Art and Activism in the
Age
of
Black Girl Magic
ONLINE LECTURES EVERY TUESDAY
6:30pm - 7:45pm (GMT)
12 July - 2 August
Art and Activism in the Age of Black Girl Magic is a four-week course examining the themes present in modern and contemporary artworks by Black women and Black non-binary artists. Black Women's contributions to visual artistic production are further explored through the lens of Black feminist thought and action in social and protest movements in contemporary history.
Art in the Age of Black Girl Magic has previously been taught at Tate (2018 & 2019) and Photographers Gallery (2020).
The iteration of this course is in partnership with Art on the Underground and will have a special focus on Joy Labinjo’s Art on the Underground commission which includes; ‘5 more minutes,' a large-scale public artwork which launched at Brixton Underground station in November 2021 and the 36th commission for the pocket Tube map cover.
Course Outline
Week 1: Art and Activism in the Age of Black Girl Magic, An Introduction.
Joy Labinjo ‘Terrible, isn’t it? 2021
Courtesy of the artist and Tiwani Contemporary
Our very first session will be a deep dive into the era of Black Girl Magic and we will build an understanding of how this affirmative phrase, made even more popular by social media, became a call to action in honouring the contributions of Black women in all industries.
We will particularly look at the landscape of Black women and non-binary people, practising art in the last decade and consider the many social and political movements that have impacted their practices and compare the similarities and differences of previous generations.
Week 2: Our Crown Our Glory
Joy Labinjo ‘Wash Day’, 2022
Courtesy of the artist and Tiwani Contemporary
In 2021 Art on the Underground unveiled a new public artwork, titled, ‘ 5 more minutes,’ at Brixton Station from artist Joy Labinjo. The mural is a familiar scene portraying the inside of an African Caribbean hairdresser. We see hair being made by two hair stylists, whilst three women are under the dryer - with one of the subjects lifting up the dryer’s hood possibly asking “how long left” and receiving the answer “5 more minutes.” The scene is warm, inviting and has excellent attention to detail, including the ever-familiar poster which depicts an array of hairstyles. Lastly, this painting documents the artisanal and entrepreneurial spirit of Black women in the local community and their resistance to gentrification.
In this class, we will discuss why hair remains a contentious topic of Black identity and investigate how Black artists at all levels of practice have sought to have conversations about hair within their works.
Week 3: In Conversation
Joy Labinjo ‘Jane & Mary,’ 2019.
Courtesy of the artist and Tiwani Contemporary.
Artist Joy Labinjo will be conversing with curator and writer Alayo Akinkugbe; this unique online talk will celebrate Joy’s recent Art on the Underground commissions taking a scholarly approach to discussing belonging, the notion of identity and how this influences her painting practices.
The audience will also have the opportunity to hear about Joy’s recent solo exhibitions at Chapter Gallery in Cardiff and Tiwani Contemporary in Lagos, Nigeria.
About Joy Labinjo
Joy Labinjo’s large-scale figurative paintings often depict intimate scenes of historical and contemporary life, both real and imagined and are often based on figures appearing in personal and archival imagery that include family photographs, found images and historical material. In the past, she has explored themes including but not limited to identity, political voice, power, Blackness, race, history, community and family and their role in contemporary experience.
About Alayo Akinkugbe
Alayo Akinkugbe is a writer and curator based in London. She is the founder of the digital platform A Black History of Art (@ablackhistoryofart) and has amassed over 55,000 followers on Instagram, where she shares content highlighting overlooked Black artists, sitters, and curators and thinkers from art history and today. Her aim is to continually champion emerging and forgotten Black artists from across the globe and across all periods of art history, in a bid to change the way art is taught and presented in the West, in favour of a more global and inclusive approach. Alayo graduated from the University of Cambridge with a BA in History of Art in 2021 and is currently studying an MA in Curating at Courtauld Institute of Art.
Week 4: Archive and Imagination in Contemporary Black Art Practices
Joy Labinjo, WHAT IS THE EFFECT OF COLONISATION? 2020.
Courtesy of the artist and Tiwani Contemporary.
The invoking of memory in art is a common practice among contemporary artists. Using their medium of choice, many choose to communicate and immortalise family, social or historical events, sharing with the viewers the emotional and spiritual connection they have with that time and place. However, artists are not present for all the events that they feel attached to. In the last session, we will look at the different types of archives that play a role in artworks and the trigger these have on the imagination to immortalise histories, create new narratives and radically reimagine new ways of being.
