Belinda Zhawi is a Zimbabwean born writer, sound artist & educator based in London. Her work explores Afro-diasporic research & narratives; how art & education can be used as intersectional tools. She was the 2016/17 Institute of Contemporary Arts Associate Poet & is co-founder of literary arts platform, BORN::FREE. Belinda is the author of Small Inheritances (ignitionpress, 2018).
BA&D: Tell us a bit about yourself.
BZ: I am a Zimbabwean writer based in London who also incorporates sound into their practice – I have started to describe myself as literary & sound artist. I mostly work with poetry, jazz improv, beats and voice. I am deeply inspired by the tradition of the Black avant-garde.
Currently, I am in Marseille on a residency with an organisation called Triangle working on a poetry/voice EP called Viva Voce. It’s been such an interesting process and I really appreciate having a studio and a space to work in that I can call my own (albeit for a limited time).
“I grew up surrounded by incredible musicians, singers, poets, preachers and the outfits were outrageous! Creativity was never divorced from day to day – if anything, it was required in order to remain sane and healthy.”
BA&D: Where did you grow up and what role did creativity play growing up?
BZ: My whole childhood was mostly spent in the sunny city of Harare in a high density suburb called Dzivaresekwa before spending my teenage years and early 20s in the wonderful, not so sunny, South East London – specifically Woolwich Arsenal & Thamesmead.
Creativity was a huge part of my upbringing, aside from the cultures I experience, mostly because I was raised in the tradition of the African Pentecostal Church. I grew up surrounded by incredible musicians, singers, poets, preachers and the outfits were outrageous! Creativity was never divorced from day to day – if anything, it was required in order to remain sane and healthy. Additionally, local youth subcultures in both geographies contributed to my desire to become a professional creator of things and moments.
BA&D: Why this career path?
BZ: This career path allows me to re-imagine what work and rest can look like. What is life outside the rigid structures of white supremacist capitalist ways of working. Spirituality and Bantu/ Nguni cultures are a huge inspiration to my practice and I always turn to them when I feel lost.
BA&D: From a creative perspective, what was your biggest challenge and highlight in the last year?
BZ: My biggest challenge in the past year was to appreciate that I could just be and rest. I found it hard to be still and because it has been ingrained in me, especially coming from two big cities, that I must always be producing something. Once I got over that, the biggest highlight for was being awarded an Arts Council grant to work on Viva Voce.
BA&D: Looking ahead – what are you working on?
BZ: More sound art this year I think! I hope to share some of the work I wanted to share last year. I am hoping to figure out a way to live in the dusty, lawless city of Marseille. It reminds me of South East London in its lack of pretence (in some parts). There is always art with each turn – be it graffiti, the people, the sea, the mountains.
BA&D: What does your social distancing reading and watch list include?
BZ: RuPaul’s Drag Race and pretty much any Korean Drama on Netflix. Book-wise, I’ve been re-reading all the Black classics including Sula, In Search of Our Mothers’ Gardens, History of the Voice, Sister Outsider, Teaching to Transgress and all of Yvonne Vera’s repertoire.
BA&D: There’s a lot being spoken about around mental health and the arts. How do you feel about the two?
BZ: I think it’s important that the glamourisation of the suffering artist be banished to the depths of hell. Most artist I know are dealing with varying mental health struggles and there is no glamour in it. For me, I have been slowly building different coping mechanisms for the past several years that have really helped me. Amongst other things, I have really benefited from daily journaling, meditation, yoga & prayer. If my mental health is fledgling, so is my practice.