Eritrean born Hannah Azieb Pool is Senior Programmer, Contemporary Culture at the Southbank Centre, the lead programmer for the Africa Utopia festival and one of the curators of the Women of the World (WOW) festival. Also a journalist, author and broadcaster, Hannah writes regularly in the national and international media. Hannah’s second book, Fashion Cities Africa, (Intellect Books 2016) celebrates the fashion landscapes of four key cities - Lagos, Johannesburg, Nairobi and Casablanca and is inspired by the exhibition of the same name, which she co-curated at the Brighton Museum. A Guardian journalist for over 14 years, Hannah was Guardian Weekend Magazine’s first Beauty Editor, and wrote the New Black - the first beauty column for women of colour in a British national newspaper. Former Associate Editor of Arise magazine, and former Chair of UKFeminista, Hannah’s work also appears in The Times, Vogue, Grazia and many others. A regular contributor to BBC Radio, Africa Writes and Africa Gathering, Hannah’s first book, My Fathers’ Daughter (Penguin 2006) was described by the Washington Post as “a significant and moving book.” Hannah is a trustee of LIFT (London International Festival of Theatre).
Photo credit: Aida Muluneh
Projects
- Fashion Cities AfricaIn a searing 2012 Guardian op-ed, Hannah Azieb Pool took Western fashion designers to task for their so-called African-inspired clothing. “Dear Fashion,” she wrote, “Africa is a continent, not a country. Can you imagine anyone describing a fashion trend as ‘European-inspired?’ Of course not. It’s meaningless.” Now, with Fashion Cities Africa, Pool aims to correct the misconceptions about African fashion, providing key context for contemporary African fashion scenes and capturing the depth and br
- Article: Maria Balshaw, the first woman at the top of the Tate: 'We need to speak to the whole of society'I don’t feel daunted’ … Balshaw, with (from left) Frances Morris of Tate Modern, Alex Farquharson of Tate Britain, Francesco Manacorda of Tate Liverpool and Anne Barlow of Tate St Ives. Photograph: Peter Nicholls/Reuters (Article originally published by The Guardian here, Friday 7 July 2017 10.35 BST) The terror attacks, Grenfell Tower, the election: the Tate’s new boss has not had a quiet easing-in period. But she’s determined to make the galleries central to these tumultuous times Maria Balsh
- Africa Utopia, Southbank CentreArticle originally published here, WEDNESDAY, JULY 12, 2017 - 16:59 Prepare to be transported to another continent as Africa Utopia takes over Southbank Centre. Our Senior Curator of Contemporary Culture, Hannah Azieb Pool, introduces you to this year’s festival, which takes place at Southbank Centre on 15-16 July. Welcome to this year’s Africa Utopia festival. Now in it’s fifth year, we are delighted to bring the very best contemporary African and diaspora performance, dance, literature, music
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Projects credited in
- Championing Diversity: this Black History Month, meet 100 creatives inspiring changeWe asked 11 of our creative heroes to each nominate 10 leading black change makers and creators who are shaping the current climate with raw talent, big ideas and crazy hard work. There is still a huge disparity of BAME individuals in the creative industry. Currently only 13% of the creative industry workforce identify as coming from Black and Minority Ethnic backgrounds. In addition, only 8% of senior positions have BAME representation. Spotlighting this subject is as important as ever. True d138
Work history
Senior ProgrammerSouthbank Centre
London, United KingdomFull Time