Celebrating Black History Season at Swiss Cottage Gallery
Curated by Anthony Andrews of We Are Parable in partnership with LUX, BFI and The June Givanni Pan African Cinema Archive.
Celebrating Black History Season at Swiss Cottage Gallery
5 Oct – 19 Nov 2020.
We are delighted to announce that Anthony Andrews, the Co-founder of We Are Parable has curated the exhibition Black Film Collectives: Then and Now for Swiss Cottage Gallery this autumn. This exhibition, part of Camden’s Black History Back to the Future Season, will open on 5th October and will be presented in the gallery space and online.
Working with the collection of Camden-based national film organisation LUX, The British Film Institute and the June Givanni Pan African Cinema Archive the curator will select artists’ moving image work and material that reveals and celebrates Black British filmmaking, voices and ideas.
This exhibition presents the creative power of Black artist filmmakers in a national context, exploring cultural and political narratives through film from the 1960s to the present day. The exhibition will present the work of Black film cooperatives from the 1980s and 1990s, archive material, and moving image artists’ work from collections across London.
Black Film Collectives were prominent in the 80s as a way of responding to racial injustice and civil unrest. Created by multi-disciplined artists, their main objective was to reflect the ills of society through a range of visual arts, from feature films to documentaries. This exhibition will document the lineage and impact these Black Film Collectives had by displaying some of the work that was produced, as well as the archived materials that supported the release of the films. The exhibition will also look at the future of Black filmmaking in this country as we ask the question: what’s next for Black Film Collectives?
The exhibition is the first part of a new series of curated programmes celebrating Black History, which include creative workshops, music events, artist commissions and exhibitions.
Notes:
Anthony Andrews is the Co-founder of We Are Parable, a film exhibitor and events company dedicated to creating experiential events centered around screening films that tell stories in the African Diaspora.
We Are Parable: We provide audiences around the UK with opportunities to respond to and experience Black cinema in culturally relevant, memorable and innovative ways. We do this by screening upcoming, cult and classic films that celebrate Black culture on screen, whilst creating truly unforgettable experiences.
LUX is an international arts agency that supports and promotes artists’ moving image practices and the ideas that surround them. The only organisation of its kind in the UK, LUX represents the country’s only significant collection of artists’ film and video, and is the largest distributor of such work in Europe. LUX works with a large number of major institutions including museums, galleries, festivals and educational establishments, as well as directly with the public and artists.
The June Givanni Pan African Cinema Archive (JGPACA) is a 40 year personal collection of films and film related materials which are used to provide events and information for public engagement with Pan African cinema. June’s vision is to provide resources for artistic and educational knowledge and appreciation of Pan African Cinema. The June Givanni Pan African Cinema Archive (JGPACA) works to bring awareness to the contributions of black people to cinema as a story telling medium through curated programs in association with multi-disciplinary arts and community development principles locally, nationally and internationally.
Swiss Cottage Gallery presents a programme of exhibitions showcasing contemporary art, social history and works from the Camden Collection. The gallery is situated inside the iconic Swiss Cottage Library building designed by Sir Basil Spence and opened in 1964.
