Black History Month 2024: The Art of Reclamation
This year’s theme is The Art of Reclamation, curated through our annual exhibition and events programme. As a black community, we explore how we can reclaim and define our histories through our creative practices. We have a diverse history, culture, and identity with deep roots spanning centuries and continents, which deserves to be o defined by us. October has historically been a time when African Communities would gather and consider this a period of reconciliation, and it carries on the Tradition of celebrating British Black History Month since October 1987 as part of the 150th Caribbean Emancipation.
Join us in celebrating our celebrating our diverse we hope this inspires you to retell your narrative.
Curated and produced by
Katwamba Mutale (LCF Officer) & Charmiane Chikiwa (CCW & CCI Officer)
See the full Black History Month schedule
Student Groups and Community Support
Arts SU is committed to creating a thriving social and support network for our members and our Black students. We have a wide array of student-led groups and community forums students can access throughout the year in the Students’ Union.
UAL:ACS Arts SU Buddy Up
Discover this year's artists:
Janelle Lovern Sinclair (she/her)
College: BA Design for Art Direction. Course: London College of Communication. Work title: Siren Oracles.
This ornament acts as an expression of my inner childs’ most innate desires and fears, uncovered through an invitation to embrace and honour themselves, through an appreciation of whimsical and fantastical mythologies.
Monica Okello (she/her)
Course: BA Graphic Communication Design (with Creative Computing). College: Central Saint Martins. Work title: Saraphina in the garden.
Saraphina in the garden is a direct look into the archive, both at a macro and micro level, aiming to question and facilitate conversation around contemporary Black archival practices and the power of self-documentation by asking, How can we curate our lives authentically? I hope to inspire the Black community to take ownership of their own narratives, both their histories and futures.
Amira (she/her)
Course: BA Interior Design. College: Chelsea College of Arts. Work title: Ami Eya: Tribal Mark.
This artwork explores reclamation through the cultural significance of tribal marks and scarification, highlighting their vital role in African identity. By juxtaposing the perceived brutality of scarring with the delicacy of beadwork, I challenge notions of beauty and culture, inviting reflection on these traditions and their importance in preserving heritage.
Short poem: Scarred skin, identity's trace, Heritage found in each marked face. In golden lands, with beads untold, Africa’s story, in scars and gold.
Dionne Elizabeth (she/they)
Course: Fine Art: Digital PhD. College: Central Saint Martins. Work title: Protection. Hairouna, Youloumain, Yurumein, 1986 - From Emotional Landscapes, an embodied drawing series.
Reclaiming narratives through embodied temporalities. Tracing memories of homelands via embodied drawing. Archiving + retrieval beyond time, space + place. A portal to elsewhere but also ‘here’.
Zadie Freeling (she/her)
Course: BA Fashion Contour. College: London College of Fashion. Work title: Contoured to be Hidden in the scraps.
The piece was inspired by Zelda Wynn Vales who sewed the playboy bunny costumes; despite sewing an iconic piece of contour history, she is often forgotten about both as a designer and a seamstress. This piece hopes to reclaim some her legacy in the collage by using her classic sleeveless design. In Using scraps from my first year I hope to convey some of myself as a black contour designer.
Sylver Eulalee Mair (they/she/he)
Course: BA Jewellery Design (Graduate 2024). College: Central Saint Martins. Work title: sYlver SYSTEMS: It's Not Black And White.
Reconfiguring White and Black’s connotations. Waste plastics embody ‘White fragility’ creating Lady InJustice - an alien oppressive system. Deadstock Black yarns entangle, building a space of refuge; a ‘black hole’ seeking systemic destruction.
Oye Akinsulire (he/him)
Course: BA Creative Computing. College: Camberwell College of Arts. Work title: Eurphorium.
"Euphorium" is about the journey of self-discovery. As we navigate through life searching for truth, we realize that each of us is unique. Our individuality shines through in our own euphoric colors, celebrating the beauty of our differences.