On the first Friday of every month, Vivid Projects and BRIG Café come together to create a space where art, ideas, and community meet. This September we are pleased to present an evening of poetry and music to celebrate the launch of Samiir Saunders’ new EP, afternoon, offline: DISC 1.

Samiir Saunders is a multimedia poet and performance artist from Birmingham. Their work combines elements of spoken word poetry, UK rap, electronic, and punk. Samiir’s aim as an artist is to inspire curiosity, compassion, and radical imagination within audiences. Their lyricism is both sharp and vulnerable, often exploring themes of capitalism, technology, and the body.

afternoon, offline features a collection of heartfelt, playful, and rebellious spoken-word tracks over punky electronic beats. The EP explores Samiir’s struggle to retain a sense of self amidst the dehumanising forces of the gig economy, generative AI, and social isolation. This will be DISC 1 of a duology.

This free event will begin with an open mic segment and culminate with a 45-minute music set from Samiir. Open mic performers are encouraged to share work related to the themes of Samiir’s EP.

Suggested themes for open micers:

The internet, social media, AI, bots, climate violence, colonialism, mining / minerals, capitalism, class, work, consumerism, liberation, revolution, protest, community.