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Collection loan
Autograph is loaning 3 photographs from our collection to Art Gallery of Ontario's exhibition Sunday Best.
Following the Second World War, thousands of people from Commonwealth countries in the Caribbean were invited by the British government to relocate to the UK to address labour shortages. They, along with their descendants, are often referred to as the Windrush generation, after the ship HMT Empire Windrush on which the first group arrived in 1948. In 2020, Autograph acquired a portfolio of 37 works from the TopFoto archives, sharing the journey before, during and after arriving in the UK. These important photographs, alongside their stories, are now part of Autograph’s permanent Collection of Photography that aims to preserve the legacy of important narratives that have contributed to British history.
Spotlighting the power of Black style, Sunday Best traces the histories of migration, activism, self-determination, and fashion design, woven into the enduring ritual of dressing in one's “best” clothing. Told through displays of fashion, visual art, ephemera, and time-based media, this expansive exhibition considers the use of style and self-fashioning in Black diasporic communities, from the 1880s to the present.
Art Gallery of Ontario
317 Dundas St W,
Toronto, ON M5T 1G4, Canada
Find directions, opening hours, accessibility and ticketing information on Art Gallery of Ontario's website
Journey to the Land of Promise, 1953
Arriving into Southampton, 1 May 1954
A woman disembarking from the liner Begona at Southampton, shortly before the Commonwealth Immigration Act came into force, 30 June 1962
All images are from TopFoto, one of the world’s great independent photographic archives, since 1927. In 2020 TopFoto was awarded a Cultural Recovery Grant from the National Lottery Heritage Fund to protect their internationally significant collections. Find out more at topfoto.co.uk
Thanks to National Lottery players
Banner image: Journey to the Land of Promise, 1953 [detail]. Courtesy TopFoto.
All images on page courtesy TopFoto: 1) Journey to the Land of Promise, 1953. 2) Arriving into Southampton, 1 May 1954. 3) A woman disembarking from the liner Begona at Southampton, shortly before the Commonwealth Immigration Act came into force, 30 June 1962 4) Clapham South Deep-Level Shelter, London, 22 June 1948.
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Autograph is a space to see things differently. Since 1988, we have championed photography that explores issues of race, identity, representation, human rights and social justice, sharing how photographs reflect lived experiences and shape our understanding of ourselves and others.
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