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Otis Mensah
Musician and Multidisciplinary ArtistOtis Mensah (recipient of Jerwood Arts Live Work Fund & Arts Council England's Developing your Creative Practice) is a musician and multidisciplinary artist exploring the intersection of poetry and experimental music(s). Taking influence from the rhythmic and expressive freedom of Jazz, Otis’ work uses aesthetic language as an instrument to solo through themes of race, identity, gender and the body.
Since being appointed Sheffield’s first Poet Laureate in 2018, Otis has sold-out their debut poetry collection Safe Metamorphosis published with Prototype in 2020, debuted at Glastonbury, & We Out Here Festival, as well as performing with the likes of Moor Mother, Nightmares On Wax, Benjamin Zephaniah and Little Simz.
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Désirée Reynolds
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Désirée Reynolds, (she/her) a South Londoner up North, was brought up in Clapham, London to Jamaican parents and now living in Sheffield. She told her Mum, at about 8 years old, that she was going to write a book and has been writing ever since. She started her writing career as a freelance journalist for the Jamaica Gleaner and the Village Voice. She has gone on to write film scripts, poetry, flash fiction and short stories.
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Wemmy Ogunyankin
I am a visual anthropologist/ethnographer who specialises in photography, documentary and poetry. My work concerns a deep exploration of the lived experiences of minoritised and underrepresented groups. As a Black woman, I look to challenge the co-opting of storytelling, to uncover hidden stories, do grassroots work with local communities, decolonise the lens, and in turn contribute to intersectional feminist creative practice.
Blue Fire
Blue Fire is a poem by Otis Mensah about Samuel Morgan Smith, a tragedian, specialising in depictions of ‘Othello’. Smith was born in Philadelphia on 20 June 1832. We think racism led him here, segregated theatres and performances in the US meant Samuel could not practice his art. He travelled the UK and performed extensively. He died in 1882 and is buried at the Sheffield General Cemetery.
