Political blackness in photography during the 1970s and 1980s in Britain emerged as a significant cultural response to racial tensions and social injustices. This period saw a rising awareness of multiculturalism and the challenges faced by ethnic communities, particularly in the ongoing struggles against institutional and overt racism. Photographers like Roshini Kempadoo, Marc Boothe, Joy Gregory and Al-An deSouza used their art to challenge stereotypes, asserting Black identities and experiences that were often marginalised or misrepresented in mainstream media.
The Black British photography movement aimed to document and celebrate the richness of Black life while critiquing the socio-political environment. The term "political blackness" referred not just to race but also encompassed shared experiences of oppression among various ethnic groups, including Caribbean, African, and South Asian communities. Through their work, photographers sought to reclaim narratives and create visual representations that highlighted solidarity and resistance against racial injustice.
This event is organised by Hyundai Tate Research Centre: Transnational in partnership with Hyundai Motor.
Panellists
Marc Boothe
Marc Boothe, founder of B3 Media in Brixton, is dedicated to championing diverse and underrepresented talent in film, visual arts, and creative technology. His work includes award-winning projects and pioneering initiatives like TalentLab XR, Origin and B3 Microstudio, where artists explore immersive storytelling.
Al-An deSouza
Al-An deSouza (fka Allan deSouza) works across photo-media, installation, text, and performance. Born in Kenya, with South Asian origins, deSouza was raised in England before migrating as an adult to the US. Their works draw upon these multiple locations through institutional and familial archives, remaking them through strategies of humor, fabulation, and (mis)translation.
Joy Gregory
Joy Gregory is an award-winning artist specialising in photography who is known for her work concerning issues of identity politics and 'beauty' culture. A graduate of Manchester Polytechnic and the Royal College of Art she has worked and exhibited widely both in the UK and internationally participating in numerous biennales and festivals.
Roshini Kempadoo
Roshini Kempadoo describes herself as a photographer, media artist and scholar and is active in all fields, making and exhibiting art and working as a Professor at the University of Westminster, School of Arts, London. She characterises her artworks as ‘factual and fictional re-imaginings of everyday experiences, histories and memories by Caribbean persons and its diaspora’.
Moderator
Jasmine Chohan
Jasmine joined Tate in 2022, from the Courtauld Institute of Art where she was an Associate Lecturer on Modern and Contemporary Asian Art, whilst undertaking her PhD. Although her PhD focused on the Havana Biennial with an emphasis on Cuban contemporary art, her specialisations span across global biennials, contemporary Asian art, and contemporary British diaspora art.
Jasmine co-curated The 80s: Photographing Britain (21 November 2024 – 5 May 2025) alongside Yasufumi Nakamori and Helen Little. Jasmine also has an extensive background in education, having been Head of Humanities at Oak Heights Secondary School for four years and previously having worked in the Schools and Teachers team at Tate. She has been focusing on arts education more widely, concentrating on diversity and inclusion by collaborating to ensure the dissemination of British diaspora art to the next generation.
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