XX-CEED! started as a fully virtual summer festival that started in 2020 with a call to action to go beyond any limits.  This theme is a metaphor for pushing ourselves to exceed any limits we face. We overcome the limitation of COVID-19 by creating a fully virtual festival of art, music, panel discussions that anyone anywhere in the world with access to the internet may join, learn and celebrate safely from their homes. It will held one weekend each month of summer on a fully virtual platform on the following weekends: June 19th to 21st, 2020, July 17th to 19th, 2020 and August 14th to 16th, 2020.

It continues every year. The date for 2023 in June 10, 14th, 17th, 22nd, 24th and 25th

We have chosen these dates for their specific significance.

The dates in June celebrate Juneteenth and Fathers day which is significant for FREEDOM. Juneteenth also marks the effective end of slavery of black people in America. Fathers day celebrates the fathers and father figures. Celebrating fathers especially black fathers is a direct response to the systemic killing of unarmed black men in America and across the globe.

July celebrates World Emoji day which we especially love for the UNITY the emoji brings across language, culture, race and religion.

The dates in August celebrate the end of world war 2 and the PEACE the world so desperately needs. The current COVID-19 pandemic has changed the world in many ways and has made the inequalities in systems around the world more glaring. Gender based violence against women have increased due to lockdown restrictions, police brutality and racial based violence is being fought in the midst of the pandemic and in Nigeria there is a renewed cry to end rape culture, prosecute rapists and educate the public about Gender based violence, cultural and religious beliefs that enable violence against women to continue.

Through exciting artistic explorations in music, art, dance, poetry, discussions, lectures AND special features by thought leaders, activists and the general public, XXCEED! virtual festival will share and discuss issues that face women and black people all over the world, educate the public about Racism, Rape Culture, investments, Fund Raising, Wellness, mental health, share music, poetry, film and stories that center these issues. 

Through the virtual festival, we will do the following:

XX-amine what it means to be black anywhere on this planet;

XX-press ourselves through book readings, music, art, film and poetry;

XX-plain issue with simple, compassionate and honest dialogue

XX-pose the ways in which our inherent bias contribute to inequalities in the world

XX-tend a hand to those in need by providing resources for people to gather information, make donations and become involved in their communities

XX-change ideas on how to end gender based violence against women and girls. 

XX-pand the stories of women and black people through a call for stories and art that center these groups.