Conversations

Conversations brings together around 40 artists working in a range of media, including painting, photography, sound and video. Intimate portraits of families and snapshots of everyday life feature alongside computer games that explore themes of identity and belonging.

The exhibition has grown from a project designed to collect more artworks by Black British women and non-binary artists for the Walker Art Gallery. This responds to the ongoing marginalisation of these artists in museum collections and exhibitions, and the arts more broadly. Conversations celebrates and reflects the best of contemporary art today, all by Black British women and non-binary artists.

The project is one step forward in a long journey, which leaves us with more questions than it answers. How best do we change our collections and displays? What do we gain by exhibiting work by Black artists together? What do we lose?

The artworks are displayed ‘in conversation’ with each other. Together, they speak to the audience and encourage us to ask questions about our present and past. Others challenge the gallery itself, reminding us of the work to be done.