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A British Council Funded Project
Conversations with black womxn artists addressing issues of climate justice and the politics of representation
In November 2022, 10 early to mid-career curators from England, Ethiopia, Kenya, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Senegal, South Africa, Uganda and Wales - including Autograph’s curator Bindi Vora - joined British Council on a delegation to the Venice Biennale, Milk of Dreams.
Together, the curators participated in an interactive programme exploring the question “how do curatorial and artistic practices allow for a space for radical imagination that centres black womxn artists?” This question prompted reflective and collective discussions in relation to the work they do and how they use their curatorial practices as a space to articulate new ideas, discourses and transnational dialogues for social and political change.
Following the delegation, the curators were invited to undertake further research and development to interrogate what the term ‘representation’ means today.
Vora interviewed four artists with ties to East Africa who focus on issues of climate justice and the environment in their work, alongside a broader framework examining the politics of representation. Their conversations have been published to Autograph's website, freely accessible to all.
In conversation with Ugandan artist Bathsheba Okwenje
Read interview | 14 min readA conversation with Kenyan artist and curator Syowia Kyambi
Read interview | 14 min readIn conversation with UK based artist and curator Wanja Kimani
Read interview | 12 min readA conversation with British Mauritian artist Sabrina Tirvengadum
Read interview | 11 min read
The Biennials Connect delegation
Syowia Kyambi, I Have Heard Many Things About You, 2016
Bathsheba Okwenje, from the series Gang Kikome and Other Things We Left Behind, 2018 -
Wanja Kimani, Weathering Bodies [still], 2022
Sabrina Tirvengadum, If We Were Marrier d’Unienville, 2023
Banner image: Syowia Kyambi, I Have Heard Many Things About You, performance still [detail], Bremen, Germany, 2016. Video produced by Cantufan Klose.
Images on page: 1) The Biennials Connect delegation. Image credit: Akya Sy. 2) Syowia Kyambi, I Have Heard Many Things About You, performance still, Bremen, Germany, 2016. Video produced by Cantufan Klose. 3) Wanja Kimani, Weathering Bodies [film still], 2022. Courtesy the artist. 4) Bathsheba Okwenje, from the series Gang Kikome and Other Things We Left Behind, 2018 - 5) Sabrina Tirvengadumrem in collaboration with Mark Allred, If We Were Marrier d’Unienville, 2023.
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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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