Ways of Living with Water

SOMA is a developing mobile collection and travelling library project centred on Black art and culture.  Ikon invites you aboard Slow Boat for a relaxed and informal gathering exploring the connections between Black communities and bodies of water throughout the African Diaspora. 

This event offers an opportunity to share your own ‘water stories’, reflect on the any ways water shapes our lives and browse SOMA’s growing collection in conversation with others.

About SOMA: 

SOMA, meaning ‘read’ in Swahili, is a purpose-built mobile collection of books, journals, ephemera, archival materials, niche publications, exhibition catalogues, rare texts, and films that centre on Black art and artists. 

SOMA aims to be a public space that fosters broader dialogue about Black artistic and curatorial practices in the UK and the diaspora. It places particular emphasis on highlighting Black cultural heritage and social value in the West Midlands and surrounding areas, particularly as the region gave birth to what is now known as the 1980s British Black Arts Movement.