PRE-ORDER #14 The Resilience Issue – Cat Burns
As a Black, queer, neurodivergent woman in music, Cat Burns is constantly fighting against the tide. The “quadruple homicide of struggle” – as she refers to it – is an omnipresent part of her experience in the UK music industry, though not one she wants to be defined by. “I'm not one before the other, they all exist within me in this in the same way,” she says. “So I always try to be vulnerable and speak about my experiences as honestly as I can… but I don't want to be the spokesperson.”
Along with fighting her way through the UK music industry, Burns has been on a journey of finding herself, being diagnosed with both ADHD and autism spectrum disorder in 2021 and 2023 respectively. “It unlocked something in me,” she says of her diagnoses. “I just want to learn why all of our brains work this way. I've been checking myself, when I say things like, ‘I'm not good in social situations, I don't know how to speak to people.’ It's like, no, I just don't know how to exist in a neurotypical way. When I speak to neurodivergent people, I'm fine. So I've been really trying to be quite cautious with my words and how I speak over myself, and generally give myself grace.”
Please note this is a pre-order, and you will be notified when your product ships in April. Alternatively, head to our bio link to book a group mentoring session at the BRICKS office & pick up your copy IRL 📖
Photography: Vic Lentaigne
Styling: Kamran Rajput
MUA: Daniela Alves
2nd MUA: Natalie Vest-Jones
Creative Direction: Tori West
Production: Chiara Maculan
Production Assistant: Evie Baldwin
Photography assistant: Kevin Mason
Fashion assistants: Issy Pole & Marifer Albiero
Cover image model: Mahlah
Words: Jumi Akinfenwa
Thanks to: Kanem Hutchinson & Olivia Edwards Allen
