What’s On: Exhibition and Events - May 2023
The revamped What’s On Monthly Round Up, 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.
Lee Scratch Perry: Ark Work
When: 9 Mar – 6 May 2023
Where: Cabinet Gallery, London
About: An exhibition of drawing, painting and sculpture from the Blue and Black Ark.
> More information here
Ayanfe Olarinde: ‘In The Beginning And So It Goes’
When: 13 Apr - 06 May 2023
Where: JD Malat Gallery, London
About: A solo show by Lagos-based artist Ayanfe Olarinde (b. 1996). This exhibition offers a visual narrative of mythological traditions of Yoruba, one of the most prominent and widely recognized cultures in Nigeria and West Africa. The viewers will find themselves on a journey of discovery and enlightenment, as Olarinde’s paintings pose questions and ignite curiosity, while offering a pause to reflect on the fluidity of art and life.
> More information here
Not Just Another Store x DADA
When: 25 Mar - 06 May 2023
Where: Dada Gallery, London
About: DADA and Not Just Another Store have come together to showcase a curated selection of works by 4 artists.
> More information here
Living the Dream, UKBFTOG Exhibition
When: 09 Mar – 07 May 2023
Where: FUJIFILM House of Photography, Covent Garden
About: The showcase celebrates culture, creativity, and womanhood through the lens of Black female photographers and is generously supported by FUJIFILM UK.
> More information here
Steve McQueen: ‘Grenfell’
When: 07 Apr — 10 May 2023
Where: Serpentine South Gallery, London
About: In December 2017, artist and filmmaker Steve McQueen 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.
> More information here
Salah Elmur: Central Electricity And Water Administration
When: 16 Mar - 10 May 2023
Where: GALLERY 1957, London
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
R.I.P. Germain’s: “Jesus Died For Us, We Will Die For Dudus!”
When: 22 Feb - 14 May 2023
Where: ICA London
About: R.I.P. Germain’s exhibition “Jesus Died For Us, We Will Die For Dudus!” will feature an ambitious newly commissioned, immersive, multipart installation that examines the complex logic of cultural gatekeeping within Black culture, and the (mis)perception of these dynamics in a wider (white) world. This exhibition continues the ICA’s commitment to support artists in the early and pivotal stages of their careers, and forms part of a year-long 75th Anniversary programme.
> More information here
Fragile by Tewodros Hagos
When: 20 Apr - 20 May, 2023
Where: Kristin Hjellegjerde Gallery, London
About: Fragile, Tewodros Hagos fourth solo exhibition is a captivating new series of portraits that captures vulnerability
> More information here
So let us all be citizens too
When: 20 Apr - 26 May 2023
Where: David Zwirner, London
About: So let us all be citizens too at the gallery’s London location, curated by Ebony L. Haynes, senior director of 52 Walker. This group exhibition explores and celebrates the legacy of postwar American artist Bob Thompson (1937–1966) and his dynamic figurative style and use of color.
> More information here
‘PerAnkh: The June Givanni PanAfrican Cinema Archive’
When: 15 Apr - 4 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
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
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
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: 30th Apr – 25th 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
Did you know these shows were happening or are they news to you?