Through discussions with friends, family and people on social media, they’ve found that these experiences occur very often for People of Colour, and is a topic strongly present in their lives.

To provide content for the zine, ROOT-ed delivered four consecutive workshops which allowed those who attended to explore the topic of hair. The sessions helped participants to understand the socio-political pressure that wearing your natural hair as a Person of Colour can have. ROOT-ed shared their stories and listened to others, and participants had the chance to learn about the science of hair as well as how contemporary artists, such as Ellen Gallagher and Sonia Boyce, explore hair in their work.

Alongside the workshops, ROOT-ed created new artworks on the topic of hair. Amber is a videographer interested in music, specifically genres such as Hip-Hop and Rap with POC as a focus. Fauziya is a fine art photographer, who makes works centred around fetishism and exoticism, and will produce a series of photographs. Both artists will be responding to their individual experiences of hair.

On the 24 October, also in celebration of Black History Month, ROOT-ed launched the new artworks and issue of the zine with a party in our building. The evening included performances by some of ROOT-ed Zine’s past contributors as well as refreshments and snacks.