COMMUNITY PROGRAMMES

Black Heritage Programme

The Victoria and Albert Museum celebrates the black visual and performing arts in the UK through a range of exhibitions, activities and events. 

2007 marks the bi-centenary of the parliamentary abolition of the slave trade. It is a landmark year, not just in British history but in human history, signalling the end of 400 years of slavery. To commemorate this the V&A is running a number of activities throughout the year. Find out more about Uncomfortable Truths: The Shadow of Slave Trading on Art & Design.

Black British Style in the Contemporary space explored fashion and styling across all aspects of black life and culture over the past 50 years. This Black British Style video (6mins 28secs) captures the opinions of visitors to the exhibition about how black culture has influenced their style and image. Assisted by a National Touring Grant from Arts Council England, the exhibition toured to five venues across the UK, between June 2005 and December 2006. The Black British Style Exhibition Tour  is a record of the projects held to document the fashion, style and identity of visitors in each local area.

Carnival for All commemorated the 40th anniversary of the Notting Hill Carnival. A major display of specially commissioned costumes and an exhibition of photographs documented four decades of this famous event. This Carnival Family Day video (3mins 47secs)  captures some of the memories of carnivalites who attended the Carnival Family Day event and includes a parade of costume highlights from the 2004 Notting Hill Carnival.

A series of 11 critical debates entitled Beyond Identity: New Directions in Visual Art and Culture saw eminent artists discussing the impact of Empire and colonialism - on both coloniser and colonised, within and on other societies and cultures around the world - and how this impact has influenced their work.

These exhibitions and events were supported by a fantastic programme of educational and interactive activities, from a graffiti T-shirt printing workshop and a fashion workshop linking the V&A's textiles collection with carnival costume design to reminiscence programmes and a tea-dance in the opulent Gamble Room.

In 2005 our carnival events linked to The Big Draw  and focussed on the connections between drawing and carnival. There was a range of workshops encouraging drawing and illustration, as well as other carnival activities. Other institutions along Exhibition Road also took part. The day ended with our famously spectacular carnival parade.

Africa 05 was the biggest celebration of African culture ever organised in Britain. It included the visual arts, cinema, literature, history, music, craft and the performing arts. As our contribution to Africa 05, the V&A held a number of events and activities throughout the autumn. You ccan find out more about Africe 05 on the BBC'sAfrica Beyond  website.
 
On Friday 31 September we hosted an evening themed around the contemporary visual culture of West Africa. The programme included Fashion in Motion shows (with designers Xuly Bet, Oumou Sy and Joel Andrianomearisoa) and a performance responding to the V&A's textile collection by Dilom Prizulike, who was, at the time, the Museum's artist-in-residence.

African objects at the V&A

The V&A does not specialise in African art. When the Museum was established in the 19th century, many people viewed African art and design as 'ethnography' rather than 'art'. So because the V&A was an art museum, its collecting policy did not specifically include African objects, though some were acquired as examples of skills or techniques.

More recently the collection has expanded to include work by black artists from Africa and the rest of the world. Today the V&A has over 3000 objects of relevance to black heritage, art and culture, including  the work of black contemporary artists and representations of black people in European art.

The Prints and Drawings Study Room has Resource Boxes with images and information on a variety of subjects. The Resource Box on Culture and Identity explores the work of black, Asian and Middle Eastern photographers and of white photographers who have worked in cultures other than their own. The study room also has a huge collection of prints, paintings, drawings and photographs by contemporary black artists.

Have a look at Africans in Medieval and Renaissance Art at the V&A or see how the National Gallery celebrates the Black History Month.

Previous events at the V&A

Carnival Day of Record - The V&A invited Carnival visitors to be photographed in order to celebrate the style and fashion choices of the diverse groups who attend and participate.

Nails, Weaves and Naturals - To celebrate the diversity of Black British hairstyles and nail art, over 1200 people attended this event with elaborately decorated nails and sporting a full range of hairstyles (from cornrows and twists to dreadlocks and natural styles).