The new committee for 2020/21 were very excited to start working with Scottish-Zimbabwean artist Natasha Ruwona, supporting them in the completion of their haunting, Afrofuturist video-work, Umbilic (2021). 

The live screening of February 5th was beautifully introduced by Natasha’s fellow Rhubaba committee member Khadea Kuchenmeister with her reading of Towards an unending Voyage and an excerpt from Fred D’Aguiar’s Feeding the Ghosts.  The screening was followed by a conversation between Natasha, Khadea and HUBCAP’s Brooke Milliken on the themes and processes present in Umbilic.

Natasha Ruwona is an Afrofuturist dreamer interested in thinking from an apocalyptic perspective that considers the uses of hauntology and counter-memories in understanding contemporary Black identities.  Natasha’s work explores Black Geographies through Scotland’s Black History using a Zimbabwean Diasporic lens. 

Natasha completed a curatorship for Africa in Motion Film Festival 2019 and was selected as Film Hub Scotland’s New Promoter for Glasgow Short Film Festival’s 2020 and 2021 edition.  They are a Project Coordinator for the collective UncoverED – a student-led project researching into the global and imperial history and present of the University of Edinburgh.  Natasha is also an Assistant Producer for Claricia Parinussa, a Committee Member for Rhubaba, and a Submissions Viewer for Glasgow Short Film Festival.