Bey Day

On the day that she performs at Cardiff’s Principality Stadium (30 June), a conference at Cardiff University will explore and celebrate the music of Beyoncé.

This free event will include:

• A range of Beyoncé themed talks covering, amongst other topics issues of: race, gender and politics; the singer’s hearing-impaired fandom; and a feminist perspective on Beyoncé’s collaborations with Jay Z.
• A workshop on unpacking and exploring Beyoncé’s identity in each of her albums.
• The Aderyn String Quartet performing string arrangements of some of Beyoncé’s best-known songs.
• Roundtable discussion on Beyoncé’s place in popular culture.

The conference has been jointly organised by Cardiff University’s Schools of Music and Journalism, Media & Cultural Studies thanks to interdisciplinary funding from the University’s Graduate College. It takes place at the School of Music, Corbett Road, from 9.30am-5pm.

Sam Murray, the conference organiser and PhD student at the School of Music, said: “It isn’t every day that we get an artist of Beyonce’s status performing in Cardiff so this seemed like the perfect time to celebrate her work. Beyoncé has become one of the most iconic performers of the twenty-first century; she has always been at the cutting edge of music, fashion and audio-visual media, often asserting her personal politics along the way. Think of all the cultural landmark moments she has provided, from the Single-Ladies dance, to her Glastonbury headline set to her performance of ‘I Was Here’ in front of the United Nations.

“This unique conference will be a great opportunity for us to discuss her music, her politics, and the person behind the chart hits.”

The photograph in this article belongs to Ronald Woan and is released under Creative Commons licence.