About the event
Black History Year and QHT-EDI Programme at the University of Westminster are excited to announce black queer art, life and legacy: Kobi Essah Ayensuo and Jimmie Daniels at the Soho Poly for Black History Year and the third annual Queering Academia conference.
This is the second event by Kobi Essah Ayensuo for Black History Year 2025 and the third annual Queering Academia conference – see the first event here.
Jimmie Daniels was an internationally renowned cabaret singer and an active part of New York’s nightclub scene during the Harlem Renaissance and beyond. Famous for his interpretations of jazz classics and other musical numbers, Daniels was notable for the open way in which he lived his queer desires.
Daniels’ archives are housed at the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, DC and, for LGBTQ+ History month, Black History Year, the Soho Poly, and Kobi Essah Ayensuo will be working together to explore Daniels’ archive and to foster a creative response to his legacy.
In late-January, performer, poet and musician Kobi Essah Ayensuo will visit the National Museum of African American History and Culture to study Daniel’s archive. Then, from Monday 10 February, they will undertake a two-week residency at the Soho Poly on behalf of the Black History Year programme.
During the residency, Kobi will give a performance of 'We Were Here, We Are Here’, a love song to black queer lives, performance, art + ancestry at the Soho Poly for everyone to join!
Location
University of Westminster - Soho Poly, 16 Riding House Street, London W1W 7EY
