EVENTS

Motown Weekender: Tell Me What's Going On

The London DJs
12.30 - 17.30
Grand Entrance

 Join the cream of London's DJs, The Shrine Synchro System (Rita Ray and Max Reinhardt), Jo Wallace, Gladdy Wax and Mistah Brown as they pay homage to groundbreaking girl groups and female solo artists of the 60s, who helped change the musical landscape forever, with a soundtrack encompassing classic and rare Motown, Northern Soul, Ska, Rocksteady and Afrobeat.

The Supreme Act
13.00 - 13.30
Rooms 103 - 106

Explore the history and development of boy and girl bands from Motown to the present day. Sessions include costume handling, singing and choreography.

Salon Supreme: Retro Make-overs
14.00 - 17.30
Grand Entrance

Come dressed to impress in your 60s or 70s outfits, sequins, satin, floating chiffon to psychedelic sparkle and funky flares or wear your Supremes T-shirt design and let professionals and students from the London College Fashion (LCF) give you that iconic look. Have a photo graph taken to capture your image and record history in the making. In collaboration with make-up artist Claire de Graft and Sandra Gittens, Course Director Image Styling and Performance (LCF).

Designer Divas: Images of Women in Popular Music
14.00 - 15.00
Lecture Theatre

Using the influence of The Supremes as a starting point, this panel discussion explores the aesthetic of women in popular music and considers how the visual identities of female performers continue to be developed for mainstream consumption. Panel members include Lucy O'Brien, author of three best-selling biographies on Madonna, Annie Lennox and Dusty Springfield as well as the comprehensive survey She Bop: The Definitive History of Women in Rock, Pop and Soul, and cultural critic Jacqueline Springer, whose work in print and in broadcast media considers the impact contemporary black music has on youth culture, and beyond that, in society in general.

Supremes and Soul Diva T-shirts and Soul Slogan Badges
15.00 - 17.00
Lunchroom

Design a collage featuring images of your favourite 60s and 70s Soul, Jazz and Reggae divas such as the Supremes, Martha Reeves and the Vandellas, Aretha Franklin, Phyllis Dillon, Betty Wright, Dusty Springfield, Fontella Bass, Gladys Knight, Freda Payne or Nancy Wilson and have these printed on a T-shirt or make a Soul slogan badge. Wear your T-shirt whilst having your Supremes retro makeover and have your photograph taken to record the day. Use our images or bring your own LP covers, magazine cuttings, small posters or photographs.

Day 2
Sunday 6 July
Say It Loud and Say It Proud

In stark contrast to Motown's pop and soul cross-over appeal, Berry Gordy had a number of subsidiary labels including  Black Forum Records that recorded progressive political and pro-civil rights speeches by Martin Luther King and Black Panther's Stokely Carmichael and Elaine Brown during the early 70s. DJs will shape the day and take you on a transatlantic musical journey that includes messages of love, peace, hope, freedom, revolution, power, history and legacy.

The London DJs
12.30 - 17.30
Grand Entrance

Join the cream of London's DJs, The Shrine Synchro System (Rita Ray and Max Reinhardt), Andy Smith, Gladdy Wax and Mistah Brown as they play an eclectic soundtrack to the Civil Rights Movement encompassing social commentary, cultural politics and spoken word, featuring the music of Motown, Northern Soul, Jazz, Ska, Rocksteady and Afrobeat.

Legacy in the Dust (12A), Winstan Whitter, 2008 - film screening, talk & Q&A
13.00 - 14.30
Lecture Theatre

Legacy in the Dust is the story of 'The Four Aces Club', founded in the 60s and which for 33 years was home to the most influential black music and musicians to date. It showcased new musical genres like Reggae and Ska, also a home for Jazz and Soul. Artists like Desmond Decker, Jimmy Cliff, Count Shelly, Ann Peebles, Percy Sledge, Ben E King and Billy Ocean performed here. This gave the club authenticity to attract artists in the 70s like The Clash, Chrissie Hynde, Bob Marley, The Slits, Sex Pistols, Marc Bolan and even Bob Dylan paid a visit. The Club pioneered the early indoor Acid House music Rave scene in the mid-80s. Despite its success it was forced to close its doors in the late 90s due to a compulsory re- possession ordered by the local authorities to make way for the regeneration in Hackney for the 2012 Olympics. This event includes an introduction by the filmmaker Winstan Whitter and a Q&A session with one of the original 'Aces' Newton Dunbar.  Associated memorabilia that accompanies this screening will be on display on the landing outside the Lecture Theatre.

Rock-A-My-Soul
13.00 - 13.40
Fashion, Room 40

Little Lights Theatre Company presents a highly interactive, entertaining and informative show which explores an important moment in Motown's history and the influence of Motown on the people who bought the records.

The Politics of Music, Fashion, Hair and Graphic Imagery - talk and Q&A 
14.45 - 15.45
Lecture Theatre

Joel Karamath will discuss some of the links between the politics, music, film, graphics and fashion of the era. The 1960's marked a huge social change across the globe as civil rights legislation and action finally began to make an impact on the world order, and a new generation of heroes began to speak for the baby boom generation.  Along with the advancements in social, racial and gender politics, Counter Culture movements increasingly became associated with the massive growth in popular culture as music, hair, fashion and graphic imagery took on a leading role in defining a generation of street revolutionaries.

Joel Karamath is a lecturer in Visual Culture and Theory, at the University of the Arts, specializing in film and popular culture. He has also made a number of short documentaries on the subject of Black British identity and its impact upon the mainstream.

Hair Piece: A Film for Nappy-Headed People (NR) - film screening
15.45 - 16.00
Lecture Theatre

Joel Karamath will introduce this short but satirical animated film that addresses and intertwines 'issues of racism and body image facing African-American women. It highlights familiar hair-maintenance rituals for African- Americans while seriously confronting and criticizing the unattainable ideal of female beauty in society.' - Carrie Downes, All Movie Guide.

The Funk Chorus
15.45 - 17.30
Raphael, Room 48a

Just bring your voices and your glam and funky selves as sequins, flares and 60s and 70s psychedelic patterns are the order of the day - enjoy. The Funk Chorus is a collaboration between artists Barby Asante and Andrea Encinas, who use their shared talents of singing, bringing people together and their love of music. The Funk Chorus is a fun and exciting participatory choir, whose choral repertoire is made up of some classic and some obscure funk songs.  All are welcome to join the Funk Chorus as they celebrate all that is Motown.