Moderator, Program Maker and Creative Producer, Shaquille Shaniqua Joy, has a fascination for people, their stories and their creations. She describes herself, as someone who can easily get excited and find inspiration everywhere. 

“I sometimes say I talk for a living because my work centres around having conversations in front and behind the camera as well as on air and in real life”, she says. 

In addition to that, she loves creating public programs in which she can combine all of the above by bringing together art in the broadest sense, conversations, and inspiring people in a physical space. She describes her job as “almost a lifelong paid research.” 

“Having conversations in spoken and written form around Knowing Cotton Otherwise has been interesting because of the various perspectives included in this exhibition. I’ve learned a lot throughout the process of talking to everyone who’s involved. One of my favourite takeaways/reminders is that it’s fine not to have an answer to everything. Accepting that there isn’t always one definite end goal emphasises the importance of ongoing conversations, which brings me back to what I love so much about my work.”.