On his new documentary 'The Tree of Authenticity'

The film fuses images and sounds, and features a talking tree as its narrator, to highlight the connection between Democratic Republic of Congo’s colonial past and the present-day climate crisis.

Read on from here:   https://www.rfi.fr/en/africa/20251207-drc-artist-film-sheds-light-on-link-between-colonialism-and-climate-change 

  With more than two million Algerians and people of Algerian heritage living in France – the country’s former colonial power in North Africa – a smaller community of roughly 35,000 has made its home in the United Kingdom. In 2022, Rachida Lamri founded the DZ Fest, a cultural festival designed to celebrate and showcase Algerian traditions in English.

Listen to the podcast epsiode: https://www.rfi.fr/en/podcasts/spotlight-on-africa/20250930-dz-fest-brings-algerian-culture-centre-stage-in-the-uk 

 Lebanese singer Yasmine Hamdan to discuss her musical comeback after burnout, Lebanon's collapse, and renewal in solitude...

Interview - Read here:   https://www.newarab.com/features/poetic-powerful-and-personal-yasmine-hamdans-musical-return 

 'Together for Palestine' goes beyond music, as activists reveal why they are uniting for Gaza's justice, resilience and lasting global solidarity

Read here:  https://www.newarab.com/features/together-palestine-story-behind-artist-solidarity 

 African stories and languages could unlock billions for the continent’s publishing industry if governments back local writers, a Unesco report has found. Africa’s book market, now worth $7 billion, could reach $18bn with more homegrown books in local languages.

Read here:  https://www.rfi.fr/en/africa/20250706-untold-stories-in-african-languages-could-turn-the-page-on-publishing-unesco 

 A new film by director Jean-Claude Barny seeks to revive Fanon's story and ideas in the year that marks a century since the birth of one of the most influential figures in 20th-century anti-colonial thought...

Read on from here:  https://www.rfi.fr/en/culture/20250406-biopic-explores-the-life-and-legacy-of-frantz-fanon-a-century-after-his-birth 

 The 'Paris Noir' exhibition at the Pompidou Centre brings together works by African, American, Caribbean and Afro-descendant artists who lived and worked in Paris between the 1950s and the end of the 1990s.

Read the story here:  https://www.rfi.fr/en/culture/20250322-paris-noir-exhibition-showcases-work-made-in-french-capital-by-black-artists 

Morocco: bridging Africa and the world through contemporary art

Podcast episode here:   https://www.rfi.fr/en/podcasts/spotlight-on-africa/20250204-morocco-bridging-africa-and-the-world-through-contemporary-art 

Videos: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FVKFiqPwuQA & https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K1Wja0aB5Vo 

 'After The End' is an exhibition at the Pompidou Centre in Metz, showcasing artists from the Caribbean, the Mediterranean, and other post-colonial regions. Through their work, these artists from former colonies seek to present a fresh perspective on the world, offering new ways of imagining the future and inspiration for navigating today’s multiple crises.

Read the story here:  https://www.rfi.fr/en/culture/20250208-post-colonial-artists-reimagine-the-future-in-new-pompidou-exhibition-in-metz   

My first piece for STIR World: ‘Grey Unpleasant Land’ explores the burdens of England’s legacy‘ 

Sophia Al-Maria and Lydia Ourahmane examine the “myth of England as a nation” at Spike Island in Bristol, offering a lens to investigate cultural landscapes.

Read here:    https://www.stirworld.com/see-features-grey-unpleasant-land-explores-the-burdens-of-england-s-legacy 

 As African cinema is taking centre stage at festivals around the world, filmmakers and curators reflect on the future of the film industry and creativity on the continent.

“It is always a pleasure to show my African films around the world,” Mauritanian filmmaker Abderrahmane Sissako told RFI. The Oscar-Nominated director was in London, where his latest film Black Tea, closed the Film Africa festival in London this month, opening discussions on how African stories are perceived globally.

Read on from here:  https://www.rfi.fr/en/africa/20241117-african-cinema-takes-global-stage-with-diverse-storytelling 

As Paris hosts multiple events, fairs and exhibitions around the new Art Basel event in October, RFI went to Burgundy to meet the team behind TERRA, a monumental site-specific series of three exhibitions inviting artists from all around the world to relate with the French region known for its wines and traditions of hospitality. 

Read the story here:   https://www.rfi.fr/en/culture/20241027-international-exhibition-terra-shines-a-light-on-burgundy-s-culture 

 For the first time in its 73-year history, the Sao Paulo Biennial is taking artworks to the African continent with a travelling showcase in Angola. 

The event's curators told RFI they hope the project will highlight long-standing correspondences between Angola and Brazil, united by a shared colonial past.

Read here:  https://www.rfi.fr/en/africa/20241012-sao-paulo-biennial-artistic-exchange-between-brazil-and-angola-aims-to-reclaim-colonial-ties 

Composer, singer and songwriter Blick Bassy makes music that celebrates his multiple identities: as a Cameroonian living between Africa and France, a polyglot, a travelling artist, and a Pan-Africanist. I met him in Paris to discuss his latest album, as well as a new project to unite music makers from across the African continent...

Read here:  https://www.rfi.fr/en/culture/20240929-cameroon-s-blick-bassy-seeks-to-unite-new-generation-of-african-music-makers 

  In her award-winning documentary Dahomey, director Mati Diop imagines the voice of royal treasures looted from West Africa by European colonisers and only recently sent back to their homeland in present-day Benin. She tells RFI she hopes it will prompt reflection on displacement, exile and return – not just of objects, but of people.

Read here:  https://www.rfi.fr/en/culture/20240915-mati-diop-dahomey-film-invites-colonial-past-to-speak-through-benin-s-stolen-treasures 

 Poignant Kenyan short film Act of Love, screened in Nairobi this week, is on a mission to raise awareness about maternal mental health in Africa – with a special focus on postpartum depression.
Inspired by a true story, the film has spent the past year touring film festivals across the continent and is now reaching an even broader audience.

Read here:   https://www.rfi.fr/en/africa/20240818-kenyan-film-explores-the-struggles-of-motherhood-and-mental-health-in-africa-act-of-love  

 For my  RFI podcast 'Spotlight on Africa', I spoke with artist Gavin Jantjes to chat about his To Be Free! A Retrospective 1970-2023, currently on show in London's Whitechapel Gallery. 

The exhibition traces his journey as "a creative agent of change" from South Africa to Europe, celebrating his multifaceted roles as painter, printmaker, writer, curator and activist...

Listen here: https://www.rfi.fr/en/podcasts/spotlight-on-africa/20240809-south-african-artist-gavin-jantjes-on-his-major-retrospective 

Malian music star Toumani Diabate passed away after a short illness, his family announced over the weekend. Music lovers across the planet paid tribute to a master instrumentalist who helped share Mali's rich traditions with the world.

Read here:  https://www.rfi.fr/en/culture/20240722-world-musicians-mourn-the-loss-of-mali-s-king-of-kora-toumani-diabate 

  French-Algerian artist Kader Attia explores the idea of repair through creativity in a new exhibition of his recent work at the museum of modern art in Montpellier, in the south of France, 'Descent into Paradise'. His work is inspired by his memories of Algeria and his travels around the Global South.

Read here:   https://www.rfi.fr/en/culture/20240630-artist-kader-attia-descent-into-paradise-moco-montepellier 

Listen there: https://www.rfi.fr/en/podcasts/spotlight-on-africa/20240628-african-displacements-and-the-search-for-refuge-in-life-and-art 

 Apartheid ended in 1994 in South Africa when the African National Congress led by Nelson Mandela was elected. Some of the people who had a major role in this fight were the cultural activists. Thirty years on, I met with the some of the cultural activists, like the painter Sam Nhlengethwa and curators at the GOODMAN Gallery.

Read the story here:  https://www.rfi.fr/en/africa/20240623-south-africa-s-art-world-a-key-force-in-the-fight-against-apartheid 

 Apartheid ended 30 years ago in South Africa, in the spring of 1994, when the African National Congress led by Nelson Mandela was elected to govern the country. And some of the people who had a major role in this fight were the cultural activists. Thirty years on, RFI met with the some of the activists that made this fight possible, like jazz legend Sipho Mabuse.

Read the story here: https://www.rfi.fr/en/africa/20240616-south-africa-music-cultural-resistance-sipho-mabuse 

  The Spring Contemporary Art Festival – also known as PAC – showcases emerging and well-known artists around dozens of venues in a three-week festival of creativity across south-east France. This year, with the Olympic Games on the horizon, sport has inspired the program, as well as Marseille's migrant-rich identity.

Read here:    https://www.rfi.fr/en/culture/20240512-marseille-art-festival-tells-migrant-stories-with-an-olympic-twist 

 Visitors to Marseille's art venue, La Friche la Belle de Mai, can expect visual arts, performances, films and more in a gigantic space at the heart of the mediterranean city. Until June, they can also discover the work of the overseas French artists shaping the latest programme: "A Field of Islands".

Read here:    https://www.rfi.fr/en/culture/20240407-exhibition-celebrates-marseille-as-gateway-to-the-global-south 

 Ugandan pop star-turned-opposition leader Bobi Wine is at the heart of a documentary that charts his electoral challenge to long-time ruler Yoweri Museveni. The film was nominated for an Oscar.

Read here:   https://www.rfi.fr/en/africa/20240312-bobi-wine-s-fight-for-democracy-in-uganda-continues-on-the-big-screen   

 Black History month took root in the US in the 1920s before becoming a national event by the mid-1970s. Some members of the African diaspora in France have been trying to import it.

Read here: https://www.rfi.fr/en/culture/20240224-how-black-history-month-has-slowly-made-its-way-to-france-bordeaux-slavery-colonialism-portugal-guinea-bissau 

After Britain, the US sends looted royal artefacts to Ghana’s Ashanti King

 A California museum returned seven royal artefacts to Ghana’s traditional Ashanti king to commemorate his silver jubilee in the first planned handovers of Ashanti treasures looted during colonial times.

Read here:  https://www.rfi.fr/en/culture/20240114-ah-kwantou-ghanaian-troupe-bringing-highlife-to-france  & there https://www.rfi.fr/en/africa/20240126-britain-to-return-looted-crown-jewels-to-ghana-but-only-as-a-loan 

 Ah! Kwantou is a band formed between a Ghanaian singer and musicians from France to showcase a mix of sounds, influenced by Ghana’s highlife music, Nigeria’s Afrobeat, French and other West African influences. RFI English caught up with them ahead of their 2024 dates.

Watch our interview:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oGEX-90kMZw&t=4s  

Read here:  https://www.rfi.fr/en/culture/20240114-ah-kwantou-ghanaian-troupe-bringing-highlife-to-france 

 This 29 December marks the 100th birthday of one of the most influential African scholars of the 20th century: Cheikh Anta Diop, who pioneered a new understanding of the continent's place in history and left an enduring legacy in his native Senegal and beyond.

Read here:   https://www.rfi.fr/en/africa/20231229-senegal-celebrates-pioneer-of-african-history-cheikh-anta-diop 

Burkinabé filmmaker Apolline Traoré's feature "Sira" tells the story of a young woman abducted by jihadists who draws on her wits and courage to survive. Offering a rare insight into the lives of thousands living with Islamist violence in the Sahel, the film has already won prizes at home and abroad – and is now in the running for the 2024 Academy Awards.

Watch our interview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C-2WQttS_a4&t=40s 

Read here:  https://www.rfi.fr/en/culture/20231202-burkina-faso-filmmaker-takes-story-of-women-resisting-jihadists-to-oscars   

In October, I focused on interviews with Moroccan artists using their art, words and power to help home after the earthquake - here is the piece.

Read here:   https://www.newarab.com/features/moroccan-art-illuminates-light-atlas-mountains-plight 

His third novel, "Chronicles from the Land of the Happiest People on Earth", has been released in French. The Nobel laureate tells RFI about his inspiration behind the book, which takes place in an imaginary version of Nigeria.

Read here:  https://www.rfi.fr/en/culture/20230918-nigerian-literary-hero-wole-soyinka-present-new-novel-in-france  

 Music historians all agree that the birth of hip-hop culture happened on 11 August 1973 in an apartment in the Bronx, a New York City borough. A basement and a birthday party are also weaved into the legend.

Read here:   https://www.rfi.fr/en/culture/20230811-hip-hop-turns-50-how-french-rap-became-the-second-nation-under-a-groove 

  The American singer-songwriter Sixto Rodriguez went from oblivion to a career renaissance after his music developed a cult following in South Africa. He passed away on Tuesday at the age of 81.

Read here:  https://www.rfi.fr/en/culture/20230812-how-sugar-man-singer-sixto-rodriguez-shot-to-unexpected-fame-in-south-africa   

 The UK's summer festival scene has not only recovered from Brexit and Covid, it has never been more vibrant. And that includes the WOMAD international arts festival in the west of England where fans flock not just for the bigger names but "to hear music they've never heard before," the organisers tell RFI.

Read here:  https://www.rfi.fr/en/culture/20230729-vintage-year-for-womad-as-uk-summer-arts-festivals-attract-record-numbers 

 African-infused London-based jazz band the Balimaya Project is a tour-de-force of sound fusion and energy. The 13-piece band is coming to Paris before a headline show in London in October. RFI caught up with them at the Womad festival in late July.

Read  & watch here:   https://www.rfi.fr/en/culture/20230903-cathartic-rhythms-for-west-african-band-born-in-black-london-balimaya-project 

   Teenage performers from Benin use girl power to take on the world

Read & watch here :  https://www.rfi.fr/en/culture/20230820-teenage-performers-from-benin-use-girl-power-to-take-on-the-world 

Guyanese British artist Hew Locke - in Conversation with art writer Melissa Chemam

Wed, 5 July 2023, 18:30 BST - Royal Academy of Arts - Burlington House, Piccadilly, London W1J 0BD, United Kingdom  

Details: https://www.royalacademy.org.uk/event/hew-locke-in-conversation 

Read our interview from 2022 here: https://artuk.org/discover/stories/hew-lockes-the-procession-transforming-darkness-into-joy 

  The National Museum of the History of Immigration in Paris is reopening its permanent exhibition, with a new focus on the long and dynamic history of people moving to and from France. 

For RFI: https://www.rfi.fr/en/culture/20230618-paris-museum-dedicated-to-history-of-immigration-in-france-reopens 

 French-Algerian artist Katia Kameli's work exhibits a diverse array of photography, films and other multimedia, showcasing the blind spots of French-Algerian history and interrogating the third space and its transitory nature.

Read my feature / interviews for The New Arab here:  https://www.newarab.com/features/katia-kamelis-art-melds-algerian-fables-persian-myths  

As the Saatchi Gallery in London celebrates four decade of Graffiti history, Melissa Chemam retraces the history of the artists who emerged from Bristol, in this three-part series.  For UP Mag - read from here: 
Part 1 - 3D to Banksy https://upmag.com/bristol-history/ 
Part 2 - Inkie https://upmag.com/inkie/
Part 3 - Nick Walker https://upmag.com/nick-walker/ 

My piece with the Chilean artist on his interventions, the media & the Global South - for Art UK.
Read here: https://artuk.org/discover/stories/alfredo-jaar-poetic-visual-interventions 

My piece on art: Basquiat has been one of my favourite artists for years, and influenced so many of my other favourite artists! Lucky Parisians!! 

Read on RFI English's website: https://www.rfi.fr/en/culture/20230415-two-basquiat-exhibitions-in-paris-shine-light-on-art-superstar 

"Important new play about human rights and our fundamental duty to each other, written (and co-directed) by award-winning actor Giles Terera: The Meaning of Zong reminds us of theatre’s unique ability to create a place where conversations can come alive. As we follow the show’s terrific ensemble cast, thrilling movement and soaring live music - inspired by ancient storytelling traditions from across West Africa - we bear witness to these extraordinary stories of resilience and resistance that resonate more powerfully than ever."  

 Read on The Barbican Centre's website: https://www.barbican.org.uk/digital-programmes/digital-programme-the-meaning-of-zong 

 An exciting scene of women musicians has emerged in Saudi Arabia. Two filmmakers have decided to document their emergence with a ten-episode series. The result: ‘Herstory’, broadcast on Shahid, the largest streaming platform in South West Asia.

Read my feature / interviews here:   https://www.newarab.com/features/herstory-sings-new-song-saudi-arabias-female-musicians 

 This is sadly the last episode of my disappearing monthly column on music & the SWANA region (the review cancelled it without notice)...

 I chatted with the talented Tunisian electronic music artist Wael Sghaier, aka Ghoula, part of a very select but exciting underground electronica scene from North Africa, who have managed to find in Paris the means to showcase his music.

Read more here:   https://themarkaz.org/fr/meet-ghoula-arabic-music-remixed-via-tunisia/ 

Iraqi & British creatives reflect on two decades after the US-invasion...

Read my piece for the New Arab here:  https://www.newarab.com/features/uk-based-artists-memorialising-iraqi-national-sacrifice 

 For UP Mag - read from here: https://upmag.com/mode-2/ 

 For the Reader's Digest UK - read from here: https://www.readersdigest.co.uk/culture/art-theatre/alice-neel-exhibition-review  

 This month in my column on music & the SWANA region: A new series in France, Raï is Not Dead, Celebrates the Genre in Algerian music

Read more here on the Markaz Review:  https://themarkaz.org/a-new-series-in-france-rai-is-not-dead-celebrates-the-genre/ 

Melissa Chemam profiles Iraqi Kurdish musician-composer Hardi Kurda and his projects Space 21 and Archive Khanah: Sounds from Iraq.

Read more here on the Markaz Review's #IRAQ issue: https://themarkaz.org/hardi-kurda-archiving-the-sounds-of-northern-iraq/   

Dor Guez seeks to challenge our perception of his homeland. Over the course of 50 solo exhibitions worldwide, Dor's personal gaze into Palestinian culture, history, and geography through photography, film and archive has been received with acclaim.

Read more here:  https://www.newarab.com/features/dor-guez-frames-intimate-portrait-palestinian-pluralities 

 The Ghanaian British filmmaker and video artist John Akomfrah will represent Britain at the next Venice Biennial.

Read more here: http://melissa-on-the-road.blogspot.com/2023/01/congratulations-john-akomfrah-who-will.html 

Rasha Nahas has rocked the English-speaking world with a successful first EP and a first LP.  She’s back with an album of songs written in her native Arabic. Read from The Markaz Review:   https://themarkaz.org/berlin-based-palestinian-returns-to-arabic-in-new-amrat-album/ 

 From our new Freedom issue. Read from The Markaz Review:  https://themarkaz.org/gultrah-sound-system-tunisias-sound-of-freedom/ 

From London to Bristol via Leeds, Palestinian cinema is celebrated across the UK in the months of November and December. After three difficult years for film festivals and the Palestinian cinematic industry, directors have renewed hope of exposure.

Read from The New Arab: https://www.newarab.com/features/palestinian-film-festivals-across-uk-celebrate-rising-talent 

"The Blue Caftan effectively reflects on tradition and inevitable change; to represent such strong values, the film team used some incredibly powerful cinematography, with characters who express themselves deeply, with few words and meaningful gazes."

Read from  The Markaz Review: https://themarkaz.org/love-has-everything-to-do-with-maryam-touzanis-the-blue-caftan/ 

Ÿuma consists of Sabrine Jenhani and Ramy Zoghlami, two voices and a guitar — a “minimalist folk universe,” as they describe it, in contrast with today’s Arab urban productions. 

Read from The Markaz Review:   https://themarkaz.org/dynamic-acoustic-duo-yuma-allies-with-tunisia-and-derja/ 

 The PalArt collective reunites Palestinian artists around London. Supported by Amnesty International UK, it held a four-day festival at Rich Mix. I spoke with poets, playwrights and participants to find out the festival's importance.

Read from The New Arab :  https://english.alaraby.co.uk/features/palart-festival-voice-palestinian-artists-uk 

 French and Tunisian artist eL Seed  started using his distinctive Arabic “calligraffiti” style on walls about twenty years ago...

Read from UP Mag: https://upmag.com/el-seed/ 

 Read from Toute la culture:   https://toutelaculture.com/arts/expositions/rebellion-afrobeat-lexpo-evenement-consacre-a-fela-kuti/ 

 To the Paris-based Beiruti, "Dance clubs are like churches, sacred spaces, that can heal our wounds..."

Read from The Markaz Review:  https://themarkaz.org/for-electronica-artist-hadi-zeidan-dance-clubs-are-analogous-to-churches/  

My feature with artists Grada Kilomba, Nu Barreto & art director Touria el Glaoui, as the 1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair opens at Somerset House during Frieze Art Fair - for BBC Culture:  https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20221012-the-slave-ship-in-a-london-courtyard 

My feature on British cinema in the rest of Europe, as I travelled to Brittany for Dinard British Film Festival - For Reader's Digest UK : https://www.readersdigest.co.uk/culture/film-tv/what-europe-really-thinks-of-british-cinema 

Link to article here:  https://toutelaculture.com/arts/expositions/alice-neel-au-centre-pompidou-peintre-engagee-du-siecle-americain/ 

Palestinian musician Maya Al Khaldi seams together archival histories, musical theory and rhythmic intuition to dazzling effect. In the exhibition 'Call the Waves', currently on in Cardiff, Wales, she explore the sound and movements of the tides.

Read here: https://english.alaraby.co.uk/features/maya-al-khaldi-brings-palestinian-musical-character-wales 

 Back with her second album, “Awa,” the French-born Algerian singer and guitarist recounts her journey from the Barbès Café in Paris to her coming tour, including dates in London, Geneva, Paris and Tunis, Tunisia.

Read from The Markaz Review:   https://themarkaz.org/vocalist-samira-brahmia-bridges-france-and-algeria-with-love/ 

Read here: https://themarkaz.org/kader-attia-berlin-biennales-curator/ 

 Born in Jerusalem in 1982, Yousef started playing darbuka as a child, soon tackling different instruments, including other Arab percussion and the oud. He now lives in Gennevilliers, near Paris.

Read from The Markaz Review:   https://themarkaz.org/a-palestinian-musician-thrives-in-france-yousef-zayeds-journey/?fbclid=IwAR2H4Sf2WCnCyEk2FDouIxPGWRqbTYzWt4itxf6JH1RXdirNzUPilKzRKaw 

My piece on young graffiti artists from Tunis and beyond, for The New Arab. 

Read  from here:  https://english.alaraby.co.uk/features/leaving-mark-tunisia-hotbed-arab-street-art 

Friday 29 July 2022 at Arnolfini Bristol: https://arnolfini.org.uk/whatson/shirazbayjoo/ 

Artist Shiraz Bayjoo, in conversation with writer, journalist and Arnolfini Writer in Residence, Melissa Chemam in a special evening celebrating the release of Shiraz’s beautiful illustrated edition of 'Treasure Island' by Robert Louis Stevenson, published by Four Corners Books: About working with archival imagery and histories of colonialism to produce this new edition of the classic novel.

One of the UK's leading British African heritage contemporary theatre companies, tiata fahodzi is about to celebrate its 25th anniversary with a new season of creative initiatives and productions, supporting the future of Black British artists.

Read  from I AM History:  https://www.iamhistory.co.uk/home/2022/7/27/i-am-talks-chinonyerem-odimba 

Read from The Markaz Review:  https://themarkaz.org/roxana-vilks-personal-history-of-iranian-music/ 

Nigerian filmmaker & founder of online African art marketplace, ArtDey

Read  I AM History:  https://www.iamhistory.co.uk/home/2022/6/17/i-am-talks-chioma-onyenwe 

author of children’s books, publisher, a screenwriter and the founder of Storymix, an inclusive fiction platform to encourage Black writers. 

Read on  I AM History:  https://www.iamhistory.co.uk/home/2022/5/27/interview-with-author-publisher-and-founder-of-storymix-jasmine-richards 

Read from The Markaz Review:  https://themarkaz.org/tamino-soothing-sonic-innovator-goes-on-post-pandemic-tour/ 

 Read  here:  https://themarkaz.org/algerian-art-on-60th-anniversary-of-algerias-independence/  

 Read  here: https://themarkaz.org/zineb-sedira-triumphs-for-france-algeria-at-59th-venice-biennale/ 

Read from The Markaz Review:  https://themarkaz.org/fairouz-is-the-voice-of-lebanon-symbol-of-hope-in-a-weary-land/ 

 Review/interview for Art UK - Read  here: https://artuk.org/discover/stories/hew-lockes-the-procession-transforming-darkness-into-joy 

Read on The Markaz Review:  https://themarkaz.org/artist-hayv-kahramans-gut-feelings-exhibition-reviewed/ 

Read from The Markaz Review:  https://themarkaz.org/music-in-the-middle-east-bring-back-peace/ 

Read here:  https://www.iamhistory.co.uk/blackculture/2022/3/11/05-fest-in-lewisham 

Read on The Markaz Review: https://themarkaz.org/nazareths-liwan-features-palestinian-singer-haya-zaatry/ 

Read here: https://wepresent.wetransfer.com/story/salah-elmur-sudan-painting/ 

In The Markaz review: https://themarkaz.org/rachid-taha-and-the-sway-of-chaabi-rai-on-franco-arab-rock/ 

A commission around the anniversary of the groundbreaking book on art.  Listen here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m00132xf  

HOW BRISTOL MUSIC SCENE EVOLVED IN THE 1990’S - for the BIMM Institute: https://blog.bimm.co.uk/times-of-reinventions-how-the-bristol-music-scene-evolved-in-the-1990s-mmu 

Read here: https://themarkaz.org/electronic-music-in-riyadh/ 

Discussion ahead of his upcoming exhibition at New Art Gallery - You can read it here: https://artuk.org/discover/stories/keith-piper-on-the-history-of-the-black-art-group?fbclid=IwAR1zMwN4A650Sl0lBYmR83sr9C0WagmtmXfu--5hsPBrFIYG4_mxUGRqUiM# 

For The Eyes magazine with Roger Robinson and Johny Pitts:

https://theeyes.eu/en/revue/the-eyes-12/?fbclid=IwAR1cx1J3b_f2_Z8ox4wHuaA8phNbOaI_46_4b_710RGT9VOrVlfCeDLOSbw 

As part of a screening of the documentary film Bombin', on 24 Oct. 2021, to discuss street art and music

After a year of research and writing, this art e-book is the result of my second year as a writer in residence at Arnolfini. The book is out in PDF. 

More here: https://arnolfini.org.uk/category/writer-in-residence/ 

Read here: https://www.iamhistory.co.uk/culture/an-interview-with-artistic-director-suzann-mclean 

 These Black Britons have produced some of the most thought-provoking and envelope pushing art for decades This year sees an array of exhibitions by leading Black British artists, and as the writer in residence at Arnolfini in Bristol, Melissa Chemam shares her selection of five ground-breaking Black British artists - in Reader's Digest (9 Sept. 2021): https://www.readersdigest.co.uk/culture/art-theatre/5-pioneering-black-british-artists 

'Land of many waters' at Arnolfini: https://artuk.org/discover/stories/land-of-many-waters-an-interview-with-frank-bowling 

https://www.iamhistory.co.uk/culture/lubaina-himid-and-sonia-boyce-pioneers-of-black-british-art 

Read on I Am History's website here: 

https://www.iamhistory.co.uk/culture/2021/7/28/mother-of-mankind-exhibition-celebrating-black-women-artists 

In the 80's, Bristol was one of the pioneering graffiti art hotspots in the world and a new exhibition pays tribute to its history:

https://www.readersdigest.co.uk/culture/art-theatre/rediscovering-bristols-original-graffiti-artists 

Featured in The Quarantini Podcast here: https://the-quarantini.captivate.fm/episode/a-quarantini-with-susan-thomson 

In TMR 8 - The Marseille issue : https://themarkaz.org/magazine/marseilles-original-hiphop-collective 

 From Lockdown to 4 Indies in a Week (Sept. 2020) - The Markaz: https://themarkaz.org/l74jymcfmuxt8i75fodz0pwkceept6/ 

 TMR - Read here: https://themarkaz.org/magazine/r2yqa7s57cbevnwxap1dmt10g352n2 

For DOPE Magazine: https://dogsection.org/bristol-underground/ 

Since 2019, I've been working with the delightful Arnolfini gallery in Bristol as their writer-in-residence, first on the themes of feminism and resistance, then on an art book about the African & Caribbean artists they've invited to exhibit since the opening in 1961. 

All my texts here: https://arnolfini.org.uk/category/writer-in-residence/ 

About his photographic work in London and Marrakech - Skin Deep: https://skindeepmag.com/articles/skin-deep-meets-hassan-hajjaj-the-path-arnolfini-gallery/ 

For Art UK: https://artuk.org/discover/stories/sonia-boyce-a-revolutionary-face-of-contemporary-british-art

For Imperica: https://melissachemam.medium.com/on-women-artists-postcolonial-art-and-the-legacy-of-empires-3d731fed6023

>>> insights on French post-colonialism and art by Melissa Chemam.

'Marc Quinn’s statue replacing Colston in Bristol: Political act? Or complete PR stunt…?' - Medium: https://melissachemam.medium.com/marc-quinns-statue-replacing-colston-in-bristol-political-act-or-complete-pr-stunt-76c9ccf23b45 

For Skin Deep - Link:  https://skindeepmag.com/articles/lubaina-himid-the-colours-of-our-past/

Cultural review linking the West and the East... Read my articles here:  https://themarkaz.org/author/melissachemam/ 

For the Phacemag: https://www.phacemag.com/82038203tricky-talks-to-melissa-chemam-on-the-release-of-his-much-acclaimed-autobiography-hell-is-around-the-corner.html

Article for the Reader's Digest here:  https://www.readersdigest.co.uk/culture/music/massive-attack-the-birth-of-the-bristol-sound

West England Bylines - Read here: https://westenglandbylines.co.uk/covid-musicians-are-struggling-but-it-doesnt-have-to-be-this-way/  

Massive Attack’s Eutopia addresses our need for a radical global change - Public Pressure https://www.publicpressure.org/massive-attacks-eutopia-addresses-our-need-for-a-radical-global-change/ 

 Melissa Chemam discusses the impact of the crisis on Britain's artists, writers and musicians, and what the public response must be - Verso Books Blog: https://www.versobooks.com/blogs/4615-how-the-covid-19-pandemic-is-destroying-britain-s-creative-industries 

Read here: http://thisistomorrow.info/articles/dora-maar 

Link to WhyNow: https://whynow.co.uk/read/mad-professor-on-his-four-decades-of-south-london-reggae-and-dub/ 

For WhyNow: https://whynow.co.uk/read/amak-mahmoodian-zanjir-iran-arnolfi-gallery-bristol/ 

https://themarkaz.org/magazine/ni7cb7tlgd89vo13y92oint3366aqx 

A Dog Called Money is much more than a music film. It is a film about creativity, our troubled world and about how we learn to relate to one another. In WhyNow: https://whynow.co.uk/read/pj-harvey-a-dog-with-money-seamus-murphy/ 

In WhyNow:  https://whynow.co.uk/read/25-years-later-alfredo-jaar-at-goodman-gallery-london/ 

https://www.publicpressure.org/the-rise-and-pride-of-feminists-art/ 

Read here on Phacemag: https://www.phacemag.com/sammy-stein-author-women-in-jazz-talks-to-8203-melissa-chemam.html 

In The Independent: 'Dummy at 25: How Portishead defined the Nineties while remaining completely mysterious' - read here https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/features/portishead-dummy-25-anniversary-album-nineties-a9074711.html 

BETWEEN DEATH AND REBIRTH: BRISTOL’S MUSIC VENUES AT A CROSSROADS - Bristol 24/ https://www.bristol247.com/news-and-features/features/between-death-and-rebirth-bristols-music-venues-at-a-crossroads/ 

Read here: 'HIT FACTORIES - A journey through the industrial cities of British pop', by Karl Whitney  https://www.the-tls.co.uk/articles/pop/ 

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/witch-extent-can-african-european-music-travel-together-chemam/?published=t 

By Dazed: 'Following its 20th anniversary and with a new book about the Bristol band on its way, we look back on their fraught third album' https://www.dazeddigital.com/music/article/40387/1/massive-attack-mezzanine-20th-birthday-retrospective 

Bristol Cable - read here: https://thebristolcable.org/2018/12/fat-paul-and-the-the-exchanges-rebirth-as-bristols-first-community-owned-venue/ 

 Manifesta 12 in Palermo: Cultivate Your Garden - For CIRCA Art Magazine https://circaartmagazine.net/manifesta-12-in-palermo-cultivate-your-garden/ 

Read here: https://toutelaculture.com/actu/politique-culturelle/interview-tammam-azzam-from-syria/ 

Read here: https://toutelaculture.com/actu/politique-culturelle/interview-with-mocha-from-collective-sound-cutters-checkpoint-303/ 

In the Public Art Review - Text here: http://melissa-on-the-road.blogspot.com/2018/09/from-belfast-to-belfast-journey-of.html 

In October 2015, the art world celebrated the centenary of influential Italian painter Alberto Burri with a major exhibition at the Guggenheim Museum in New York. In the same month Il Grande Cretto, Burri’s land art project in Sicily, was finally completed after 30 years (PAR): https://forecastpublicart.org/alberto-burris-monumental-land-art-project-in-sicily/ 

A piece for the American 'Public Art Review' from 2016 (pp. 60-67): https://issuu.com/forecastpublicart/docs/par54_final