We are now fully booked – in case of cancellation, please email bookshop@fiveleaves.co.uk to go on a waiting list
When Kadiatu Kanneh-Mason’s eldest daughter, Isata, made her solo debut at the BBC Proms in 2023, she could not have been prouder. And yet all this fractured when her younger daughter came to her in tears a few days later, having read abuse about her sister online. Isata, it was declared, did not deserve to be there. How do you prepare your child for the fact that no matter their talent, technique, or dedication, they will be told they do not belong?
Through conversations with her extraordinarily gifted Nottingham family, Kariatu explores what it is like to come of age in these turbulent times, when Black artistic self-expression is so often met with disparagement and abuse online – and offers a hopeful, powerful way through.
Kadiatu said ‘
This is a book very close to my heart, written from the intimate conversations we have with each other as a family of Black musicians and creatives. I tackle issues of cultural, racial, and national identity and I look at conflicting ideas of what it means to be young, gifted, and Black today. As successful classical musicians and performers, I examine how we encounter and deal with racism, and what is at stake when we risk speaking out about race. Acknowledging trauma, vulnerability, anger and passion, this network of private reminiscences, truth-telling, and confession forms a searingly honest and searching testimonial of a family in the context and in the times, we find ourselves.’Five Leaves launched Kadiatu’s first book – House of Music – online during lockdown, the first time the Council House had anything happen, with Kadiatu, someone from the bookshop, someone from the Council, two technicians, an in-person audience of one, and the Kanneh-Mason family (who counted as one). Remember those days when only six socially-distant people could meet! You can still see the video on www.youtube.com/watch?v=MQ0iOCM8Pjo, which includes a half hour concert by the family.
Tonight, however, we’ll have Kadiatu alone
In association with One World Publications
Booking essential
Refreshments provided
Kadiatu said ‘This is a book very close to my heart, written from the intimate conversations we have with each other as a family of Black musicians and creatives. I tackle issues of cultural, racial, and national identity and I look at conflicting ideas of what it means to be young, gifted, and Black today. As successful classical musicians and performers, I examine how we encounter and deal with racism, and what is at stake when we risk speaking out about race. Acknowledging trauma, vulnerability, anger and passion, this network of private reminiscences, truth-telling, and confession forms a searingly honest and searching testimonial of a family in the context and in the times, we find ourselves.’