A festival of Pan-African Experiences
A festival of Pan-African Experiences

Future

Manchester Re-mapped
Friday 12 Jun
Two meeting points, see info
Reserve a spot
A new heritage trail transforming the streets into a living archive, uncovering Manchester's vital role in the birth and evolution of Pan-Africanism.

Present

SEE MY WORLD: Manchester, Lagos & ME

A SEE MY WORLD FILM BY PAPA QUAYE / AYOKUNLE ODUNSI /JOSHUA INYANG / DEBORAH JOHNSON.

A cinematic-exhibition exploring cultural and political conditions for artists in Lagos and Manchester. The illuminating film documents makers, thinkers and doers as they create, interpret and evolve their crafts. 

It journeys through a globe-trotting incubation experience for four artists, handpicked by Manchester’s art and culture organisations Big People Music (BPM) and Big People Community CIC (BPC) and The Book Buzz Foundation (BBF). 

The subjects of and behind the camera; music producer and visual artist Joshua Inyang of Space Afrika, multi-disciplinary artist Papa Nii Akushey Quaye aka Renzniro from Manchester, poet and performance artist Deborah Johnson, as well as Musician and film-maker, Ayokunle Odunsi from Lagos. Showcasing their experiences over the course of a year, and their processes as they write, shoot, edit and score the film themselves.

At its heart, the centring of ideas from artists of the African diaspora, and a unique depiction of the beauty of two oddly connected cities. As much a memoir of the residency experience itself, as an education into the minds and creativity of Pan-African artists who make these cities pop.

BIG PEOPLE MUSIC & Big People Community present in association with Book Buzz Foundation and Funded by the British Council.

Past

SEE MY WORLD: Connected Fragments – Private Viewing
15 July – 28 Sept 2024
Archive
A private exhibition to celebrate with artists and creatives pioneers from across the region joining us for a special evening.
SEE MY WORLD: Connected Fragments - Closing Party
15 July – 28 Sept 2024
Archive
A visual exploration of hyper locality in the Global African Diaspora is curated and takes over Manchester's Central Library.
Explore the Archive
2020 to now
Look back through past events and experiences, bringing people together through art, film, music, workshops and more

Get involved

Calling all people with skills to share and skills to learn. SEE MY WORLD is looking for volunteers to work with us on a number of upcoming events. If you're a creative, maker, thinker or doer and are looking to gain experience in Event Management, Art Productions, Workshop Facilitation, Creative Marketing and more, this is for you.

To apply, please email us at with your interest at ekabo@bigpeoplemusic.co.uk

Follow our world
@seemyworldfest

Contact
ekabo@bigpeoplemusic.co.uk
Back

Manchester Re-mapped

Friday 12 Jun
Two meeting points, see info
Reserve a spot

About the trail
A one-time hosted walking trail guided by local historian Linford Sweeney and rooted in the enduring legacy of the 1945 Pan-African Congress, the trail maps key sites across the city, connecting past and present through storytelling, memory, and place. From historic meeting points to overlooked landmarks, each stop reveals a chapter of Manchester’s deep and often under-represented connection to history.

The trail will be split into two parts:

Part 1: GUIDED TOUR WITH HISTORIAN, LINFORD SWEENEY

Meeting point: Grosvenor East Building, M15 6BG
Time: 3:30 PM

Part 2: LEGACY CELEBRATION

Meeting point: Kath Locke Centre, M15 5DD
Time: 6:00 PM

DOWNLOADABLE  MAP

 

This event is produced by Big People community CIC & Big People Music.
Funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund, National Lottery Community Fund and The University of Manchester.

Reserve a spot via Eventbrite
Back

SEE MY WORLD Festival 2025

7pm – late, 24 Oct 2025
CONTACT, Oxford Rd, Manchester, M15 6JA
Booking required

SEE MY WORLD presents a one-night music experince flaunting Manchester’s Pan-African music legacy.

Taking place at CONTACT (previously Contact Theatre) on Friday 24 October 2025, the festival documents and propels the city’s Black music scene across timeline weaving past, present and future, while commemorating the 80th anniversary of the 1945 Pan-African Congress.

In October 1945, Manchester became the stage for a landmark gathering that shaped the course of global and black history: the Fifth Pan-African Congress.

Hosted in Chorlton-on-Medlock Town Hall, now part of the MMU (just streets away from contact), the congress brought together activists, intellectuals, and future african leaders such as Kwame Nkrumah, W.E.B du Bois and Jomo Kenyatta who demanded an end to colonial rule and racial discrimination by western imperial power and set the blueprint for African and Caribbean independence movements. 

80 years later, SEE MY WORLD FEST channels that same spirit of solidarity, self-determination, and cultural pride through music and performance.

The lineup unites established and emerging artists who continue to shape Manchester’s sound culture: CHUNKY, LayFullstop, Isaiah Hull, Sinead D’Abreu-Hayling, DJ Silva, Ms Dee, Papuraf, DJ Fya, and DJ FB. Their artistry reflects the continuum of Pan-African expression in the city.

SEE MY WORLD FESTIVAL is a living archive of Pan-African creativity, connection, and legacy. It bridges historic struggle with present-day liberation, reminding audiences that Manchester’s role in the global Pan-African movement was not only political but deeply cultural, a spirit still alive in the city’s music scenes today.

This is a Big People Music & Big People Community CIC production
In partnership with CONTACT and The Black Creative Trailblazers.
Funded by Arts Council England.

Please contact yemaya@bigpeoplemusic.co.uk if you have any access needs.

Book your place