What’s On: Exhibition and Events - April 2023
Our revamped What’s On Monthly Lists, which was just exhibitions now includes events and other things going on. It’s a long list, so do take time to look through.
Please note: this post is updated throughout the month and is ordered by which is ending the soonest.
Axematic Exhibition Launch Party
When: 5 - 6 Apr 2023
Where: Hoxton Cabin, London
About: Akin Okusami AKA Axematic is a self-taught artist who fuses digital tools with traditional techniques to usher forth his own Digital Renaissance. Raised by Nigerian parents in a pre-gentrified Hackney, the East London visualiser uses the stylus as his brush and the tablet screen as his canvas to render the world.
> More information here
SALAH ELMUR: CENTRAL ELECTRICITY AND WATER ADMINISTRATION
When: until 08 Apr 2023
Where: VIGO GALLERY & GALLERY 1957
About: Vigo Gallery and Gallery 1957 are proud to collaborate on a joint exhibition and publication of monumental new paintings, set across both London galleries, by Cairo-based Sudanese artist Salah Elmur.
> More information here
Note to Self, Curated by Mashonda Tifrere
When: until 14 Apr 2023
Where: Christie's London, London
About: A dynamic selling exhibition curated by author, singer-songwriter and activist Mashonda Tifrere. ‘Each artwork in this show shares a moment of joy, wisdom, and feminine sovereignty.’
> More information here
Gideon Appah: How to Say Sorry in a Thousand Lights
When: until 15 Apr 2023
Where: Pace Gallery, London
About: Marking Gideon Appah’s first solo exhibition in the UK as well as his debut show with Pace, the artist will present a suite of new, highly ambitious paintings that speak to ideas of identity, memory, and imagination.
> More information here
HOMEGROWN ART GALLERY
When: 12 - 15 Apr 2023
Where: Battersea Arts Centre
About: Drop into BAC’s first Homegrown Art Gallery, featuring the works of talented young female artists they've been supporting the work of. [This event is part of Homegrown Festival 2023]
> More information here
Africa Fashion
When: Until 16 April 2023
Where: V&A South Kensington, London
About: Spanning iconic mid-20th century to contemporary creatives through photographs, textiles, music and the visual arts, Africa Fashion explores the vitality and global impact of a fashion scene as dynamic and varied as the continent itself.
> More information here
Black Magic
When: 21 - 22 Apr 23
Where: Peckham Levels
About: Black Magic, an event curated by Moses Kamanga to create more safe spaces for Black and Brown bodies in London. The event will be held at Peckham Levels and it will take course over two days. Come through if you’re free, everyone is welcome! There will be a quiet space and fidget toys for nuerodivergent baddies. Expect tattoos, open mic, and art!.
> More information here
Lubaina Himid: Alla Prima/Cross Hatch
When: until 22 Apr 2023
Where: Cristea Roberts Gallery
About: Marking her first major print project and her first exhibition with Cristea Roberts Gallery, Himid has made twenty-four hand-painted screenprints, working with master printer Magda Stawarska. Each work on paper, characterised by Himid’s distinctive bold patterns and vibrant colours, features enlarged details from engravings by the eighteenth-century British satirical artist, William Hogarth.
> More information here
DAILIES PRESENTS
DECONSTRUCTING FANTASTICAL WORLDS AND ALTERNATE REALITIES ON SCREEN
When: 25 Apr 2023
Where: Rich Mix
About: An eclectic selection of award-winning shorts that potently weave magical realism, fantasy and science fiction.
There will also be an opportunity for filmmakers and audiences to interact and connect with each other during and after the event.
> More information here
STARS Afrofuturist Club Nights
When: 22 & 29 Apr 2023
Where: ICA London
About: STARS, the moving and joyful, sensitive yet funny play – a Afrofuturist space odyssey from Mojisola Adebayo – transforms into a celebratory club night on Saturday nights. Featuring guest DJs and pop-up performances from characters from the play. Accessible for all.
> More information here
Rites of Passage
When: until 29 Apr 2023
Where: Gagosian, London
About: Curated by Péjú Oshin, this exhibition features work by nineteen contemporary artists who share a history of migration.
> More information here
FURTHER THAN THE FURTHEST THING
Showing at: Young Vic, London
When: until 29 Apr 2023
About: On a remote volcanic island in the middle of the Atlantic, a community has lived undisturbed for centuries, defying the swirling currents of modernity and capitalism. Cut off and exposed to the elements, their survival has created a complex bind with their land. But when one of the inhabitants brings an outsider to the island, their way of life is changed forever.
> More information / book tickets here
Harvey Parker Trust: Love in Mind
When: 30 Apr 2023
Where: Queen Elizabeth Hall, Southbank Cente
About: An illustrious line-up of artists across classical, pop, jazz, and dance music join forces on 30 April, in a symphony of sounds to support the mental wellbeing of young creatives.
Don’t want the evening to end? Come to Harvey Parker Trust: Love in Mind - The Afterparty in the Queen Elizabeth Hall Foyer, supported by legendary London nightclubs Heaven and G-A-Y and featuring DJs drawn from the worlds of music, fashion and art.
> More information / book tickets here
Gabriel Moses: ‘Regina’
When: 5 — 30 Apr 2023
Where: 180 The Strand, London
About: London-based photographer and filmmaker Gabriel Moses will unveil his first exhibition at 180 Studios this April, featuring around 50 photographs from his career across fashion, music and sport, including never-before-seen images.
> More information here
Steve McQueen: ‘Grenfell’
When: 7 Apr — 10 May 2023
Where: Serpentine South Gallery, London
About: In December 2017, artist and filmmaker Steve McQueen (b. 1969, London, UK) made an artwork in response to the fire that took place earlier that year on 14 June at Grenfell Tower in North Kensington, West London. 72 people died in the tragedy. Filming the tower before it was covered with hoarding, McQueen sought to create a record so that it would not be forgotten. Grenfell is presented at Serpentine South this spring.
> More information here
Fragile by Tewodros Hagos
When: 20 Apr - 20 May, 2023
Where: Kristin Hjellegjerde Gallery
About: Fragile, Tewodros Hagos fourth solo exhibition is a captivating new series of portraits that captures vulnerability
> More information here
‘PerAnkh: The June Givanni PanAfrican Cinema Archive’
When: 15 Apr - 4 Jun 2023
Where: Raven Row, London
About: The June Givanni PanAfrican Cinema Archive (JGPACA) holds a unique collection of artefacts and archival material, which has at its core the interest of Pan-African cinema and its relationship with Black British cinema and culture. Over a period of seven weeks, the exhibition at Raven Row will reveal histories and ideas in African and African diasporic film, recalling significant events and bringing together the work of filmmakers around a wide range of themes, debates and interests.
> More information here
What You See Here / What You Hear Here by Darryl Daley
When: Until 11th Jun 2023
Where: NOW Gallery, London
About: Daley presents 4 filmic works that survey his visual practice to date as well as newly commissioned works. Born in South London of Afro Caribbean heritage, Daley is known for his evocative and spectacular storytelling, often collaborating with writers, artists and cross disciplinary collectives. What You See Here / What You Hear Here envelopes the viewer, immersing you in Daley’s seductive chapters.
> More information here
Souls Grown Deep like the Rivers
Black Artists from the American South
When: until 18 Jun 2023
Where: Royal Academy of Arts, London
About: Discover the Black artists from the Southeastern United States who created some of the most spectacular and ingenious works of the last century.
> More information here
ISAAC JULIEN: WHAT FREEDOM IS TO ME
Dates: 26 Apr – 20 Aug 2023
Where: Tate Britain, London
About: This solo exhibition reveals the scope of Julien’s pioneering work in film and installation from the early 1980s through to the present day. The exhibition highlights Julien's critical thinking and the way his work breaks down barriers between different artistic disciplines, drawing from film, dance, photography, music, theatre, painting and sculpture by utilising the themes of desire, history and culture.
> More information here
Eric Gyamfi: Fixing Shadows
– Julius and I
When: 28 Apr - 2 Sep 2023
Where: Autograph, London
About: How photography can shift meanings and histories – ‘fixing shadows’ of legacy, absence, and revival
> More information here
Ajamu: The Patron Saint of Darkrooms
When: 28 Apr - 2 Sep 2023
Where: Autograph, London
About: Unapologetically celebrating black queer bodies and pleasure as activism
> More information here
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