“It’s a call to action for Black communities across the UK to step into the role of storytellers, historians, and custodians of our heritage. For far too long, our histories have been narrated by others, leading to distorted portrayals that fail to capture the full breadth and depth of our experiences.” Reclaiming Narratives is the theme of Black History Month 2024, which takes place in October across the UK. Today, we present a selection of shows in which creatives have taken on the role of chronicler, sharing powerful stories and overlooked histories. Meet contemporary luminaries such as Tyler Mitchell and Zanele Muholi, who are using photography to challenge representations of Black people. Learn about group exhibitions sharing work from Africa and the diaspora with new audiences, from Marvellous Realism at Fotografiska Shanghai to Black Ancient Futures at MAAT, Lisbon. Discover must-attend shows in the UK and beyond.
Tyler Mitchell: Idyllic Space | High Museum of Art, Atlanta | Until 1 December
In the golden desert, we see a fashionably dressed family playing together. Albany, Georgia (2021) is a photograph that shows a father happily swinging a child in circles. In the background, two siblings toss a football to each other. Filmmaker and photographer Tyler Mitchell (b. 1995) is the artist behind the serene and joyful scene. His practice is anchored to a clear mission: portraying Black Joy. Idyllic Space, at the High Museum of Art, is a homecoming for the Atlanta native. The image-maker takes inspiration from his upbringing in the city, infusing the communities, homes and landscapes into his work. The exhibition features more than 30 photographs, exploring themes of domesticity, masculinity, nature, play and rest.
Read our full interview with Tyler Mitchell here.
Barbara Walker: Being Here | The Whitworth, Manchester | 4 October-26 January
For over twenty five years, Barbara Walker (b. 1964) has been making intensely observed and empathetic figurative work that creates space for Black presence, power and belonging. Being Here marks the first major survey of work from the esteemed British artist. The show consists of 70 pieces, including rarely seen paintings, her Turner Prize nominated drawing series Burden of Proof (2022-23) and a newly commissioned printed wallpaper Soft Power (2024). Works range from delicate graphite drawings to monumental charcoal pieces. She explores the policing and surveillance of Black life, twentieth-century war histories, immigration and Old Master paintings to challenge conventions of representation.
Sonia Boyce: An Awkward Relation | Whitechapel Gallery, London | Until 12 January
Interaction. Participation. Improvisation. Sonia Boyce explores these concepts in her new exhibition at Whitechapel Gallery, titled An Awkward Relation. The project speaks to the trailblazing participatory practice of Brazilian artist Lygia Clark, after Boyce was introduced to her in the 1990s. Hair, as a material and cultural signifier, takes centre stage in series such as Black Female Hairstyles (1995) and Head II (Dread) (1995). Also on display is the multimedia installation, We Move in Her Way (2017). An Awkward Relation explores the feelings of both involvement and unease that comes with an approach built on the audiences’ engagement. Here, visitors are called to touch and experience pieces in new, unscripted ways.
Making a Rukus! | Somerset House, London | 11 October-19 January
Somerset House unveils Making a Rukus! Black Queer Histories through Love and Resistance. Curated by artist, filmmaker and co-founder of rukus! Federation, Topher Campbell, this show shines a light on Black LGBTQIA+ activism, creativity, community and pride through 200 objects. On display are archival materials, contemporary artworks and brand-new commissions. Entrepreneur and activist Ramses Underhill-Smith addresses how cultural identity affects lesbians in A Short Film About Us and artist Evan Ifekoya presents a restaging of an immersive club-inspired installation, A Score, A Groove, A Phantom, A rukus!. This sprawling showcase highlights the joy, friendship, resistance and art of Black LGBTQIA+ people in Britain.
Donald Rodney: Visceral Canker | Nottingham Contemporary | Until 5 January
The late Donald Rodney (1961-1998) was a leading figure in Britain’s BLK Art Group of the 1980s, a gathering of young Black artists who raised questions about the definitions and possibilites of Black creativity. At the time, he was dubbed “one of the most innovative and versatile artists of his generation.” Despite his influence, there have been few opportunities to experience the full breadth and complexity of his work. Now, Nottingham Contemporary highlights his significance to British art history in a major survey that brings together nearly all that survives of his multidisciplinary practice. This touring exhibition will highlight work that re-addresses themes of chronic illness, Black masculinity and British colonialism.
As We Rise: Photography from the Black Atlantic | Saatchi Gallery, London | 5 November – 20 January
Established by Dr. Kenneth Montague in 1997, the Wedge Collection is Canada’s largest privately-owned collection committed to championing Black artists. The doors of this impressive archive now open to the public in As We Rise: Photography from the Black Atlantic. The exhibition covers an array of photographs by creatives that hail from across Africa and the international diaspora, including Canada, the United Staes, Great Britain and The Caribbean. Centring the familial alongside the familiar, the exhibition embraces concepts of community, identity and power, and recognises the complex strength, beauty, diversity and vulnerability of Black life. The exhibition features established names, such as Horace Ové, James Barnor and Gordon Parks, as well as emerging talents like Texas Isaiah and Arielle Bobb-Willis.
Zanele Muholi | Tate Britain, London | Until 26 January
Acclaimed visual activist Zanele Muholi presents their first solo exhibition of work in the UK with this self-titled exhibition at Tate Modern. It’s a testament to an artistic practice devoted to resisting oppression. Muholi rose to prominence in the early 2000s whilst highlighting the stories of Black LGBTQIA+ people in their home country. Visitors will get to see over 300 photographs, from early works all the way to their latest projects. These include sculptures and the most recent additions to their ongoing Somnyama Ngonyama self-portrait series. In the latter project, Muholi turns the camera on themselves to explore Eurocentricism, labour, racism and sexual politics. From behind the frame, Muholi’s eyes meet ours.
Black Ancient Futures | MAAT, Lisbon | Until 17 March
Black Ancient Futures brings together a group of 11 artists from the vast African diaspora – some of them debuting work in Portugal. They propose a wide range of alternative narratives and landscapes that contest the dominant panorama of the contemporary arts. Many resist defining historical movements or advocating for specific ideological readings. Instead, they present freedom and possibility. Included are well-known names, such as Jeannette Ehlers, Gabriel Massan and Evan Ifekoya. Curators Camila Maissune and João Pinharanda note that creatives make “direct references to non-Western spiritualities with the use or evocation of post-industrial technology to create magical or science-fiction narratives.”
Marvellous Realism | Fotografiska Shanghai | Until 1 December
Fotografiska Shanghai unveils the first and largest exhibition of African photography in Asia. Author and curator of Into the Black Fantastic (2022)and Reframing The Black Figure (2024), Ekow Eshun (b. 1968) collaborated with co-curator Lucy MacGarry to create Marvellous Realism: A Groundbreaking Contemporary African Photography Show. The exhibition brings together a selection of contemporary greats who remain largely unknown to the Chinese public – until now. Focused primarily on sub-Saharan African countries, it features work from established and emerging names. Atong Atem, David Ụzọchukwu, Hassan Hajjaj and Zanele Muholi are amongst the 16 photographers in this dazzling group showcase.
Peter Brathwaite: Rediscovering Black Portraiture | Higgins Bedford | Until 2 February
“I began restaging Black portraits for the Getty Museum’s online COVID-19 lockdown challenge to re-create works of art using only what you had to hand at home.” Bedford based artist, opera singer and writer Peter Brathwaite reimagined over 100 artworks featuring Black sitters as part of the online #GettyMuseumChallenge. Higgins Bedford shares these pieces with the public, alongside Brathwaite’s personal reflections on the experience. He states: “As an opera singer, I see each photographic re-staging as a performance; performances that riff on the stories of my own ancestors – both enslaved Africans and English enslavers in Barbados – and the Black figures who appear in portraits I choose to embody.”
Words: Diana Bestwish Tetteh
Image Credits:
- Xaviera Simmons, Denver, 2008.
- Albany, Georgia, 2021, Pigmented inkjet print. Courtesy of the artist.
- Sonia Boyce Head II (Dread) 1995 Photographic print on dibond 137.5 cm by 91.5 cm © Sonia Boyce. All Rights Reserved, DACS/Artimage 2024 Courtesy of the artist, APALAZZOGALLERY and Hauser & Wirth Gallery.
- Sonia Boyce Black Female Hairstyles , 1995 Fifty colour collages on paper 25 portrait Dimensions: 156.5cm x 113cm portrait. © Sonia Boyce. All Rights Reserved, DACS/Artimage 2024. Courtesy of Wolverhampton Art Gallery.
- Donald Rodney, In the House of My Father, 1997. Arts Council Collection, Southbank Centre, London. Photograph taken by Andra Nelki © The Estate of Donald G Rodney.
- Zanele Muholi Bona, Charlottesville 2015 Photograph, gelatin silver print on paper 800 x 506 mm Courtesy of the Artist and Yancey Richardson, New York © Zanele Muholi.
- Zanele Muholi Ntozakhe II, Parktown 2016 Photograph, gelatin silver print on paper 1000 x 720 mm Courtesy of the Artist and Yancey Richardson, New York © Zanele Muholi.
- Labouring Under the Sign of the Future, 2017 ©️ Ayana V. Jackson.
