“What does Black British Music mean to you?”
“How do we make sure that we don’t get caught up in a lens of nostalgia – and that we continue to make, embody and experience Black British music?”
“Where, outside of the home, do you feel there is the most opportunity for enjoying music intergenerationally?”
These three questions provide a glimpse into just some of the discussion points being posed in an event at V&A East on Saturday 22nd August, celebrating Black British music and culture.
As part of The Music is Black Festival with East Bank, V&A East are putting on a free event on the top floor of East Museum from 1.15pm – 6pm. You are invited to come along to the festival celebrating ‘The Music is Black: A British Story,’ where you can contribute to conversations about Black British culture and celebrate a new collection of writing and creative work from emerging talent.
Expect a live DJ set from Elijah, collective zine making, and an opportunity to explore a new collection of writing and creative responses by young emerging writers based in East London. Here you can collect your free copy of V&A East’s new zine about Black British Music, and have your say about what this means to you.
Sounds & Stories has been running since April 2026 to open a space for conversations about the programming of the inaugural exhibition at V&A East Museum: The Music is Black: A British Story.
This paid creative project for young people has responded to themes of resistance, decolonisation, Black British music and identity. Exploring how Black British music has shaped British culture, young people have created their own short form video content and written an article each which has taken the shape of a collaborative 64 page zine.
Throughout the Sounds & Stories showcase event, you can expect to hear from these talented young East Londoners about the research they have conducted on Black British Music – and celebrate their creative responses on display.
Copies of the zine will be given out on the event day along with stickers designed by the young artists:
If you are free between 1.15pm and 6pm on Saturday 22nd August 2026 – come and explore, create, and enjoy an afternoon of discussing Black British music. You can expect to hear the 14 participants on the project share their research, whilst you make your mark in our next collaborative zine exploring the Music is Black exhibition.
Sounds & Stories Showcase event:
Taking place in the Park Gallery in the top floor of V&A East Museum, experience screenings of 14 young creators’ short form videos and interactive elements inspired by the zine. Enjoy the exhibition whilst listening to a DJ set from Elijah and the participants, talks from the cohort and add your own contributions to a collaborative zine which is being created about Black British Music.
Two members of the cohort will be interviewing DJs Seb Odyssey and Fiyahdred in a panel talk outside on the Waterfront Stage at 1.15pm.
Following this, the drop in event will run from 2pm to 6pm in the top floor of V&A East Museum.
Location:
- Top floor V&A East Museum and the Waterfront Stage (just outside the entrance to East Museum)
Timings:
- 1.15pm – 1.50pm Artist Interview (Waterfront Stage)
All remaining activities to take place in Top floor of East Museum
- 2pm – 2.45pm – DJ set from Elijah and participants
- 3pm – 3.20pm – Panel talk 1
- 4pm – 4.45pm – DJ set from Elijah and participants
- 5pm – 5.20pm – Panel talk 2
The three framing questions are fantastic — especially the one about enjoying music intergenerationally, which rarely gets asked outside the home. The zine from the 14 young East Londoners sounds like a great artefact of the project: will it be available online after the event for those who can’t make it to East Museum? I’d love to read their research alongside the videos. image stretcher
Hi Jordan – yes, we will be posting a pdf of the zine along with the videos on another blog post after the event has taken place! Thank you