Events and News

Celebrating 10 years of artistic innovation, Certain Blacks is an East London-based arts development organisation known for championing artists from various dimensions of diversity,

From 6th to 9th March 2025, East London’s vibrant arts scene will come alive with Afro Futures, the 7th edition of Certain Blacks’ annual indoor festival. This year’s program reflects on what diverse culture has brought to Britain, collective identity, and the future of diverse voices within an evolving British cultural landscape. Afro Futures marks a milestone for Certain Blacks, aligning with the company’s 10th anniversary.
Afro Futures includes work developed within a changing cultural climate and gathers a boundary-pushing lineup of artists from various backgrounds and disciplines.

The festival contains work from Sean Khan and The Modern Jazz and Folk Ensemble, with special guests Jacqui McShee and Rosie Frater-Taylor, which explores the traditional along with the new in a cross-cultural retake of modern folk music. In The Brownie Club meets The Cocoa Butter Club, two clubs known for their audacious soirées host an evening of cabaret that challenge notions of Black/Brown/Diverse entertainment and education. Best Friends by Crying in the Wilderness Productions balances humour and sensitivity in a poignant play of friendship and assisted death, tackling a highly relevant topic in today’s England.

Award-winning spoken word artist and performer Oneness Sankara presents T21 ALCHEMY, a semi-autobiographical piece that combines poetry, prose and music to look at Black motherhood in later life and becoming a mother to a child with special needs. The festival ends with Sonia Sabri Company’s Roshni, a feast of live music, dance and interplaying rhythms from global music styles that celebrate daily life. Please come and join us as we look to the future and celebrate our past.