Happy new year! I hope you held onto that feeling of newness at the beginning of the year, however brief the moment was. It’s one thing to live through the distressing year that was 2020, it’s another thing to feel like it would last forever. Of course, I know that calendars are a construct, an elaborate fiction we have devised to mark the passage of time, and that viruses do not recognize that it is a new year and they should all just chill. Even so, I hope you gave yourself that moment to breathe, exhale and hope that this year will be kinder to us all. I’m holding on to that hope, however fleeting and tentative – to hope is to be human.
We at Baraza started the year and hit the ground running – the Media Lab has been open since 6th January, maintaining the same hours as last year, 9am – 4pm. Depending on how the Covid-19 situation goes, we are likely to revise these working hours in future, especially to accommodate members.
Please find below several opportunities to pitch, write and apply to. We curate this list every fortnight not just to fill your inbox or eat your data, but to make it apparent that there are places and spaces for your work to find a home, or for you to sharpen your skill. Let 2021 be that year, when (to quote MLK) “if you can’t fly, then run. If you can’t run, then walk. If you can’t walk, then crawl. But whatever you do, you have to keep moving forward.” Let this be the year when your work moves forward.
Remember, if you enjoy this newsletter please do forward it to a friend and nudge them to subscribe.
In the meantime, here’s –
- What We’re Reading: Politics is Visceral: an article on Aeon Magazine that makes the crucial argument that politics is not just a rational exercise but an emotional one. The human body and the body politic are intertwined; depleting our body budget has consequences.
- What We’re Watching: I know you want me to say Bridgerton, but I won’t (!). We’ll go with Lupin, a series about a gentleman thief in France who has revenge on his mind.
- What We’re Listening To: Jacked, a delightful podcast on the origin of the phenomenal genre of music known as new jack swing, casting the spotlight on the groundbreaking musical group Guy. The origin story of new jack swing is one of “friendship, gangsters, double-crosses, and big dreams.” Listen!
As always, yours in solidarity,
Christine Mungai
Curator | Baraza Media Lab