Azieb Pool

16.5.2026, 7 P.M. – »Dreams Don’t Flow in Square Houses« with Azieb Pool @azieb.pool Join us for an evening with the writer, creative leader and art strategist Azieb Pool from London, UK, who will read from her book »My Fathers’ Daughter« – reprinted in 2022 as part of Bernardine Evaristo and Penguin’s »Black Britain: Writing Back« series. The event is part of our 2026 poetry & literature series »Dreams Don’t Flow in Square Houses« inviting selected lyric writers, poets and authors from the African diaspora to Hamburg. The series reflects Afro-diasporic lyrics, poetry and literature as socially engaged art practices that challenge dominant narratives, encourage collective world-building, and promote togetherness. The title metaphor suggests that rigid (post)colonial Western thinking and social structures restrict freedom of thought, action and art. This concept underpins the series‘ assertion that poetry and (song) writing are fluid, free, critical and artistic processes that drive social transformation and dismantle racist and oppressive systems. For each event we will dive into an intimate artistic dialogue with our guests about the unifying power of words and lyric, exploring voices, texts and meaning, and discussing the in-between spaces of creativity, vulnerability, dignity, fellowship and solidarity within a shared Afro-diasporic history. Entrance Fee: 10,00 € (students: 5,- €) Please reserve via: [email protected] We would like to thank the Literature Department of the Ministry of Culture and Media in Hamburg for their funding and support of the series. @bkm_hh

We are delighted to introduce @azieb.pool as a Speaker for the Africa Writes Masterclass. Hannah Azieb Pool is a British–Eritrean writer and journalist. She was born near the town of Keren during the war for independence from Ethiopia. She was educated at Liverpool University, where she studied Sociology. She is a former staff writer for The Guardian newspaper and writes for national and international media. She is a patron of the SI Leeds Literary Prize for unpublished fiction by Black and Asian women in the UK. From 2019 to last month, Azieb Pool was Artistic director/CEO at the Bernie Grant Arts Centre in Tottenham, North London. At the age of six months, Pool was adopted by a British scholar working in Sudan. At first she was raised in Khartoum and then Norway, before finally settling in Manchester, England. She grew up believing that her genetic parents had died shortly after her birth. At the age of 19 she received a letter telling her that her genetic father and siblings were alive in Eritrea. Her memoir, My Fathers' Daughter: A story of family and belonging, was published in 2005 and is an account of the journey she made back to Eritrea, aged 29, and her encounters with her family Azieb brings a powerful perspective to storytelling, grounded in personal experience and creative expression. She will be sharing her journey into becoming an author, alongside insights into developing voice and crafting impactful narratives. 📅 Thursday 30 April 2026 🕠 18:00 – 20:00 (registration from 17:30) 📍 Brunei Gallery Lecture Theatre, School of Oriental and African Studies, 10 Thornhaugh Street, London WC1H 0XG Register via Link in bio (instagram) or https://lnkd.in/eNJv26dJ #AfricaWrites #WomenWhoWrite #Storytelling #AfricanVoices #WritersCommunity

Meet our third featured speaker at EDIS 2026, Azieb Pool! Azieb is a senior creative leader, arts strategist, and writer, passionate about the power of culture to connect people, unlock hidden stories, and spark radical change. From 2019 to 2025, she led the Bernie Grant Arts Centre in London, UK, helping it become a nationally recognised home for bold, Black-led creativity. During her tenure, she secured Arts Council England National Portfolio status for the first time in BGAC’s history, founded the Tottenham Literature Festival and BGAC Windrush Festival, and developed exciting partnerships with brilliant organisations including Talawa, Dance Umbrella, LIFT, Greater London Authority, National Youth Theatre, Punchdrunk, and major funders such as Paul Hamlyn Foundation, Freelands Foundation, and Barings Foundation. At EDIS, Azieb brings the craft of storytelling to a room full of builders. That combination is rare and powerful. EDIS 2026 is virtual. May 1-2. Registration is open. Link in bio. @azieb.pool #TDADiasporas #CreateTheSpaces #Diaspora #DiasporaEngagement #DiasporaPhilanthropy #Africa #Immigration #Migration #SocialImpact #DiasporaLeadership #EDIS2026 #EritreanDiaspora #SecondGen

Closing 2025 full of gratitude for everyone who has helped make this year so special. After over 30 years, I left London and moved to Brighton with my beautiful family, 5 months here and it feels like home. Get ready for endless posts of winter swims, dog walks and a few surprises along the way 💖😉🙏🏽

"As the year draws to a close, I find myself reflecting on the many forms resistance can take. For some, simply rising each morning is an act of defiance against systems that would prefer us invisible. For others, choosing rest and nourishment is equally radical, as Sepake reminded us so beautifully in her Note on Rest. Right now, my favourite acts of resistance are twofold: one rooted in community, the other deeply personal. Both are bound by the possibility of transformation." Read the rest of this reflection by Azieb Pool, our Interim Artistic Director on our blog now! Link in bio 🔗 The Stuart Hall Library is closed for the Holidays from Monday 22 December 2025 until Monday 5 January 2026. We will reopen on Tuesday 6 January 2026 We wish everyone a warm winter, and we'll see you in 2026. ❄️ @azieb.pool @suburbanelectrostar

‘Mango is not just fruit, it’s memory’ Artist Annis Harrison sits down with writer Azieb Pool to discuss her latest exhibition, Memory of Joy - part 2 Interview by Azieb Pool AP: There’s an embodied joy that jumps off the canvas, the way that you’re blurring the line between fruit and body, it’s very sensual, it’s full of pleasure and desire. AH: Absolutely. Smell, taste, the juice is running down your hands, the whole thing, and of course, the sunshine. The sensual element is intentional. I’m a woman of a certain age, I’m menopausal, and some women feel like they should go and hide and not exist anymore. I refuse to do that. I’m very much still thinking about myself as a sexual being. It is a political decision. I want to make sensual work now more than ever. It’s quite often men who get uncomfortable about this, it’s mostly them asking me “Why do you  always have to put sex into your work?” Well, why shouldn’t I put sex into my work?  AP: There’s something very powerful about the gaze that you apply. AH: So many people have used our bodies, and keep on doing that, as a sexual titillation. I still see white artists making lots of paintings of Black women’s bodies, because to them our bodies are exotic. But I’ve got a right to, because it’s my body. I have this one painting with lips around the mango, and they are my lips. You can see that there are an older woman’s lips, but they’re still sexual, and why shouldn’t they be? To read the whole interview go to the link in my bio. Memory of Joy - Part 2 12pm - 6pm | Saturday and Sunday 29 - 30 November 6 Sugar House Island, E15 2QS Azieb Pool’s Picture by Rashif Oehler

We are excited to announce that Azieb Pool will be interim Artistic Director at iniva while Sepake takes a much needed sabbatical. ✨ After an audacious tenure at Bernie Grant Arts Centre for the last 6 years, Azieb will hold the fort alongside our Finance and Operations Director, Susie Gorgeous and Rebecca Sinker who joins us as General Manager. Azieb will join the team for the coming 6 months supporting the development of the artistic programme and leading on the ACE funded sector development grant for Global Majority leaders. We look forward to welcoming Sepake back next year in 2026. 💓 @azieb.pool @suburbanelectrostar

Beautiful afternoon of literature and inspiration @womensprize Live. Thanks to @niamhsquared & @emmavanstraaten for such a brilliant conversation, full of warmth and humour. And great to catch up with some icons too ✨️💕 📚

After 6 incredible years, it’s time for something new… it is with a mixture of love and gratitude that I announce that my time leading @bgartscentre will be coming to an end soon. Full press statement above 👆🏾 There is nowhere quite like Tottenham and there is no team like the brilliant team at Bernie’s. To all the artists, partners and co-conspirators (you know who you are 😉) deep thanks for all your incredible support and solidarity. 💖💖💖🫶🏽🫶🏽🫶🏽

We’re so proud of what we’ve achieved so far in our Big Give campaign - but we’re not done yet! Thanks to your support, we’re closer to bringing 400+ local children into our space to experience theatre, literature, poetry, and the arts. Thanks to @biggiveorg every £1 is still doubled, so your donation will go twice as far in helping us reach our goal! Let’s finish strong - please keep donating & sharing to help us reach our goal! Link in bio to donate! #ArtsForImpact

Spectacular evening celebrating Haringey schools music festival. Huge congratulations to @haringey_music for a stunning sell out event @royalalberthall . So much brilliant young talent in our borough! 🥳

Today marks the launch of our first-ever Big Give Campaign!🙌🏾 As CEO of the @berniegrantartscentre , I’m beyond proud of the work we do to support young people in Tottenham through the arts. 🎨✨ Your donation will help provide creative opportunities for local schools and young people, giving them the confidence, skills, and passion they need for a bright future. 💪🏽 Even better – every pound you donate will be MATCHED! Double the impact, double the change! 🔥 Donate today and make a difference: See link in biog. #BigGive #artsforimpact #BernieGrantArtsCentre