Look What I Found: The Music is Black

As part of the Look What I Found: The Music is Black micro-residency at V&A East Storehouse, Nigerian ethnomusicologist and performing artist Gerald Eze and Colombian musician and cultural leader Susana Palacios reveal objects from the V&A collection presenting rhythm, migration and memory as a common language.

Uncovering dialogues across borders and throughout history between musical practices in west Africa, the Americas, Asia and Europe, Eze and Palacios explore the connections between indigenous performance cultures and the V&A collection. 

Look What I Found: The Music is Black is part of a collaborative partnership developed with British Council to invite four international artists to V&A East across two micro-residency periods to explore its collections in relation to V&A East’s inaugural exhibition: The Music is Black: A British Story.

Gerald Eze
Gerald Eze is a Nigerian ethnomusicologist, educator, and performing artist specializing in the preservation and performance of endangered traditional Igbo musical instruments. He is the founder of Ichoku Academy, an institution grounded in indigenous Igbo-African cultural systems, and an alumnus of the American Music Mentorship programs, organised by the U.S. Department of States, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs’ and the Recording Academy. Eze’s research focuses on musical speech surrogacy, folklore, and cultural diplomacy. As a Nigerian cultural ambassador, he has presented his work at Dartmouth College and pioneered the introduction of the Oja (an Igbo wind instrument) to Western classical audiences at London's Wigmore Hall.
His international performance portfolio includes David Zwirner Art Gallery in New York, Art Omi, Institute of Jamaica, U.S. Embassy, Abuja, French Embassy, Abuja, the British Council, Lagos, and the prestigious National Theatre in Lagos.

Susana Palacios
Susana Palacios is a Colombian musician and cultural leader working at the intersection of music, sustainability, and social transformation. As Head of the Orquesta Sinfónica EAFIT, she has led the development of Latin America's first Green Orchestra, reimagining the role of orchestras as platforms for artistic innovation, environmental awareness, and community engagement. Her work combines artistic practice, cultural diplomacy, and public policy to foster dialogue, inclusion, and international collaboration through music.

Supported by the British Council.