Editorial: We are not alone in this

What do you make, when the world is ending?

Oh god, not another negative start to an Editorial from me. I’m sorry, festival attendees! But this is a serious question. Though, perhaps I should say – “What do you make, when it feels like the world is ending?” – because there are still ways we can keep the world from ending (to our UK-based readers: why not take a moment to read up on #StopCambo).

So, what do you make? Well, we made an online arts festival. Not only did we make one, but we did it again for a second year, and I am filled with gratitude to the people who made this possible. Firstly, thank you so much to everyone who created work for the festival, who submitted work to the festival, who took the time to sit down and really think about what these productions are saying. Thank you to everyone who bought a Pass, or who made the effort to request a free Pass. Thank you to the journalists, producers, friends and families who helped us spread the word of the festival, and the many arts and community organisations who have supported, sponsored and funded us this season.

Fringe of Colour Films is possible because we have a passionate and talented team behind it, who are committed to platforming the work of Black, Asian, Indigenous and Latine artists. The work does not happen in isolation of pressure from the outside world – anyone organising or building at the moment is doing so during a global pandemic, during continuous violence, loss and heartache, during illness and exhaustion. It is a miracle that we have not looked at the never-ending bad news cycle and simply decided to give up. It is a wonder that we still want to work towards freedom.

Last year I was reflecting on the festival from a different perspective. I had experienced the most intense period of loneliness in my life so far, and from that I had determined that art – making it and taking it in – is the antidote to feeling alone when physical or intimate contact and presence is not available.

This year, through seeing how our Responses project has grown, I have also realised that responding to art can also battle loneliness. The term, give artists their flowers, is one I fiercely support. Don’t wait until it is too late to tell someone you liked their work, that it moved you, that you connected with it in a myriad of ways. Fringe of Colour Responses lives by this mantra and, this year, with our team of outstanding writers, we have been able to keep giving artists the flowers they deserve. Our Responses are deeply personal reflections on the productions, rejecting the more formulaic style of classic reviews and asserting that the productions are here to tell us something about the world we live in. I have loved reading each one.

It can be hard being an artist in a festival, trying to keep your head above water, to keep afloat while so many other things are going on. Through our Responses, we have been able to say to our artists – look, at least one person, this person, has taken the time to see how your art fits into them. They have identified parts of you and your story inside themselves and their experiences. Look how you help each other. The Responses project is sustained by a mutual appreciation between artists and writers, and I think that is incredibly special.

And of course there has been more than just one person feeling that way about each film, but it’s nice to see that thought process laid out on the page. Speaking of more than one person, it is a wonderful thing to be able to say that over 500 people attended our online festival, from over 40 different countries. The power to communicate across continents with stories about trans identities and queer love, Black radicalism and rituals, spirituality, mental and physical health, migration, love for elders and ancestors, motherhood, war, and gentrification is something that will always be a highlight of working on this project.

Knowing you are not alone can be a means for survival. So can running towards knowledge. When I consider the films in this year’s programme, I think about communities that have uplifted me and I think about the ways I hope to be able to approach the world, through learning the concepts, histories and language required to navigate it. With so many lessons in this year’s programme, and so many languages (including Shona, Arabic, Gaelic, Spanish, French, Portuguese, German, British Sign Language and English), I am walking away with a greater sense of my place in the world.

Artists continue to make work, even when it seems like the world is ending, because we need to be able to share that load with other people – to feel less alone, and to come up with ways to make things better. We make work because we can, because we need it and because the people we love need it. Art shows us we do not have to be alone.

Fringe of Colour Films is a small, grass-roots organisation trying to bring some joy to a cohort of artists who need a platform that will respect and love up on their work. With our festival coming to an end, I want to take the opportunity to point you towards another Scotland-based festival doing similar work. Journey to the East is “a visionary performance festival exploring radical art and culture” and is taking place at Tramway and the CCA in Glasgow from Friday 27 – Sunday 29 August. And there will be more festivals, more stages, and more platforms to be involved in and to support, in Scotland and beyond. Because in this environment of arts festivals and community building, I know that we are not alone.

The cover photograph for this piece (“Look After Each Other”) is of Lighthouse - Edinburgh’s Radical Bookshop. Take a look at the two reading lists we created with them to accompany the themes in our festival programme and remember to support you local indie bookshop!