin Deep

Skin Deep is a London-based, globally-focused arts and culture organisation producing and supporting creative work in service of racial justice. Since 2014, they have produced ten print magazines, published countless online stories, and gathered thousands of people together for live performances, discussions, workshops, dances, meals, protests, and screenings.