Certain Blacks

Big news🚐🎉 Certain Blacks has been awarded funding through the Creative Foundations Fund 🎉 part of the Arts Council England’s Arts Everywhere Fund. It’s a BIG step forward in making our festivals more sustainable, accessible, and able to reach more communities locally and nationally 🚐🎭🌟 🗞️🗞️🗞️ "Newham based Certain Blacks has been awarded investment to purchase essential festival infrastructure that will reduce annual production costs, improve accessibility, and support greener, more sustainable delivery of its two annual festivals. The project will fund an electric van, solar powered generators, PA systems, access equipment and festival furniture, enable safer, more inclusive events and allow the organisation to tour diverse work nationally. These upgrades respond directly to audience feedback and community needs, strengthening Certain Blacks’ long term sustainability and its role in engaging low arts access communities across East London." 🗞️🗞️🗞️ We’re grateful to Arts Council England @acegrams and The Department of Media, Culture and Sport @dcmsgovuk for making this possible🌱

Manifesting summer looks ☀️ We are counting down the days to reveal the Ensemble Festival 2026 line-up 🎭 coming this summer to East London’s spectacular waterside destination @yourroyaldocks 📆 Save the date! 25 – 26 July Photos by @sarahmhickson – Ensemble Festival 2025 with @levantes_dance_theatre @nandidevi @sadiqalicompany

Join our team! We are looking for a Festival Producer to support Ensemble Festival 2026 at the Royal Docks this summer⛱️ Ensemble Festival is our annual free outdoor celebration of circus, dance, and theatre, bringing some of the most exciting contemporary artists🎪🎭 The Festival Producer will report to the Senior Producer and connect with the festival team (Artistic Director, General Manager, Marketing & Comms) 💰Fee: £1,750 based on £175/day for 10 days (6 days planning, development and evaluation, 4 days festival delivery) 📆 Application deadline: Tuesday 26 May 2026, at 10:00 am 💻 Interviews: Online on Wednesday 27 May 2026 (candidates should be available on that day) HOW TO APPLY 1. Please send your application via email to [email protected] with: 🔹A detailed CV (no more than two A4 pages) with relevant experience in relation to the job description. 🔹A brief summary (no more than two pages A4) of your relevant experience and skills and responding to the criteria listed in the person specification and job description duties. 🔶OR a video application responding to the criteria listed in the person specification and job description duties (no longer than 3 minutes). 🔹Names and contact details of two referees. They will not be contacted without permission from the candidate. 🔹Please add “Festival Producer application” and your name to the subject line of your email. 2. Please fill out our Equal Opportunities Monitoring Form. Head to our bio to find the Job Description and Equal Opportunities form👆🏿🔗 We’re excited to hear from you!

#BlackAthenaFestival 2026 “Dance piece full of stylishly fluid movement and thrilling fights” RONiN, @guardian ★★★★ “You feel it in your heart and deep in your brain.” Graffiti Bodies XV, @DanceArtJournal “A rousing performance, performed with conviction and heart” Rising Mirrors, @AfridiziakTheatreNews “Funny, playful, and heartbreaking” Waterside, @WajuStudios “What I breathed in I now exhale as spoken word” STURM, TheVoiceNewspaper “Connecting roots tradition with modern sonic practice” The Science of Dub, TheVoiceNewspaper ✒️Some beautiful words to remind us of the journey that’s just ended ** ✨✨Thank you for celebrating and supporting new work with us – it’s been a real gift✨✨ 🚨We’ll announce our summer festival soon @royaldocks – and it’s looking spectacuar👌🏾👌🏾👌🏾✨✨ Photos by @sarahmhickson

RONiN at @theplacelondon , 17 & 18 April. The perfect close to #BlackAthenaFestival The stunning projections, reverberating sound, and the blend of dance and martial arts made it a truly special piece to witness 🤌🏽 Thank you to the incredible creative team for taking us and everyone around us on such a journey for two sold-out performances! Memories from our trip to Japan with Circo Strada last year rushed back with the immersive quality of the show⛩️✨ It’s fantastic how connections between the work we’re so lucky to do can suddenly jump out at us in such unexpected ways... 🌸⚔️ Photos by @sarahmhickson

Tomorrow @theplacelondon 📅 An anime-like realm comes to life in #BlackAthenaFest through dance and immersive projections☄️ Get a glimpse of the visual feast this will be as we journey through Japan's four seasons with a masterless swordfighter 🍁🗡️ RONiN is the final act of Black Athena Festival 🎉🎉🎉 Don't miss it📍@theplacelondon 🎟️Friday 17th has sold out 😱 and Saturday 18th is getting there! Get your tickets now!

A £150,000 share of the Creative Foundation Fund with be going to @certainblacks a local organisation that supports artists and organises events and festivals with a focus on live art, music, theatre, and digital platforms. This is part of the Government’s £1.5 billion investment through the Arts Everywhere Fund. This funding will support their existing work, delivering events and supporting art and culture in our community and may help them to expand and develop further. I am looking forward to meeting with them soon and hearing about how this funding will be spent.

WATERSIDE at Black Athena Festival @richmixlondon - 20 March All the feelings were felt ✨ Waterside was such a special night with so many people coming together to celebrate @kininsocreative 's latest endeavours The show – a playful and heartfelt trip to the Niger Delta by the hand of endearing characters and an incredible creative team 🇳🇬 The evening – an inspiring coming-together of friends (old and new), creatives and supporters. We’re grateful for everyone who stayed to chat and spread the joy 🎇 Photos by @sarahmhickson

Rising Mirrors at #BlackAthenaFestival @richmixlondon - 21 March “French and English are used throughout, and excerpts of speeches, soundscapes, and song are woven together in a compelling and impactful demonstration of womanhood and the steadfast refusal to be reduced to hollow stereotypes.” @afridiziaktheatrenews Thanks @kimpavitadkr , @ptplays and @domi_nica6 – the journey together has been an absolute pleasure✨✨✨ À bientôt! * This month brings another captivating female-led show 👉🏽 check out RONiN at The Place, closing the #BlackAthenaFest ⚔️ Photos by @sarahmhickson

STÙRM in #BlackAthenaFestival @richmixlondon - 18 March Still thinking about this one. A deeply personal show shaped by travel and reflection, from family memories to encounters with nature. We were carried by #poetry and #music, navigating urgent stories about our relationship with the planet 🌏 THANK YOU @livia_sonic_resest and @m4marciano for sharing such a raw and urgent piece Photos by @sarahmhickson

The Science of Dub in #BlackAthenaFestival @richmixlondon , 13 March An unforgettable night surrounded by incredible musicians and dancing to the hypnotic reverb of Scientist, Greg Hunter, and a whole team celebrating dub as a living art form 🎶 Thank you to everyone who came, you've all made Black Athena Festival feel so special 💛 The Science of Dub is an immersive audio experience led by Tony Tea, dub legend Scientist, ambient-dub pioneer Greg Hunter, a live band, and a team of sound innovators creating a spatial experience of dub and bass culture. Photos by @sarahmhickson @thedublord2026

GRAFFITI BODIES XV in #BlackAthenaFestival @richmixlondon , 14 March “Her body rebels against her, silencing and immobilising in the repetitive loop it creates – always moving but never moving on. The body is the site of oppression and external control.” - @danceartjournal The air was electric all evening after Elaine Mitchener took the stage for Graffiti Bodies XV ⚡ With multiple art forms colliding, the piece balanced moments of frenzy and calm to deliver a powerful message of resistance. It was stunning to behold… Commissioned by Certain Blacks and with support from Centre 151, GRAFFITI BODIES XV was choreographed by @damvanhuynh1 in collaboration with @elainemitchener1 and @michaelpicknett Thank you team 💐 Photos by @sarahmhickson