Black History Month
This October, Solent University will be celebrating Black History Month in Southampton, working together with organisations across the city to educate and engage with the stories and achievements from black history, arts and culture.
Last year, the University hosted the city-wide launch of Black History Month. This year, we will be marking the month with a variety of exciting events and projects, from panel discussions to art installations.
Between Thursday 12 October and Saturday 8 December 2018, the Solent Showcase Gallery will be hosting the “Black to the Future: An Exploration of Afro-Futurism” exhibition, featuring the work of three UK artists who are exploring art through a black cultural lens – Ade Adesina, Carleen De Sözer and Harold Offeh. As part of this exhibition, the gallery will be host to a series of exciting activities, collaborations, screenings and events.
On Thursday 25 October 2018 at 7pm, the Gallery will host a panel discussion to the theme of “What Afrofuturism means to you and the city of Southampton”. The panel will include Naomi Miller (vocalist), Junior Jones (choreographer), Sal Chitulu (youth and community worker) and Sharon Lloyd (Solent University), and will be chaired by Black History Month South’s Founder, Don John. No registration is required for this event, so come along and join in the discussion!
This exhibition is open to the public.
Brian Reed, Course Leader for Illustration and Solent graduate Titilopemi Ajala (BA (Hons) Illustration) have been working hard to create a mural to mark the 70th anniversary of the Windrush. The mural was revealed at the Black History Month South’s launch event on Thursday 27 September 2018. The artwork has been designed to capture the spectrum of people within Southampton’s African Caribbean communities, and will showcase iconic Southampton figures and landmarks. The four panels have had artistic influence from African, Caribbean and Egyptian culture and will be displayed on the front wall of St Mary’s Fire Station.
Professor Peter Lloyd, Director of the School of Art, Design and Fashion says of the events: “I am delighted that Solent has been able to support the celebrations of Black History Month. As a university Solent is incredibly diverse, with students from over 100 different countries coming here to study with us. It’s great to reflect that through exhibitions and the creation of new artwork.
“Campaigns like Black History Month play a key role in helping to inform, educate and empower people. It’s great that, as a university, we have been able to support this and I look forward to welcoming staff, students and the local community to the many events that we are hosting.”
There will also be an exhibition hosted in the Spark to explore some of the stories of the Windrush Generation, who came to Southampton in the 1950s and 1960s. The 70th anniversary of the Windrush again reminds us of the sacrifices made by a generation that paved the way for a multi-racial, multi-cultural Britain. Founder of Black History Month Southampton, Don Jon, explores some of the struggles of this generation through this collection.
This exhibition is open to the public.
