Spirituality, music and sisterhood combine in the latest project from British singer, songwriter and performer FKA twigs who released her new short film this week entitled We Are The Womxn directed by Ivar Wigan.
The term womxn is used by some feminists, especially in the intersectional feminist movement, as one of several alternative spellings of the word woman; and to include transgender, non-binary, and non-white women.
Created as part of WeTransfer's editorial platform, WePresent, the film explores "the dynamic healing of womxn of colour," following the Grammy-nominated performer as she travels to perform at the Afropunk Festival in Atlanta, in late 2019.
The Afropunk Festival is an annual arts festival that includes live music, film, fashion, and art produced by Black artists, debuting at the Brooklyn Academy of Music in 2005. The festival has since expanded to other parts of the world, featuring a line-up of notable performers over the years including SZA, Erykah Badu,Kelis, D'Angelo, Lauryn Hill and Grace Jones.
Capturing her time at Afropunk last year, the film also follows FKA twigs as she "joins forces with healer and spiritual leader Queen Afua to host a moon dance in celebration of the sacred womxn. After the moon dance, twigs leads the women to Blue Flame, Atlanta's first Black strip club.
WATCH: We Are The Womxn
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Advertise with NZME.“I decided to hold the second part of the all-female and femme sacred moon dance at Blue Flame, firstly to honor the heritage of pole dancing, but also to create a matriarchal dominance in a space that's usually filled with, and run by, male energy.”
Twigs is known for taking pole-dancing to an elevated new level, showcasing her athleticism in her Grammy-nominated music video for her slow-burning ballad Cellophane in April 2019.
WATCH: Cellophane (2019)
“I’m actually pretty shy but I felt so encouraged to dance and enjoy my body by all the amazing womxn who came together," says twigs. "I particularly bonded with one dancer at Blue Flame [named] Kharisma” says twigs.
“She had such vibrant energy and at the beginning of the night she called the other girls on to the stage to be admired and supported in their expression. My experience at the Blue Flame solidified that, although historically womxn are often pitched against each other for their looks or their assets by the patriarchy, when left to our own devices we are incredibly nurturing and healing for each other.”
As one of our favourite style muses, her eclectic personal style also features in the short film. Just this week, a teaser was also released by fashion photographer Nick Knight featuring FKA twigs in anticipation of Valentino’s haute couture show on July 21. Valentino’s creative director Pierpaolo Piccioli will present his couture collection in a live-streamed performance from Cinecitta Studios in Rome.
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Advertise with NZME.Holly Fraser, editor-in-chief of WePresent, explains "We are delighted to launch We Are The Womxn, the latest project in the four-year creative partnership between FKA twigs and WePresent. Traveling to Atlanta the project sees FKA twigs explore her evolving artistry and develop a deeper understanding of herself through learning from local womxn. It is exactly these stories of intimate and candid creativity that the team at WePresent strives to tell, while allowing artists the freedom they need for creative expression."
"In order to detail FKA twigs’ experience as authentically as possible, we also worked with Atlanta-based writer Clarissa Brooks to bring the essence of the local community to life throughout the piece.”
The empowering short film also encourages people to donate to Lysistrata or SWARM organizations, who provide mutual care and support for sex workers in the U.S. and U.K, particularly during the challenges presented by the global pandemic.
FKA twigs' latest album Magdalene is out now.
