Certain Blacks has announced the launch of Black Athena Festival, a new multi-venue programme running at Rich Mix and The Place from 13 March to 18 April 2026.
Inspired by themes from Martin Bernal’s influential book Black Athena, first published in 1987, the festival reflects on inherited cultural narratives and the importance of recognising difference within contemporary UK society.
The programme will feature performance, sound and dance by artists from the UK and beyond, fostering international collaboration while platforming bold new work.
Clive Lyttle, Artistic Director of Certain Blacks, said: “Who decides what is considered culture? Is it contemporary ballet, dance, and music? Is it based on the ideas of ‘cultured’ men such as Shakespeare and the empires, kings and queens he wrote about? Or the themes of The Age Of Enlightenment that have been championed by Western civilisation? Black Athena challenges perceived ideas of culture. This festival presents work that highlights modern cultures and challenges norms.”
The festival opens at Rich Mix on Friday 13 March with The Science of Dub, an immersive sound and performance event devised and led by Tony T, featuring a full live band, ambient-dub pioneer Greg Hunter and producer Scientist in an exclusive London appearance.
The event explores dub as both a cultural art form and a live mixing performance, using a Dolby Atmos, Sony 360 and Ambisonic setup to create a three-dimensional, spatial audio experience.
On Saturday 14 March, Rich Mix will host Graffiti Bodies XV by Dam Van Huynh, created in collaboration with vocal and movement artist Elaine Mitchener.
A new Certain Blacks commission, the work responds to police brutality against marginalised urban communities and draws inspiration from Jean-Michel Basquiat’s 1981 painting La Hara.
Livia Kojo Alour’s STÚRM follows at Rich Mix on Wednesday 18 March, combining live art and sound to explore climate anxiety, collective healing and rest as resistance through orchestral music, vocals, spoken word and visual design.
Nigerian theatre company Kininso Creative present Waterside at Rich Mix on Friday 20 March, telling the story of two friends navigating totemism, community and the realities faced by young people in the Niger Delta.
On Saturday 21 March, Certain Blacks will collaborate with Senegal’s Kimpavita Festival on a new cross-cultural project led by Pid’or Tampa and Senegalese dance artist Dominica Maboudou, also known as Candela.
The festival concludes at The Place on 17 and 18 April with RONiN by Yukiko Masui, an anime-infused dance theatre piece inspired by the legacy of Japan’s masterless samurai, following a fearless swordfighter through interactive projections and seasonal landscapes.
Listings and ticket information can be found here.
