marva.fyi · Arts CV
Marva Jackson Lord
Artist, Writer & Cultural Archivist
A forty-year practice spanning DJ culture, community radio, poetry, sound art, cultural archiving, digital media, and arts production — rooted in the African diaspora and built across Canada, Wales, and the wider world.
Artistic Practice
I am a multidisciplinary artist, writer, and cultural archivist working across sound, digital media, photography, and poetry. Born in Kingston, Jamaica and raised in Ontario, Canada, my practice is rooted in the African diaspora and shaped by over forty years of engagement with Black music, independent radio, and community cultural organising. My creative research investigates the African source traditions that underpin Caribbean and diasporic music forms, tracing suppressed lineages and surfacing connections that mainstream histories omit. I am currently writing a novel intertwining Welsh history with themes of displacement, memory, and identity, and researching the global history of textiles in relation to the transatlantic slave trade. I live and work on the rural borders between England and Wales.
Fields of Practice
Selected Artistic Activities
Hale Radio, London (hale.london)
Launching a new long-format radio programme integrating music, interviews, soundscapes, and poetry, featuring artists across music, visual art, game design, and community organising. Produced using mobile phone as digital studio.
Independent
Supported Canadian author Gloria Blizzard in organising bookings across the UK for her book tour.
BBC Radio Wales
Poetry featured in a World Poetry Day documentary presented by poet Clare E. Potter, exploring how Wales' culture, community, and landscape influence the writing of diasporic poets who have settled in the country.
marva.fyi / independent
An ongoing digital work tracing the African and diasporic roots of Caribbean music forms including Ska, Reggae, Dub, Calypso, Son, and Zouk. Currently in active development to expand coverage of Dub Poetry, deeper African source traditions, and global diaspora artists. Published as an interactive web module at marva.fyi.
National Waterfront Museum, Swansea / Lal Davies
Participant in a documentary filmed at the National Waterfront Museum as part of filmmaker Lal Davies' installation, exploring Swansea's Copperopolis era and Wales' entanglement with colonial copper trade via the East India Company.
Barddas, Welsh-language poetry journal
Commissioned poem published in Barddas. Translated into Welsh by poet Nici Beech — one of the few works by a diasporic poet to appear in the journal in bilingual form.
The Muse, Brecon, Wales
Invited to participate in a panel discussion on the history of women DJs and presented a curated set illustrating the breadth and range of her music programming practice.
The Globe, Hay-on-Wye
Produced and hosted a reading with Canadian dub poet and journalist Clifton Joseph.
Ways of Working / Natural Resources Wales
Sound artist in residence engaging with place, sound, and community. Work also featured in Natur a Ni / Nature and Us, commissioned for Natural Resources Wales, exploring environmental storytelling and sonic landscapes.
Theatr Genedlaethol Cymru
Invited by Dylan Huw to participate in a workshop with Wales-based artists as part of a climate-themed residency. gwreiddioli — a verb invented for the project — describes the act of collectively generating original ideas deeply rooted in the land where artists live and work.
strangerfruit.net
Co-produced and presented with Bilkis Malek (Transculturalvisions) and Debbie Golt (Outerglobe). An experimental online music and discussion series exploring the legacies of jazz and blues women — Abbey Lincoln, Tiny Davis, Jeanne Lee, Esperanza Spalding — on contemporary music and culture.
LUMIN Press / Platfform 2, Abergavenny Train Station
Participated in Solstice Radio, a three-part Local 37 radio series by LUMIN Press. Produced a further segment broadcast live from Platfform 2, Abergavenny, December 2022.
Tomatito's and The Globe, Hay-on-Wye
Founded, produced, and hosted a monthly literary salon in Hay-on-Wye. Featured poets and writers including Greta Bellamacina, Jeff Cottrill, Isadora Vibes, Kandace Siobhan Walker, Edson Burton, and Donall Dempsey. One of the only regular literary events in rural mid-Wales with an explicit commitment to diasporic and underrepresented voices.
Independent / Griots Arts Ltd
Produced separate UK tours for Lillian Allen, Toronto Poet Laureate and founding figure of Canadian dub poetry, and for poet Robert Priest.
Independent / Griots Arts Ltd
Produced UK and European touring for Canadian poets and spoken word artists including Lillian Allen, Robert Priest, Clifton Joseph, and Michael St George.
Llanigon Village Hall, Powys / Powys Arts Month
Produced an evening of African and Celtic storytelling and poetry featuring Welsh storytellers and poets Nicky Delgado (Cardiff) and Rob Soldat (Hay-on-Wye), presented as part of Powys Arts Month. An early work placing African and Welsh oral traditions in direct conversation.
Powys, Wales
Produced and hosted the first major Black History Month awareness events in Powys — a day-and-evening programme featuring musician and producer Dennis Bovell, poet and performer Michael St George, and many other musicians and writers, alongside a film series showcasing Black Welsh filmmakers. The first events of their kind in the region.
National Film Board of Canada, Studio D
Narrator of NFB Studio D documentary directed by Claire Prieto, written by Dionne Brand, produced and edited by Ginny Stikeman. The film features five Black women recounting their lives in rural and urban Canada between the 1920s and 1950s.
Radio & DJ Practice
London, UK
Produced and hosted independent online radio program called Griots Groove. Pioneering effort creating online radio shows using Traktor DJ software and Audacity, sharing initially through website asnd then via Mixcloud, archive available via https://www.mixcloud.com/marvaluss/.
CKLN-FM 88.1, Ryerson University, Toronto
Ten years as host, producer, researcher, and Station Manager at one of Canada's leading community radio stations. Produced weekly music, public affairs, and arts programming with emphasis on independent music, Black music traditions, and spoken word. Co-coordinated Black History Month programming (1990, 1993). Trained volunteer broadcasters. Produced an independent Canadian music radio showcase. CKLN archives held at Library and Archives Canada.
Selected artist interviews: Salt-N-Pepa, BDP, Shinehead, Queen Latifah, George Clinton, Black Rock Coalition, Defunkt, Ben E. King, Sister Carol, Judy Mowatt, Baaba Maal, Billy Bragg, Burning Spear, Courtney Pine, Linton Kwesi Johnson, bell hooks, Isaac Julien, Julie Dash, Lillian Allen.
Showbiz Club, Toronto
Created an in-house music curation system at Showbiz, developing a weekly playlist built from audience requests and distributing playlists directly to Toronto record labels — an early model of community-driven music data and label outreach.
The Diamond Club / Lee's Palace, Toronto
Created and led a weekly DJ night at The Diamond Club, later extended to Lee's Palace. Drew audiences across rock, soul, hip hop, and experimental music. Cited in documented Toronto nightlife history (Then and Now Toronto Nightlife History, Denise Benson, 2014).
The Concert Hall, Toronto
Lead DJ for the annual IWD event at The Concert Hall. Programme reflected feminist, Black, and global music traditions.
Publications & Writing
Poetry
- The Great Black North: Contemporary African Canadian Poetry — ed. Valerie Mason-John and Kevan Anthony Cameron, Frontenac House, 2013. Winner, 2014 Robert Kroetsch Poetry Award. Introduction by George Elliott Clarke.
- Barddas — Welsh-language poetry journal, 2024 (bilingual, translated by Nici Beech)
- Landscapes — self-published poetry chapbook, digital and print
- Quirk (anthology)
- Poetry Space
- marva.fyi (online)
Cultural Journalism and Criticism
- FUSE Magazine
- Cineaction
- Border/Lines
- Tiger Lily Journal
- bfm: Black Filmmaker Magazine (writer; currently editor and website manager, bfmmag.com)
- The Word
- At The Crossroads
- NOW Magazine
- The African Drum
- Toronto Blues Society Newsletter
- CAN:BAIA Newsletter
- Medium (critical profiles of Lillian Allen, Meryn Cadell, and others)
Community & Organisational Roles
Farrago Poetry, UK
Invited by John Paul O'Neill to serve as a judge at the annual Farrago UK Slam Poetry Finals. In 2023 also hosted a live Farrago UK Slam Qualifier at The Globe, Hay-on-Wye.
Canadian Artists Network: Black Artists in Action (CAN:BAIA)
One of the founding members and architects of CAN:BAIA, a national multidisciplinary organisation representing Black artists in Canada. Incorporated as a non-profit in 1990 with funding from Canada Council, Department of Canadian Heritage, Ontario Ministry of Culture, and Toronto Arts Council.
Produced the first CAN:BAIA series of talks between Black Canadian artists and arts funders — a foundational advocacy initiative that helped open access to national funding for Black artists across disciplines. Key events included CELAFI '92 and CELAFI '97 at Harbourfront Centre. CAN:BAIA records are held in Canada's National Archives (R9323). Co-founders include Cameron Bailey, current Artistic Director of TIFF.
Toronto Blues Society
Founding member of the Toronto Blues Society. Regular contributor to the Society newsletter with profiles and criticism of artists including Jodie Drake and Diana Brathwaite.
Peak Cymru https://www.peakcymru.org/, Wales
Disability Arts Cymru https://www.disabilityarts.cymru/, Wales
Hay-on-Wye and surrounding area, Powys
Coordinated theatre events for rural Powys communities through the Night Out Scheme.
Hay-on-Wye
Awards & Recognition
Visual Arts Group Wales / Arts Council of Wales
Selected as one of five recipients of a fully paid programme of mentorship and professional development.
Education & Training
Independent
Primary artistic training is self-directed across DJ practice, sound curation, photography, poetry, cultural archiving, digital media, and critical writing. Developed through decades of active practice, artist interviews, research, community collaboration, and engagement with the international arts community.
BVSNW Arts Business Workshops, Wales
Janine Sharp's Adult Drama Group
McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario