What’s On: Exhibition and Events - June 2023
It’s June.. Another What’s On Monthly Round Up, full of exhibitions & events going on.
I ❤ Campbell / 180 Studios
When: 11 May - 04 Jun 2023
Where: 180 Studios, London
About: 180 Studios presents the first exhibition by acclaimed fashion photographer Campbell Addy, the first solo show in the artist's eight-year career. Featuring a newly conceived set of iconic images and a short film shot on location in Ghana, I ❤ Campbell is a personal meditation on the artist's roots and inspirations.
> More information here
‘PerAnkh: The June Givanni PanAfrican Cinema Archive’
When: 15 Apr - 04 Jun 2023
Where: Raven Row, London
About: 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
Shifting the Centre: Grenada as Reference
When: 16 Mar - 4 Jun 2023
Where: Black Cultural Archives, London
About: Shifting the Centre is an archival activation project dedicated to excavating the radical observations, emancipatory dreams, and revolutionary practices of anticolonial thinkers to develop counter approaches that can be applied to artistic, teaching, and organising work. By repositioning the centre away from Europe, we can ask: what realisations occur when those resisting dominant forces are the protagonists of world history?
> More information here
When Trouble Come, Ink Haffi Run
When: 05 May - 04 June 2023
Where: Black Cultural Archives, London
About: When Trouble Come, Ink Haffi Run highlights Black Ink’s legacy by showcasing the books, pamphlets and artwork for the first time in 45 years. This is the first iteration of a series of Black Ink Legacy’s commemorative events.
> More information here
What You See Here / What You Hear Here by Darryl Daley
When: Until 11 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
To Be Held, Curated by Ronan Mckenzie
When: 30 Apr – 25 Jun 2023
Where: Carl Freedman Gallery, Margate
About: To Be Held brings together nineteen artists and three furniture designers in an immersive exhibition which aims to open a dialogue on tenderness, and what it means to care and be cared for. The show presents works from a range of disciplines including painting, sculpture and scent; inviting us to consider the relationship between our experiences, and our internal sense of grounding and joy. To Be Held explores the impact of how we choose to share our spaces with all that they encompass, intentionally creating environments that we fill with love, and allow them, and those who inhabit them to care for us in return.
> More information here
Close to HOME
When: 7 Mar – 25 Jun 2023
Where: Burlington Gardens, RCA, London
About: The RA art sales programme proudly presents our first collaboration with HOME by Ronan Mckenzie. Close to HOME is a selling display bringing together works by eight practitioners born or based within eight miles of the Royal Academy of Arts, celebrating the rich artistic practices and craft cultivated, nurtured and developed in proximity to the RA. As a continuation of one of HOME's grounding missions; to create more space for BIPOC artists based within the UK, Close to HOME creates an opportunity for these eight local practitioners to find a HOME at the RA and for visitors to discover and connect with works made in our immediate surroundings.
> 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
DIVA
When: 24 Jun 2023 – 7 Apr 2024
Where: Victoria & Albert Museum, South Kensington, London
About: DIVA will celebrate the power and creativity of iconic performers, exploring and redefining the role of 'diva' and how this has been subverted or embraced over time across opera, stage, popular music, and film.
> More information here
Did you know these shows were happening or are they news to you?