The markets of Brixton Village will be transformed into a banging roller disco, for one night only this month.
On Monday 8 August, Black Obsidian Sound System (B.O.S.S) — the 2021 Turner Prize nominated queer, trans and non-binary BIPOC arts collective who criticised the main Prize sponsors for their mistreatment of employees and artists — come to Brixton Village for a skating event that champions LGBTQ+ people in Black and POC communities.
Leading DJs in the London Vogue and QBIPOC nightlife scene (including Jay Jay Revlon of House of Revlon, DJ Kaspa, and Mark-Ashley Dupé) will be spinning the tunes, while skilled skaters show off their best tricks, spins and dips.
But importantly, this event is open to everyone. Haven’t picked up a pair of skates since those ones your Auntie Joan bought you for Christmas in the early 2000s? Not to worry: stewards from roller skating club Rollernation will be on hand to help the less confident.
Or, just come to watch. The one-off roller disco will also feature a welfare space, pizza Franco Manca, and a bar from Market Row rum.
It's just under 200 years since Londoner Robert John Tyers patented the invention of the 'Rolito', an ancestor of the current roller skate — and 260 years since John Joseph Merlin rolled into a London party, playing the violin, while wearing a set of skates he had built, only to unceremoniously crash into a mirror when he couldn't work out how to stop.
Although the history of skating is deeply connected to London, the roots of modern skating culture are embedded within black history and activism, as is Brixton itself. B.O.S.S. Skate Jam are building on this rich history, and couldn't have picked a more apt location.
B.O.S.S. Skate Jam at Brixton Village is on Monday 8 August from 7pm-11pm. Tickets are available online, and are £8.50 for non-skaters and £12.50 for skaters — all who must B.Y.O.S. (bring your own skates).
Feature image: Susan Weber/Unsplash
