(Pictured: Black History month display on Madam C.J Walker at hair show)
With Black History Month coming to an end, South & City College Birmingham put on a Hair show called ‘Black Hairstory’ on 2nd November at Longbridge campus. This was in celebration of black history month as well as the diversity within the college and the community. Art & Design, Fashion, Hairdressing, Makeup and the Hospitality & Catering department collaborated on this project to represent different countries and cultures around the world.
The Art & Design students displayed artwork inspired by their culture whilst the Makeup, Hairdressing and Fashion department came together to curate looks, hairstyles and outfits inspired by different countries and their traditional wear/aesthetic. This was displayed on models who strut down the runway, exhibiting every aspect of their look.
The Hospitality & Catering department from Karibunis restaurant (located on-site at Longbridge campus) cooked a variety of cuisines inspired by Afro-Caribbean delicacies. Foods such as jerk chicken wings, curried goat, jollof rice, spiced bun and much more were on offer for everyone to fully indulge in.
We were intrigued to find out how the looks came about and how they were inspired.
Jondir Telushi, Level 3 hairdressing student explained the thought process behind her look, saying: “I based the look on the Greek culture and tried to have some elements of new Greek culture. I like the Greeks because they have so much to do with everything. With the history, with politics, with everything.”
Nursel Seckin, Level 2 hairdressing student was inspired by the model’s heritage which was a mix of European and Asian. This was present in the hairstyle she had created using curls and a bun.
Joy McFarlane, Hairdressing Lecturer at South & City College explained the importance of these events, saying:
“It brings the students together and helps them realise that as much as we are different in possibly the way that we look and the things that we believe, we still have common values and we still work together and learn so much from each other when it comes to different cultures, the way we think and the things that we believe. Despite all of that, we still can work together and have common values.”
Adam Porter, Head of Hair, Barbering, Hospitality & Catering said: “It’s just taking the topic of diverse cultures out of the normal Personal Development lesson that you would do in classrooms and to expose it out more to a wider audience. This was a big collaboration just to support the process and make it something different.”
It was amazing to see how different cultures were represented within this Black History Month Hair Show and to see the creativity that South & City College Birmingham students possess. Well done to the staff and students for putting on such an amazing event.
If being involved in events like this and being encouraged to enhance your creativity sounds like something you’d be interested in, explore our creative courses.