CELEBRATINGCREATIVITYINGUYANAANDTHEDIASPORAZoomopensat1.45pm/Programmestartsat2pm

Sunday,31stJanuary2021

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ZakiyaMcKenzie(PoetryPerformance)

ZakiyaMcKenziewasborn inSouthLondonin the late 80s to a Guyanese dad and aJamaicanmum.ShegrewupinKingstonbutreturned to England in 2014, now living inBristol. Zakiya is a storyteller and iscurrentlywriting for a PhD onWest Indiannewspaper in the UK. She was the 2019Forestry England writer-in-residence and

her 2018 master’s degree looked at the environmental and socialimplications of Guyana’s petroleum ‘discovery’. Zakiya has been avolunteeratUjima98FMcommunityradioinBristolsince2015.MarissaMcKinnon(SongPerformance)

Singer-songwriterMarissaMcKinnonissetto release her first Soca Tune, I LoveGuyana,whichwillbeavailableonallmajorstreaming platforms on Guyana’sIndependence day in May. As an Artist,Marissa is known for being a fiery,energetic and uplifting performer. Hersingle I Love Guyana shows off Marissa’sexceptional talent: her ability to movebetweenhercommercialmusic tocreatinga national patriotic soca anthem. Marissa

celebrates Guyanese culture and emulates the motto “One People,OneNation,OneDestiny”withinherlyrics.Marissasingswithprideand passion as her music celebrates Guyanese food, culture andnationaltreasures.AsaUKmusicianofGuyaneseheritagesheproudlypayshomagetothebeautifullandofGuyana,makinghermarkasatalentedGuyaneseMusician.

CELEBRATINGCREATIVITYINGUYANAANDTHEDIASPORAZoomopensat1.45pm/Programmestartsat2pm

Sunday,31stJanuary2021

2

JayMistry(Talk:"CraftingFutures:IndigenousPottersfromtheRupununi")

Jay Mistry is a ceramic artist whoseheritage is from an Indian caste ofpotters, the Kumbhar. She makessculpturalandfunctionalformsusinghand-building and slip-castingtechniques that celebrate therawness and materiality of the clay,and provide a canvas for expressionthrough texture or print. She is

interestedinhowauthorityfunctionswithinsocietyandhowpowershapesspecificknowledgeaboutplaces,landscapesandobjects.Shelikestousenarration,bothinthevisualrepresentationofformsandthroughwords and print, to tell a story that counters the acceptedtruth. Her goal is to challenge the discourses that cause people tothink and act in certain ways, using my personal experiences as awoman,ofAsiandescent,environmentalistandactivistacademic,asavehicleforpoliticalassertion.Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/glazedexpressionsEmail:jayceramics@myphone.coopErrolBrewster(Pre-recorded:InterviewedbyJuanitaCox)

Errol Brewster is a Caribbean artistfrom Guyana, living in the UnitedStates. With more than four decadesof a Caribbean-wide, multimediaimaging practice, he has participatedin multiple CARIFESTA’s; the EU’sCentro Cultural Cariforo, “Between

the Lines”, travelling exhibition, 2000; the First InternationalTriennial of Caribbean Art, 2010; and the Inter-AmericanDevelopmentBank’s“SidewalksoftheAmericas”installation,2018.