Aural X-Otika Fine Arts

03/01/2024

Happy New Year!
It is with a heavy heart and sad regret that from today I am boycotting all Newcastle Libraries https://www.facebook.com/NewcastleLibraries and all their associated community hubs
due to an ugly, unresolved issue involving staff and their handling of Black History Month. I am a great supporter of BHM. Chi Onwurah Newcastle Central MP is obviously a great campaigner. It is ironic that I I am boycotting all Newcastle Libraries as Chi Onwurah holds her surgeries at The City Library. I will just Zoom call her instead if I need to get in touch. I love the internet!

18/10/2023

Had a fabulous time on Monday 9th October in Newcastle city library where Black British Ballet
performed their work “Island Movements” a short ballet that tells examines the impact of Windrush experiences and consequent events. Island Movement tells The story of a WW2 Pilot , his family and how his family were treated in the UK that led to consequent horrors now known as the Windrush Scandal.

I saw the beautiful ballet in Newcastle upon Tyne. I was moved by it. The exquisite dancing and tremendous music highlighted the plight of not just this WW2 pilot and his family, but everybody from the(I use this term very controversially) colonies. As a 60year old person of colour born in England ,the ballet is a timely reminder of how we can continue to contribute to the culture of Britain and beyond.

The Black British Ballet project aims to produce a suite of resources to document the history and experiences of Black dancers and choreographers in British ballet in the last century. This will include international professionals working in British ballet companies, as well as British professionals working abroad. For the purposes of this project, we are focusing on individuals from the African diaspora whether they be from the Caribbean, South America, the US or Africa.
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16/10/2023

Black History Month by Chi Onwurah MP
excerpt form https://www.blackhistorymonth.org.uk/article/section/interviews/your-voice-counts/

In light of Black History Month, could you share your thoughts on the importance of this celebration and how it resonates with your own history and experiences?

Let me start by saying why Black History Month matters so much to me personally. I grew up in Newcastle in the ’70s. I went to fantastic local schools, where I learned the history of our great region, and I was inspired by local heroes such as Stephenson and Parsons to become an engineer, but I learned nothing of black history. I would have been hard put to name a dozen famous black people outside music or sports. My knowledge of black achievement was limited to those two sectors and a few walk-on parts in the great histories of nations, generally as hapless victims or stereotypical villains.
That is why Black History Month matters. Black history is British history and I want black history taught in our schools so that young children of every ethnicity can learn about British history in its entirety. There is justice in telling the stories of those whom history has overlooked; there is also power in sharing the diversity of achievement that is our history. My own achievement of being Newcastle’s first black MP is put into context; I am not an outlier, but I stand on the shoulders of the many who go before me in our shared past.
The theme of ‘Saluting our Sisters’ is important because the contribution of black people and the contribution of women has been too often overlooked but when it comes to black women, it is doubly hidden. So yes, it is time to salute our sisters and I would like to salute each and every woman of colour who has worked to change people’s lives for the better.
https://www.blackhistorymonth.org.uk/article/section/interviews/your-voice-counts/
Black History Month by Chi Onwurah MP

16/10/2023

This year, OPEN have forged a new partnership to celebrate Black History Month 2023 with blackhistorymonth.org.uk to celebrate the theme.
Across OPEN Media’s DOOH portfolio, will be spotlighting six prominent women on sites which are relevant to each individual and their relative stories and backgrounds. This will include influential names such as Newcastle Central's MP, Chi Onwurah whose image is emblazoned on the Haymarket Metro site with the slogan
Empowering Progress-Pioneering Equality, Innovation, and Representation and is celebrated in the category “Women Who Move Mountains,” celebrating black women who have made significant contributions to science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields

27/08/2023

Went to the Amazing Noughty 90's Festival in Leazes Park Newcastle yesterday. Had great fun. I will be back again today for more mayhem🤩

24/08/2023

It is with regret that I have recently been diagnosed with prostate cancer. Despite constant blood tests in rececent years, I am now now one of those 1 in 8 black men to get prostrate cancer. The irony is that it was diagnosed using MRI as a screening test alongside PSA density allowed detection of cancers that would have been missed by the blood test alone. This MRI scan has recently been hailed as a major breakthough in detecting and treating prostrate cancer. I have always supported the prostrate cancer charity www.prostatecanceruk.org. I am now looking forward to my new healthcare journey!

I'm raising money for Prostate Cancer UK by taking part in March the Month.

04/06/2023

Magic Weekend- Rugby League action at St Jameses Park Stadium Newcastle this weekend🏈

04/06/2023

Life is Life...!🥳

03/06/2023

Millenium Bridge Gateshead, Sage Gateshead, Baltic Gallery Gateshead

03/06/2023

Sage Gateshead, Baltic Gallery Gateshead

28/05/2023

A beautiful portrait of me taken by Lauren McWilliams of https://www.foryounewcastle.co.uk🎬

11/05/2023

Beautiful evening under the Tyne Bridge🚤

08/05/2023

Ballerina Erica Mulkern🩰

08/05/2023

A Self Portrait🎨