A community of like-minded black and dual heritage women from Oudtshoorn (a town in the Klein Karoo area of South Africa’s Western Cape) and Moston and Salford Greater Manchester in the United Kingdom, embarked on a virtual four-part journey to listen, share, and learn from each other’s stories in a series of stimulating workshops and conversations earlier this year.

This project was made possible by the British Council’s Developing Inclusive and Creative Economies Programme (DICE). SICK! Festival, the Klein Karoo National Arts Festival (KKNK), Young Identity and Empatheatre joined forces to create and implement the programme.

Nine participants were chosen for this project: Glenisha Tarentaal (SA), Joan Turner (UK), Olive Oragui (UK), P.A. Bitez (UK), Shandré Harris (SA), Siyasanga Building (SA), Tiffany Saterdaght (SA), Faidat Ope (UK) and Medulla (UK).

Online sessions were presented in April and May, facilitated by South Africa’s Tshego Khutsoane and Shirley & Nicole May from the United Kingdom, using processes and methods inspired by their own collaborative theatre and performance backgrounds. Lebogang Mashile, well-known South African poet and Kadijah Ibrahim, celebrated British poet were guest speakers and inspired the group even further during one of the digital sessions.