After a life-altering setback, Josh Rivers created Busy Being Black as a way of turning his anger, frustration and pain into an opportunity to heal and connect with a global community of queer Black people. The result is an audio experience full of meaning, hope and laughter that explores thriving at the messy intersections of our lives. Busy Being Black has been described as a ‘beautiful love letter to the queer Black community’, and in this session, Josh will be interviewed by award-winning filmmaker Campbell X about his journey into audio, finding his confidence after such a public setback and the transformative impact of learning that we are not alone in our anger.

Josh Rivers

Josh Rivers is the creator and host of Busy Being Black, the podcast exploring how we live in the fullness of our queer Black lives. He was the first Black editor at Gay Times, where he ideated and launched the magazine’s annual flagship event, Gay Times Honours. He is the founder of Series Q, a network of mentorship, learning and support for LGBTQ entrepreneurs, and was part of the founding team behind Second Home, a cultural venue and workspace in East London for creative companies. He is a Role Model for Diversity Role Models, the Head of Communications for UK Black Pride and is inspired by conversations that go beyond the one-dimensional selves we’ve learned to present in the social media age.

Campbell X

Campbell X is a writer and director, widely recognised as one of the leading creators of contemporary queer British cinema. Campbell’s debut feature film, the queer urban romantic comedy Stud Life, became a festival favourite and received a number of awards and accolades on its release. Campbell directed and produced the short film DES!RE and is the director of the documentary Visible, which opened the Scottish Queer Film Festival in December 2018. Campbell is one of the directors on the transgender web series Spectrum London and directed the award-winning web series Different for Girls. Along with Kayza Rose, Campbell is the founder of Family, a QTIPOC intergenerational event, bringing the community together for evenings of film, performance and clubbing.