The first edition of Onyx magazine launched last Thursday at the Oxford Foundry. The 88-page magazine, entitled ‘Dawn’, was written and produced by an all-BME editorial team.
The launch featured an excerpt from the production of Medea which gained critical and student acclaim in Oxford during Trinity last year, alongside musical and saxophone performances.
The Onyx editorial team told Cherwell: “We are so proud to have launched the first edition of Onyx Magazine, the event allowing us to finally share the incredible work that has gone into it with the world.
“The launch was such a dream for us, not only to see the magazine in print as the team that put it together, but to see the joy it brought to other people.
“We hope that the magazine can be a continuing celebration of African and Caribbean culture, and encourage black students to get involved in creative arts – an industry in which we are severely underrepresented.
“Once black students begin to see themselves and their art displayed and celebrated, they’ll be encouraged to develop their skills, hone their craft and raise their aspirations of what is possible for minorities within the arts.
“Onyx, especially in it’s first edition, ‘Dawn’, aims to unearth voices that are not often heard and platform both creativity and culture and we hope that if you manage to get a copy, you will treasure it for the gem that is it”
Onyx’s editor-in-chief and third-year student at Regent’s Park College, Theophina Gabriel, founded the magazine to amplify the creative work of African and Caribbean minorities within the University, and to attempt to improve diversity within the creative industry.
300 copies of Onyx will be distributed to universities across the UK, alongside 44 colleges across Oxford.
As of May, the magazine had secured £6,000 in funding from college JCRs and the University’s Access Department, which agreed to cover the printing costs of the first edition.
A post on Onyx’s Facebook page read: “The atmosphere, support and energy in the room was incredible… the way in which you helped us celebrate Onyx has left the team feeling speechless.”
