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X-WR-CALDESC:Events for Serendipity Institute for Black Arts and Heritage
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DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20260211
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20261219
DTSTAMP:20260714T142504Z
CREATED:20260128T091338Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260714T142504Z
UID:42794-1770768000-1797638399@www.serendipity-uk.com
SUMMARY:Scrap It\, Revamp It: 100 Years of Black History Commemorations (1926 - 2026)
DESCRIPTION:In the early twentieth century\, Black communities in America had begun marking the February birthdays of social reformer and civil rights activist\, Frederick Douglass and US president Abraham Lincoln as opportunities to celebrate emancipation and self-determination.  In 1926\, Carter G Woodson established Negro History Week\, fuelled by what he saw as an urgent need to recognise African-American history\, in its own right.  In doing so\, Woodson became the “father of Black history” and cemented a footprint for Black History Month\, which was formerly recognised in the US in 1976 and the UK in October 1987. \nNow recognised around the world\, Black History Month may take place at different times of the year\, explore different themes and embrace different legacies\, but its fundamental principles remain the same; that Black history needs a place within cultural calendars and institutional structures are needed to make this possible.  To recognise these significant anniversaries\, this exhibition will explore a pocket history of Black History Month\, its international legacy and its future within arts\, academia and the media. \nThe exhibition is free to visit February – December 2026 during the opening hours of Serendipity Institute for Black Arts and Heritage. \n 
URL:https://www.serendipity-uk.com/event/scrap-it-revamp-it-100-years-of-black-history-commemorations-1926-2026/
LOCATION:Serendipity Institute for Black Arts and Heritage\, 8 Bowling Green Street\, Leicester\, LE1 6AT
CATEGORIES:BHM Year Round,Black History Month,Exhibition,Heritage,On Now
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ORGANIZER;CN="Serendipity Institute for Black Arts and Heritage":MAILTO:info@serendipity-uk.com
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20261102T100000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20261106T190000
DTSTAMP:20261029T170428Z
CREATED:20260721T111935Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20261029T170428Z
UID:44460-1793613600-1793991600@www.serendipity-uk.com
SUMMARY:Black Heritage Futures 2026
DESCRIPTION:Reimagining how Black histories are preserved\, shared and celebrated. \nBlack Heritage Futures is Serendipity Institute for Black Arts and Heritage’s flagship annual programme of professional development\, dialogue and knowledge exchange.  Bringing together archivists\, academics\, artists\, museum professionals\, librarians\, educators\, community historians and cultural practitioners\, the programme explores the vital role Black heritage plays in shaping our understanding of the past\, informing the present and inspiring the future. \nAcross five inspiring days\, participants will engage with internationally recognised speakers\, leading practitioners and practical workshops designed to build the skills\, knowledge and confidence needed to collect\, preserve\, interpret and share Black histories.  From archive principles and intellectual property to digital engagement\, oral histories and community collections\, Black Heritage Futures provides a unique opportunity to develop professional practice while building meaningful networks across the heritage and cultural sectors. \nAt the heart of the programme is Black Heritage Lab – Where Histories Become Living Futures.  This practical learning programme offers hands-on workshops\, masterclasses and collaborative learning that equip participants with the tools to develop sustainable heritage practice.  Sessions explore archive management\, digital preservation\, copyright and intellectual property\, audience development\, digital storytelling and oral history methodologies\, providing practical skills that can be applied immediately within organisations and communities. \nAlongside the Lab is Black Heritage Voices\, Serendipity’s annual conference. Bringing together internationally renowned scholars\, artists\, archivists and cultural leaders\, the conference explores the ideas\, debates and emerging practices shaping Black heritage today.  Through keynote lectures\, panel discussions and critical conversations\, participants will consider how Black archives and cultural memory continue to influence contemporary society and future generations. \nYour Full Week Pass Includes \nFor £390\, delegates receive: \n\nFive days of professional development and specialist training.\nFull access to Black Heritage Lab seminars\, workshops and masterclasses.\nAdmission to the Black Heritage Voices Conference.\nMore than 30 hours of expert-led learning.\nOpportunities to hear from internationally recognised speakers and leading practitioners.\nPractical toolkits\, resources and learning materials.\nDaily lunch and refreshments.\nNetworking receptions and opportunities to connect with peers from across the heritage\, museum\, archive and cultural sectors.\nA Certificate of Participation from Serendipity Institute for Black Arts and Heritage.\n\nFor those wishing to attend only the conference\, Black Heritage Voices can be booked separately for £135\, which includes the full conference programme\, keynote lectures\, panel discussions\, lunch\, refreshments and networking reception. \nWhether you are starting your heritage journey or are an experienced practitioner seeking to deepen your expertise\, Black Heritage Futures offers an inspiring environment to learn\, collaborate and innovate.  Together\, Black Heritage Lab and Black Heritage Voices create a dynamic national platform where knowledge is shared\, partnerships are formed and Black histories become living futures.
URL:https://www.serendipity-uk.com/event/black-heritage-futures-2026/
LOCATION:Serendipity Institute for Black Arts and Heritage\, 8 Bowling Green Street\, Leicester\, LE1 6AT
CATEGORIES:BHM Year Round,Heritage,On Now
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ORGANIZER;CN="Serendipity Institute for Black Arts and Heritage":MAILTO:info@serendipity-uk.com
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DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20261105T100000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20261105T190000
DTSTAMP:20261029T170311Z
CREATED:20251210T104043Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20261029T170311Z
UID:42085-1793872800-1793905200@www.serendipity-uk.com
SUMMARY:Black Heritage Voices 2026
DESCRIPTION:Black Heritage Voices is a conference dedicated to uniting professionals from Black communities working across the heritage sector\, including archivists\, researchers\, audience engagement practitioners\, community historians\, heritage programmers and those in leadership roles. \nThis year’s theme is Mapping Creole Worlds\, Diasporic Futures and the Stories Britain Forgot\, which centres creole identities\, hidden heritage and the afterlives of empire\, the stories that shaped Britain yet remain marginal\, obscured\, or selectively omitted from the national record.  By mapping creole worlds and the complex cultural exchanges that define African and Caribbean Diasporic experience\, the conference interrogates how contemporary Britain continues to negotiate visibility\, belonging and power. \nWe explore how these narratives intersect with neo-colonial realities\, where old hierarchies reappear in new forms from funding structures to museological practices and how they shape whose histories are elevated\, whose are overlooked and how heritage is framed for public consumption.  This lens opens critical conversations about cultural authorship\, archival responsibility and the need to reimagine the structures that hold our histories. \nThrough sessions focusing on creativity\, digital innovation\, community-led practice and the politics of historical interpretation\, Black Heritage Voices invites delegates to challenge dominant perspectives and contribute to a broader shift towards narratives that honour complexity\, hybridity and lived experience.  The aim is not only to recover what has been forgotten\, but to change the gaze\, asserting Diasporic stories as central\, not peripheral\, to Britain’s past\, present and future. \n  \nSpeakers for Black Heritage Voices 2026: \nProfessor Verene A Shepherd\, world-renowned historian and one of the Caribbean’s pre-eminent scholars and advocates for gender justice\, racial equality and non-discrimination and reparations.  She is currently one of the three vice-chairs of the CARICOM Reparations Commission. \nDr Stella Dadzie\, Black British feminist and activist.  She is a founding member of the Organisation of Women of African and Asian Descent (OWAAD) and co-author of The Heart of the Race: Black Women’s Lives in Britain. \nDr Michael McMillan\, playwright\, artist\, curator and scholar.  Known for the critically acclaimed The Front Room\, his interdisciplinary practice centres around the praxis of ‘the creative process\, ethnography\, oral histories\, material culture and performativity’. \nProfessor Stephen Small\, a Professor in the Department of African Diaspora Studies at the University of California\, Berkeley\, where he has taught since 1995; and he is Director of the Institute for the Study of Societal Issues.  He is a faculty member of the Black Europe Summer School – a two-week programme in Amsterdam\, founded and directed for Dr Kwame Nimako.  He earned his PhD in Sociology at the University of California\, Berkeley (1989).  His most recent book is In the Shadows of the Big House. Twenty-First Century Antebellum Slave Cabins and Heritage Tourism in Louisiana\, published by University Press of Mississippi\, in June 2023. \nDr Bob Ramdhanie\, an arts activist\, an arts researcher and a cultural producer\, who is totally committed to the nurturing\, creation and promotion of dynamic diverse arts practice.  He has been in arts management and a pioneer in the development of ‘black arts’ in the UK for over 40 years\, travelling extensively throughout Africa and the Caribbean and continuously building cultural bridges and creating opportunities for artistes to collaborate both ‘at home and broad’. \nDr Kwame Nimako\, founder and Director of the Black Europe Summer School (BESS) based in Amsterdam since 2007.  Dr Nimako has consulted with several private and public institutions including the National Institute for the Study of Dutch Slavery and its Legacy (NiNsee) in Amsterdam\, the Amsterdam Municipal Council\, and the Dutch Ministry of Home Affairs. \nProfessor Roshini Kempadoo\, media artist\, photographer and scholar.  She is Reader with CREAM (Centre for Research and Education in Arts and Media) at Westminster School of Arts\, University of Westminster and is represented by Autograph ABP\, London.
URL:https://www.serendipity-uk.com/event/black-heritage-voices-2026/
LOCATION:Serendipity Institute for Black Arts and Heritage\, 8 Bowling Green Street\, Leicester\, LE1 6AT
CATEGORIES:Heritage,On Now,Year Round Programme
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ORGANIZER;CN="Serendipity Institute for Black Arts and Heritage":MAILTO:info@serendipity-uk.com
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