Founded in December 2021 by Afro-Dutch stylist and curator, Chi Chi Maté Langlah aka Ms Shakara, the Selah Collective’s unabashed presence and creative output injects a much-welcome dose of radical self-acceptance into London’s arts scene. Much like the epithet ‘Selah’- which holds a myriad of meanings but, in this context, is conceptualised as ‘the importance of remembrance, to take note’- the 12 Black, queer, Muslim and non-binary creatives who breathe life into this boundary-transcending group are committed to embracing the polyvalence of self-hood. Together they have set out to facilitate escapist spaces and platforms of Afro-futuristic and queer creative expression in the capital and beyond.

The Selah Collective have arrived on the scene with a bang thanks to their recent inaugural exhibition at Stokey Pop Up in north London. Titled ‘2000 & Black: The Millennium of Black Euphoria’, the show was a joyful celebration of the past, present and future of African ancestral heritage and a testament to the fact that the talent and capability of these young artists knows no bounds. A wholly immersive experience, the show boasted works of fine art, hand-crafted garments, digital prints displayed on mixed media, cleverly constructed projection structures and so much more. Central to the exhibition was an exploration of how hair functioned as an extension of spirituality in pre-colonial Africa and so the versatility and majestic nature of Afro-hair was woven into many of the works.

Connectivity – be it to self or to other – is a key theme that motivates and inspires the artists of Selah. “I missed community, so doing art work and expressing with a collective is like an invitation into a family,” Ms Shakara explains of her original drive to grow the collective once she moved from Amsterdam to London in 2018 to study. A skilled curator of all things sartorial, Ms Shakara's work was recently showcased as part of the V&A Friday Late X Guap exhibition and she also featured in i-D's 'The A-Z of Summer' video campaign in 2021.

Fellow Selah collective member Kween Ramel specialises in fashion design, styling and modelling. “I feel like our mission is to set ourselves free and use our art as a form of healing, co-existing and building communities where we can express our art authentically,” they tells Nataal. Ramel describes their bold and intricate collection of hand-made garments, entitled 'Roots,' as a "spiritual experience" and one that allowed them to use colour to communicate emotion and feeling.

Whilst for Zara Nelson, who explores the art of video games and is used to producing work that follows a client-driven brief, Selah offers a space in which she can actually make art for herself. Her 3D graphic design series, MUVA, renders the sensuality of the female form with a finish that is at once sharp and supple. British-Nigerian stylist and image-based artist Prince Oké extolls the fact that the collective allows its members to “explore how far identity can be pushed." Although presented from a satirical perspective, his work champions Black experiences and characters. A wonderful example being his stylistic contributions to the RASPANPUFF photography series, a West-African and Caribbean inspired modern-day take on The Powerpuff Girls, which was undeniably a centre-piece of the exhibition.

Other cherished members include Ugandan multidisciplinary artist Tim Tim Akena, Zambia-born photographer Katwamba Mutale, Dutch conceptual artist FHAURA, hair stylist and multi-hyphenate Lotanna Amazu, photographer Saul Samba, mixed-media visual artist Leejah McCarthy, artistic storyteller Doobee and digital artist and stylist Andrea. This team of bold trailblazers represent formidable talent. "There should be more Black and queer spaces that feel safe," adds Ms Shakara, "The Selah Collective is where creatives can join and commune."