Afro-Danish Talk: Who Transforms Our Reality into Words, Sounds and Images?

Meet the musician JJ Paulo and the screenwriter Khali Hashi in a thought-provoking conversation about cultural pride, representation and diversity in culture, society and the media. Moderated by Nafisa Fiidow, the conversation will explore the issue of who should get to tell the stories of Black Danes, and how to promote these stories in our culture. For example, the discussion will address the question of how representation can enrich social understanding and expand creative expression.

At a time when Black stories and perspectives are finally getting more attention in culture and the social debate, JJ Paulo and Khali Hashi will share their experiences and thoughts as cultural creators and role models. How do they negotiate the responsibility entailed in being a role model for, and a representative of minorities? And to what extent have their Afro-Danish backgrounds impacted their art?

The talk will elaborate on the discussions sparked by the Senegalese artist Omar Victor Diop in his current exhibition at Kunsten.

More about Khali Hashi

Khali Hashi (b. 2000) is a promising screenwriter and currently a student at the National Film School of Denmark in Copenhagen. Raised in the Gellerup and Rosenhøj districts of Aarhus, she discovered her passion for writing during the pandemic, inspired by series such as Issa Rae’s Insecure. With a dream of creating more representation in Danish film and television, she is dedicated to telling nuanced stories of her own environment. Khali aspires to being a showrunner, and looks forward to bringing new perspectives to the screen.

More about JJ Paulo

Musician, producer, performer, actor, entrepreneur, speaker and teacher, JJ Paulo (b. 1993) is a modern Renaissance man. An exuberant, fresh and energetic musical talent, JJ Paulo has gradually found a foothold in the Danish music industry. Known as Afrobeat, his music genre harks back to familiar melodic pop music, but combined with energetic African rhythms that have a direct bodily impact, making it impossible to stand still. In addition to his musical career, JJ – an abbreviation for Joram Johan – has appeared in Sara Jordan’s documentary Dans[k] 2.0 and the DR series Bad Bitch (2022) He also runs young people’s workshops in African dance, teaching them equilibrium and self-confidence. But a self-confidence that originates from Tanzania’s Sukuma culture: a culture that, together with his upbringing in Silkeborg, laid the foundation for JJ Paulo’s warm, rhythmic music and his way of viewing – but particularly dancing in – the world.

^{Photo: Petra Kleis}

More about Nafisa Fiidow

The evening’s moderator, Nafisa Fiidow, MSc (Political Science) is a state administrator and commentator. As a social commentator, she has a column in the Politiken newspaper, writing humorously and perceptively about society and culture. She also appears in the TV2 news programme News & Co, where she gives astute political takes on the news stories of the day.

More about the Omar Victor Diop exhibition

Kunsten Museum of Modern Art Aalborg recently opened a special exhibition devoted to the work of the critically acclaimed Senegalese artist Omar Victor Diop (b. 1980). Alluding to both past and present, Diop’s photographs spotlight prominent Africans from all over the world, whom world history has often forgotten – and black resistance in a global perspective. Read more here.

In close collaboration with the sociologist, social commentator and consultant Prince Henry Kwesi Asare, Kunsten has put together a series of events to activate the exhibition and the themes it tackles, shedding a Danish light on the exhibition.

All events related to the exhibition.

^{Photo on top: Omar Victor Diop, Allegoria 6 (2021). © Omar Victor Diop. Commissioned by Autograph}