It all seems like one never-ending challenge

Today, I have counted and described FOUR obstacles to making this project/ exhibition happen. And I haven't even looked into funding yet. Panicking isn't the word right now and I have to start all over again. But if I don't then I'll have failed.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K4iQArat1Ro&feature=youtu.be

An evening with Lloyd Webber

The man whom I credit with teaching me the history and evolvement of black music in UK? Lloyd Bradley. And I went to his book event yesterday evening.  

It was whilst I was reading 'Sounds Like London: 100 years of black music in the capital' that I came up with the exhibition idea. So not only did reading his book give me an abundance of fascinating info it inspired my project, too. 

My friend Kelly alerted me to the event. I'd already purchased tickets to go see Kwabs, but as a no-braner work comes first. 

And it was such a lovely evening! Not only did I manage to introduce myself and have my book signed, I also gave him the newly printed and bound proposal (seriously, I feel like it's my baby, too bad I can't belly-cup it because it totally would!)

Whether Lloyd will or will not get back to me - I don't know. But I do know that he's now aware of both my existence and the project. 

Listening to him speak about balck music and London was magic. As random as it seemed for a Russian to be in that room, it was the only place I wanted to be in last night. 

Also, unrelated, Lloyd runs marathons. How cool is that? There's always something totally irresistible about sportsmen. Makes you want to trust them because you know they're well disciplined. 

Blogging from my iPhone!

Please allow me to revel in the fact that, with the help of my ex classmate, I have learned how to do my blog posts on my phone! Yes! This will make my thoughts and actions more transparent because I can now literally roll them out to you as they come. 

This will also organise and motivate me more because now I don't have the excuse of 'The moment's gone, too late to write about it'. The posts will become more frequent and really up to date - which makes me happy. 

I am very annoyed though that I am not able to just upload a video on it, it's giving me the option of pictures only. I do wish I had someone to help me with this.. 

I am also using the help of said ex classmate in order to re-structure the blog's layout. As much as I want it to be fixed today, I can't - I am so dependable on people when it comes to technology. 

So it looks like I've moved from the idea of a documentary-type report to just differently structured blogging. I guess as long as it serves the purpose the means don't matter as much. For now. I am still keen on the documentary but that will happen once I've better resources. 

Hunt for a gallery space

I randomly picked up the New Exhibitions guide www.newexhibitions.com in a gallery a few weeks ago and I used it for locating all gallery spaces in the district of Soho. 29 galleries received this email:

 Here's my full report on the gallery hunting so far: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cmNeGik45GI

This project is giving me so much life, the more I do the more I want to do!

Email to Soul2Soul

Well that's it - the contacting celebrities has officially started. I've been prolonging it as it seemed like the most difficult part of the whole project (it's really not though) but now that I've actually dialled Soul2Soul's number these wheels are finally in motion, and the excitement was overwhelming!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f451p6OFAPs&feature=youtu.be

I've screenshot the email so please if you have something you think I could/ should amend in the future, let me know:

If they say 'yes' I'm afraid I might pass out. If they say 'no' I will wear them out.

Don't give up. Get up!

Whatever is happening in your life (read: my life) is just not a reason to stop working. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c3WQgPAFiEQ

A whole lot of writing

I have had to dedicate almost the entire week to writing: press release for the bloggers/ online magazines, the exhibition proposal and, well, this blog post. Luckily I had already sent a few emails and dms to people (Jamal Edwards, London Live, Charlie Sloth etc) in hope to hear their opinions, so I’d already researched for and had parts of the proposal written down in a structured way. Still, writing for potential sponsors is a long nerve-wrecking process which saw me spend hours at a time in front of the monitor. But even though my fingers are begging for help and my brain seems unable to process any more information, this responsibility I have given myself for the project is keeping me going. I cannot afford to let go of work, I love it and I want ‘A People’s Art’ to happen and be a success so badly!

I now have two people helping me: my best friend Kelly and one of the photographer’s friends Dwyte. Hands down, Kelly is the most hard-working person I have ever met and is a genius at research. I am beyond joy to work with her. She is now mostly in charge of @ForwardAEnt twitter account (thanks to her, we got our 100^th follower yesterday!). 

Dwyte and I are getting to know each other and he’s proved invaluable in providing information and contacts I would otherwise lack – from obtaining budget info and finding a video editor to having a whole list of useful blog sites to send the press release to. He also shares his visions and ideas re: ‘A People’s Art’ which I try to incorporate into my own and hopefully improve the project so it reaches its full potential. Perfect!

So far so good then, although I have still not been able to get hold of a photographer from the Only Connect charity, despite having spoken to them 5 times. I will keep calling until I get any results, at the very least they might refer me to a similar organisation that could be of help.

I also must fix ForwardA’s email address, which right now is so unfriendly to use it makes me feel like I’m stuck in the 90s. It’s a huge problem because Kelly and Dwyte aren’t able to use their own accounts. So I’m on it!

It dawns more and more on me that the wheels have finally been set in motion. And although it’s all still early days, it’s already a proud moment. I am finally building what I didn’t believe I could.

Speaking of things “I didn’t believe I could”, we all have people we tend to look up to and aspire to be like. I have them too. The multi-platinum Hip-Hop producer Sahpreem A King (http://sahpreemking.com) is a name I added to that list a year ago after I read his book Surviving The Game: How To Succeed In The Music Business, which was given to me as a present and played a major role in my transformation as a professional and as a person by giving first-hand insight into the music industry and teaching me how to stay focused. I followed Sahpreem on Twitter, he followed me back, I thanked him for his work and he looked at my website. He generously found the time to actually speak to me via Skype and give me advice on the project. He wrote books that transformed me and a few months later I'm speaking to him, all thanks to what I’m doing! How cool is that!?

So now I have another promise to keep: send the invitation all the way to Florida and have Sahpreem visit ‘A People’s Art’ on the opening night. It’s an honour!

Who would YOU be honored to speak to?