Black Space Jam celebrates Black art, culture, and experience
Dance, spoken word, stand-up comedy, music, and a live DJ are all featured at the Afro Van Connect event hosted by Pi Theatre
Kor Kase.
Pi Theatre, as part of its Provocateurs Series, presents Black Space Jam produced by Afro Van Connect and Black Space Media on March 3 from 8 to 11 pm at the Biltmore Cabaret
A first generation Ugandan-Canadian, Kor Kase had a childhood filled with African art and culture. From a young age, Kase was inspired by the African music he grew up with and his memories of diasporic gatherings in his family’s home. Now, as a musician, co-founder of Afro Van Connect, and executive director of Black Space Media, Kase is dedicated to addressing the need for Black community spaces in Vancouver.
“My family would constantly have functions and cultural celebrations growing up, because we didn’t have that many people from Uganda in our community,” Kase says in a phone interview with Stir. “Our house became our community, a gathering space. “We would have people come over almost every other weekend, there was all this music and always something happening in my family’s space sonically. I was drawn to music really early. I've always had a strong ear, and music has always been a part of my life since then.”
Drawing from musical influences from across the African diaspora, including hip-hop, Afrobeat, and soul music, Kase is one of the many talents who will be featured at Black Space Jam, an upcoming evening of Black multidisciplinary art with a theme of cultural renaissance. The singer (goes by the stage names KOR and Osmoses x) will perform alongside poet and spoken-word artist Shayna Jones, stand-up comedian Mufaro Mbudzi, dancer Brotha Jason (Jason Bempong), DJ Bazenga, and musician Dae Shields (co-founder of Afro Van Connect, who goes by the stage name ebonEmpress). Each artist will perform a 20-minute set, with time in between for mingling. The event will also host culturally relevant vendors who will be selling locally made goods and wares.
Black Space Jam is part of a resurgence of Black cultural spaces in Vancouver following the desecration of Black communities in the city, such as the razing of Hogan’s Alley, a historic Black neighbourhood in what is today’s Vancouver’s Chinatown, for viaducts in 1970.
“Dae Shields and I founded Afro Van Connect in 2019 as an initiative to create more intentional spaces for youth of African descent to gather and perform,” Kase says. “We came together to try and make a difference in our community because we saw that there were no spaces dedicated to supporting Black youth within the city, which is tied to the history of removal of historic Black neighbourhoods in Vancouver. There’s just been a void.”
Dae Shields.
As the executive director of Black Space Media, a program under Afro Van Connect with a mission to empower Black youth to tell their own stories, Kase hopes he can contribute to creating more opportunities for young people of African descent in Vancouver to connect and build community.
“Growing up in Vancouver, there’s a lack of examples and role models for young Black people,” Kase says. “We need somewhere to gather, somewhere to see reflections of ourselves, somewhere to connect with other people who are reflecting your culture, history, and your heritage.
“I think it’s very important for us to re-establish relationships within community and create positive new experiences that can inspire people to see the necessity of honouring diverse cultures, and making sure that our heritage and experiences are seen and shared in a way that's more accessible,” he adds. “We’re doing this work so that future generations can have a reference point of other spaces that have done this before, and they could also just shift the culture of the city.”
Kase says feels he’s reached a full-circle moment in his life, from growing up in a Ugandan household with strong community values to hosting cultural events on a larger scale to unite people.
“I love the work I do because it’s a natural extension of me,” Kase says. “I think that creating spaces for people to come together and connect is what we’re here to do as human beings. I’m always going to think that this is what my mother did. She utilized her living room as a space to bring people together and make a difference. I find that I’m doing the same thing as an adult, just in a more elevated space. I’m carrying that tradition forward, and I think that’s beautiful.”
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