Artists Kel Matsena and Ryan Joseph Stafford were commissioned by ARTCRY to create a new work in response to the UK Government’s ‘Race Report’ and to reflect upon the first anniversary of the murder of George Floyd on the 25th May 2021.

Over the summer of 2020, many commitments were made by individuals and organisations to confront and eradicate systemic racism. However, one year later it seems as if the support for the Black Lives Matter movement has faded away, as society has slipped back into the cycle of indifference towards injustice. There is an outcry for things to return “back to normal” instead of taking the opportunity to learn, change and grow. In less than a year we’ve seen a return to complacency and a sense of apathy towards untangling the knots that come with 400 years of oppression.

- Kel Matsena & Ryan Joseph Stafford

Two of Matsena’s poems were projected onto the National Waterfront Museum, Swansea. The project, One Year On, took place between dusk and midnight on the 25th & 26th May 2021.

‘Are You Numb Yet?’ and ‘Thank You’ are an outcry to stop the vicious cycle of segregation and systemic racism that continues to colour the way we live our lives generation after generation. Apathy and false change are challenged in these two works in the hopes that we’ll all wake from dreams of feigned freedom. The works are inspired by my experiences as a black man in post-colonial white Britain. A part of the ongoing revolution.

- Kel Matsena

The artwork reached hundreds of thousands of people across Wales, through coverage on BBC News and ITV News.

Videographer/Photographer: Alex Hermon
Technician: Will Lewis

Supported by National Waterfront Museum and Race Council Cymru.
Equipment supplied by Cinemattag, Stage Sound Services, T&M Technical Services

Commissioned by ARTCRY.