Exhibition sparks Conversations at the Walker Art Gallery

Ground-breaking works by leading Black British artists are placed centre stage in a new exhibition at the Walker Art Gallery.

Conversations, which opens this weekend and runs until March 9, is the first exhibition of its kind to be held in a national gallery in the UK.

It features artwork by almost 40 leading Black women artists and those who describe themselves as non-binary, with work on show covering a wide range of media from painting and sculpture to sound and multi-media installations.

The majority of the content of the show has been borrowed directly from the artists themselves. Some others have come from public collections, and a small number are in the ownership of National Museums Liverpool.

Among those in the exhibition are Claudette Johnson – a founding member of the Black British Art Movement, Miranda Forrester, Turner Prize winner Helen Cammock, Gambian-British photographer Khadija Saye, Anthea Hamilton, Rachel Jones, Alberta Whittle, Sharon Walters, Joy Labinjo and Lubaina Himid.

It was an early discussion with Himid about the ‘double invisibility’ of Black British women artists in public collections and established art histories which led to the development of Conversations.

Discussions around which artists might be included in the exhibition were held with a steering group representing a cross-section of artists, curators and academics from across the UK.

Above: A slideshow of images of works being shown as part of Conversations. Top: Lubaina Himid’s Fire Brigade mixed media sculpture

Through the artworks on display, the exhibition aims to provide a platform for conversations to take place, asking poignant and necessary questions about today’s culture and society.

It explores topics like Power, Histories and Relationships.

Project Curator, artist Sumuyya Khader, says: “Conversations is a celebration of the ground-breaking work being made by Black women and non-binary artists today. Much of the discourse surrounding Black British art, where it exists, concentrates on work made by a handful of artists, predominantly in the 1980s and 90s.

“While the exhibition acknowledges the impact and importance of their work, we want to focus on the vital conversations that contemporary artists are having with each other and with audiences right now.

Through joyful, timely and thought-provoking pieces, they are responding to our current cultural climate – demonstrating how art can provide an avenue for interaction, exploration and learning.”

Conversations is at the Walker Art Gallery from October 19 to March 9.