Black Brighton Market October – Black History Month and 1 Year Anniversary Celebrations.

October’s market held a lot of promise, not only is it Black History Month, but it’s also the anniversary for BBM, celebrating our first year running. It was one month (as well as December) that was most sought after by vendors, and I had booked in a well-known and rising, extremely talented headliner; Akin Soul. So I was very confident that no stall would be empty and the footfall should at least be steady.

During the month of September, Yemi (BBM Social Media Manager), Darren (Artintextilez) and I, feverishly covered a lot of East Sussex and a little of London in posters and flyers. The online campaign to highlight our artists was waiting to be posted each day, and we had coverage coming at us left right and centre.

The day had come and everyone was buzzing with excitement as to what the day would bring. From the moment we opened our doors we had people of all ages, genders, and races venture in. Artists had intricate and beautiful displays that poured over their tables and the weather outside was prime! As we got to the entertainment section of the day we opened our open mic with a full bill, starting with Comedian and podcaster Rodney Beckford to warm up the main stage, with an audience bursting at the seems of the Theatre room. A fair few giggles in, we then went on to performances from our very own vendors, with Darren (Artintextilez) reading a picture-painting story from his youth, Sophia (Nalo Solo) reading her new deep and resonating poetry, and Fabianne (Empress Justice Tarot) vulnerably taking the mic for a beautiful a capella renditions of The Rose by Bette Midler and The Long and Winding road by The Beatles.

As the feeling of safety began to spread amongst viewers they relaxed into wanting to share their creativity. With more people coming through the door and more wanting to go on stage, and time running slightly over for the headline performance, I had to make some quick decisions on how I was going to make sure everyone got their turn. So after the original Open Mic bill finished, I introduced Akin Soul.

I first heard and saw Akin Soul perform at BBM’s soft launch last year at the BARCO bash. He had not only purchased some earrings from my stall but he also deposited a memory I would later rely on when looking for my October headline, he had a voice that rippled through you and made the hairs stand up on the back of your neck, I knew I had to have him. I was thrilled when I got a quick reply from his manager to say he’d be delighted to perform at BBM.

He rocked up on the day dressed to impress as per with his keyboard at hand. With each song having a personal story, Akin took us on a trip where we could bathe in his melodies whilst getting an intimate understanding of the mind behind the music. He had us singing along whilst he bounced up and down on his keyboard and clicking our fingers as he covered all corners of the stage.

reddening hands clapped furiously as Akin Soul closed his set, but the show must go on, there were still a few people who wanted the open mic to carry on, and the customer is always right! So before the raffle, we extended the bill by two more acts. Our first was a young person who read their poetry reflecting on lived experiences and loving thanks to myself for hosting such a safe space. Lastly, was a very young boy, between maybe 4-6 years old, who wanted his first try at singing on stage. Now, how his mother burst into tears every time he squeezed his eyes and lifted his head to get out the high notes, was felt in the hearts of everyone who watched, what a pure and touching moment. The day ended on the highest of highs, I did my fav part of the day which was the raffle, and no room was empty until we closed our doors at 6pm.

MEDIA TRIFECTA

BBM are proud to say we hit all corners of coverage this month; TV, print and radio. In the run-up to Black History Month, BBM had received a lot of emails and DMs requesting different types of collaboration with other markets, establishments, venues… it was a struggle to complete the October Artist Highlight campaign, alongside trying to reply to all these messages that had done a quick google search with the words ‘Black’ and ‘Brighton’, and found me in an attempt to have an angle for October. Now don’t get me wrong, I reply to all these messages, because the more coverage I can get for the project and each individual the artist, the better, but it doesn’t go unnoticed that most of these emails begin or end with “we understand that you are being covered purely for the fact its BHM and we would like to work with you further outside of this time as your work is important all year round…” so on and so fourth.

Please understand, they were all wonderful opportunities and I didn’t think twice about grabbing them with both hands, but It’s important to remember and be real about why these opportunities are offered and when they are not.

I was first contacted by Brighton & Hove magazine, I give them their due, they didn’t actually contact me for BHM, they contacted simply for coverage and offered me a page in their September issue. It was me – Jade – that suggested we post it in the October edition, as it eliminated working on finding print coverage for that month elsewhere. So we also have to note how much importance the black community also put on this month for their business – viscous cycle.

With journalism being one of many feathers to my bow, I found it enjoyably nostalgic to be writing with an angle-style structure and word count again.

As we climbed further into the year and closer to October, I received a message through the BBM GoFundMe by ITV report Charlotte Wilkins, requesting information about the market and how I would feel about it being covered for a BHM coverage. I have to admit I was rather taken aback, it was still a baby project and it was getting so much traction! It was overwhelming but it was exciting all together. At first it seemed unlikely it would be covered as I was told reporters struggle to get to stories on the weekend with a cameraman, and asked if I have any markets on a weekday. Now I really wanted this cover, but changing the day and the work it would take, was not something I was willing to do.

As September started closing in, I got a call from the ITV team saying they could get the story on the weekend and a reporter/cameraperson in one would be coming to cover the story. Once this was set in stone and vendors notified for preparation, I got a DM from local radio station Radio Reverb, this was I probably the most nervous about, I had just a general idea of what he was going to ask, and knew the show was an hour long but no idea how much of that would be me talking, live… Once I had got to the station, which is located in The Open Market, I found a familiar face in audio active spokesmen and long time Brighton acquaintance Tom Hines, after watching him do his interview and the natural reactions afterwards – hoping he remembered everything and was clear – I felt a little more at ease.

I couldn’t have asked for a more successful market to celebrate our 1 year anniversary, listen and read all pieces that covered October here:

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Related Reading…

Black Brighton Origin Story.

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Black Brighton Market Website.