With Nicholas Okwulu, Founder of Livesey Exchange and PemPeople
ORIGINS
Some people build structures; others build belief. For Nicholas Okwulu, both are part of the same foundation.
On London’s Old Kent Road, a place where cranes and communities jostle for space, Okwulu has spent decades creating platforms that belong to the people who live there.
As founder of PemPeople (People Empowering People) and Livesey Exchange, his mission has been steady and simple: to make opportunity a shared resource.
| “Access is everything,” he says. “So many of us here have the ideas, the talent, the drive, but the systems around us make it hard to move forward. My job is to open the door and hold it until others can walk through.” |
A Revolutionary Thread
That vision ties directly to the message of Garvey’s Ghost, the new series by Frances-Anne Solomon that Okwulu recently screened at Livesey Exchange in Peckham.
For him, the film’s mix of humour and history, its reimagining of Marcus Garvey as both myth and man, struck a chord.
“Garvey was a revolutionary,” he says, “but more than that, he believed in what we could build together, the strength that already exists within us. That’s something I try to live every day in this work.”
In a city where gentrification often erases the very people who gave neighbourhoods their identity, Okwulu sees culture as a form of defence, and storytelling as a strategy.
“Screenings like this are important,” he adds. “They remind us of who we are, of who came before us. They connect us to each other.”
Challenges That Shape Us
When asked about the hardest part of community work, Okwulu doesn’t hesitate.
“The challenge isn’t only money. It’s us, learning to trust our own power, to come together and keep it going.” He laughs a little. “We always say ‘we need funding,’ but sometimes we just need unity. If we support each other, we’ll find the funding.”
That ethos, ‘people first, systems second,’ is what drives PemPeople. The organization began as a response to a simple observation: other communities share knowledge, capital, and infrastructure, while many Black and diaspora groups are still fighting for access.
“I called it People Empowering People for a reason,” he says. “Because no one’s coming to save us. We’re the ones we’ve been waiting for.”
Cinema as a Call to Action
At the Garvey’s Ghost screening, Okwulu noticed something.
He pauses, thoughtful. “We’ll spend money to watch sci-fi films that don’t feed us. But when we invest in work like this, stories that actually mean something, we’re investing in ourselves. In our artists, in our culture, in our future.”
What stayed with him most wasn’t just the humour or the performances, but the revelation of Garvey’s reach. “I didn’t realize how wide his impact was, across Trinidad, Africa, everywhere. Watching that, I thought, This is what legacy looks like.”
A Living Legacy
For Okwulu, legacy isn’t about monuments or memory, but about momentum. He explains that Garvey’s message wasn’t just for history; rather, it serves as a guide for the present, and it is up to the current generation to continue the work. That work, on Old Kent Road and beyond, continues steadily through workshops, residents, and conversations.
“Community isn’t an event,” Okwulu says, smiling. “It’s a practice. You keep showing up. You keep building. You keep believing.”
And if belief is the foundation, then Nicholas Okwulu’s work is what happens when that foundation finally becomes a home.
| LATEST NEWS: GARVEY’S GHOST |
| Garvey’s Ghost was screened at Skylark Film Festivalto an enthusiastic audience.Star of Garvey’s Ghost, Owen “Blakka” Ellis, appeared on CVM Sunrise to discuss the film and its cultural impact.Garvey’s Ghost was also featured in The Gleaner, in an interview with director Frances-Anne Solomon and actor Owen “Blakka” Ellis.The 2025 Rex Nettleford Arts Conferencefeatured a special screening of Garvey’s Ghost for a packed international audience of Caribbean artists and academics. Livesey Exchange screens Garvey’s Ghost in Peckham, London. |
GARVEY’S GHOST IS COMING NEAR YOU
Garvey Comes Home to T.O.!
The entire first series will screen for the first time in its entirety on the big screen in Toronto. Join Frances-Anne and the Cast at the Hub!
Stay tuned for more details and follow our Linktree to keep up with all the happenings across platforms and around the globe.
HOST YOUR OWN GARVEY’S GHOST SCREENING!
Audiences worldwide are excited to see Garvey’s Ghost. Host your own watch parties in homes, schools, community centers, or virtually.
Hosts will receive:
Screening Kit:
- Posters, discussion guides, and social media hashtags.
Engagement Tools:
- Hashtags to connect global watch parties in real-time.
Community Spotlight:
- Shared stories, photos, and videos featured on Garvey’s Ghost channels and newsletters.
Sign up to host a screening and take part in building a global movement around the enduring vision of Garvey’s Ghost.
