Black Joy: A Celebration of Black Joy within UK Youth

Black Joy: A Celebration of Black Joy within UK Youth, is a final year university project collaboration by myself and Kwame Owusu-Nipah. The aim of this project was to create and showcase a safe space for young, Black individuals within the UK that reinforces positive aspects of Black British culture and the communities within.

Black joy, happiness and excellence are vital in bringing people together from all walks of life. Whilst the Black Joy Project can be seen as a way of celebrating Black British culture, it also has the ability to educate others on the real life experiences of young Black British individuals within the 21st century.

Outcomes for the Black Joy Project included an 18 minute short film with individual interviews, 35mm film photos, VHS stills and outtakes as well as posters and stickers that raised £200 for Black Minds Matter UK, a registered charity that provides free mental health services to Black individuals and families.

In order to reinforce a sense of joy and happiness within the project, inspiration for visual elements such as colours, shapes and patterns were inspired by traditional African textiles such as Kente Cloth. Initial ideas for colours, shapes and patterns developed further into collage, poster and sticker outcomes that embodied the overall theme of Black joy through striking visual elements referencing traditional African textile design.

Inspiration for filming the Black Joy Project with a Sony VHS Handycam as well as the use of 35mm film photography came from research into Black Archives, a multimedia platform dedicated to showing the experiences and memories of Black individuals throughout day-to-day life.

Typefaces used within the Black Joy project were sourced through Velvetyne Type Foundry, a Black owned type association that designs and distributes free, open source typefaces for personal and professional use.

Black Joy: A Celebration of Black Joy within UK Youth reinforces a group collective that gave the opportunity for those involved to feel comfortable in being themselves as well as unapologetically Black. The link to the full Black Joy video can be found here.

Film photography, poster and sticker outcomes by Simone Wray

Video editing, animation and direction by Kwame Owusu-Nipah

Project research, idea development and collage outcomes by Simone Wray and Kwame Owusu-Nipah

Simone Wray

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