“What kind of space allows people like us to fully exist? To be a Black, queer creative is to return to this question again and again, and, sometimes, to become the answer yourself.”
Visionary performer, curator, founder of Pyramid, Basjia reflects on the language she discovered through movement, tracing the journey from a body shaped by expectation to one that became a site of freedom, pleasure and expression. Together, King and Basjia explore what it means to move through a world that celebrates Black creativity and how performance can transmute into a practice of resistance.
A Language We Learned is a month-long Race Matters residency led by King Baba, centring Black Afro-diasporic creatives across so-called Australia through storytelling, conversation and music. The series is supported by technical producer and creative collaborator Prinitha Theverajah, with creative mentorship from Shareeka Helaluddin and Binta Yade, and artwork by Tim Worton.
Content warning: this episode contains discussion of eating disorder and dysmorphia.