Who are you?
The S+K Project is a theatre and performing arts company with the objective to make the arts for everyone. Launching in September 2014, under the direction of theatre-makers Malakai Sargeant and Steven Kavuma, we have gone on to write, direct and produce five original plays in collaboration with the likes of the Royal Court Theatre, the Courtyard, Dalston Eastern Curve Garden, Battersea Arts Centre, Camden People’s Theatre and Hackney Showroom.
Outside of our theatre work, we produce talks, networking and performance events, and an annual micro-festival which aim to bring together marginalised voices in society, allowing them to express themselves through the vehicle of the arts.
We are committed to being the bridge between the community and the professional creative sector. Our outreach and participation work across London – as well as our internships for under 21s – aim to equip young people with practical and artistic skills to pursue careers in the arts. We continue to work with a wide group of thoughtful and enthusiastic people who want to be involved in an aspect of performing arts that they were not necessarily able to access before.
We are the link for ambitious people of all backgrounds to develop their interest in the arts and related areas by delivering affordable, interdisciplinary and multifaceted work in professional environments. We are making the arts for everyone.
The S+K Project is based at Hackney Showroom, a large warehouse/performance space with an exceptional cultural offer, where we have been their Resident Young Company since 2015.
In January 2018, The S+K Project were appointed Associate Artists at Talawa Theatre Company, as part of their SUSTAIN programme.
"If two young black boys from North London - who could've been another statistic - can get up and do something positive, so can anyone else. Do it for your community; do it for your people."
Malakai Sargeant + Steven Kavuma
Our ethos
Performing arts has always been a difficult industry to get into. The job market is saturated with actors, writers, directors, producers and many other creatives wanting to make it. However, for some reason it is even more difficult to enter this world if you are black, Asian or what is deemed to be an ethnic minority; as of 2015 we (BAME) make up just 11.0% of the creative industries' workforce.
It's disgusting that we pride ourselves on being a society that thrives and benefits from equality, yet from our experience we have noticed that it favours only the lifestyles of white, middle-class males. And perhaps the reason why the reason why the creative industries reflect this is because the creative businesses and media outlets are controlled by the very same white-middle class males.
We are fed the idea that the perfect family is white and middle-class whilst people of a BAME background are often portrayed as aggressive and violent: this is an image that is all too familiar often portrayed on our television screens, films and on stage and it is time to break this. The stereotypes that people are so accustomed to need to be broken.
No matter how difficult it may be, our mission is to do exactly this. We refuse to live in a society where talented people are unable to access the facilities they need to make their talent known, either because it's too expensive or it isn't suited to their needs. We also wish to eradicate the stereotypes that surround people and make this industry fairer for all. By carrying out a range of outreach programmes, creative workshops, events, community activities and more, over time we would have reached our goal – to make the arts for everyone.
For more about our stance on inclusion, accessibility and representation in the creative sector, check out Steven's non-profit organisation, The Diversity School Initiative.
"We refuse to live in a society where talented people are unable to access the facilities they need to make their talent known."
- The S+K Project ethos
