Photographs of black British experience
The Victoria & Albert Museum will next year showcase a selection of photographs that explore the experiences of black people in Britain in the latter half of the 20th century.
Source: The Estate of Al Vandenberg / Victoria and Albert Museum, London
Al Vandenberg, High Street Kensington from the series On a Good Day
The V&A has worked with the Black Cultural Archives to acquire images by black photographers or which document the lives of black people in Britain.
Among the works going on show are Yinka Shonibare’s Diary of a Victoria Dandy series from 1998 and black-and-white street photography of 1970s London by Al Vandenberg.
Source: Armet Francis / Victoria and Albert, London
Armet Francis, Self-Portrait in Mirror, London, 1964, gelatin silver print
There are also images of Raphael Albert’s black beauty pageants from the 1960s-‘80s, and images of youth culture taken by Norman “Normski” Anderson in the 1980s and ‘90s.
Source: Normski / Victoria and Albert, London
Normski, African Homeboy – Brixton, London, 1987, printed 2011, c-type print
To complement the photographs, Black Cultural Archives has collected oral histories from a range of subjects including the photographers themselves, their relatives, and the people depicted in the images.
Source: Neil Kenlock / Victoria and Albert, London
Neil Kenlock, Untitled Young woman seated on the floor at home in front of her television set, C- type print, London, 1972
Staying Power: Photographs of Black British Experience, 1950s-1990s is at the V&A, Cromwell Road, London SW7 from 16 February-24 May 2015.
Source: The Estate of J.D. ‘Okhai Ojeikere / Victoria and Albert, London
J. D. Okhai Ojeikere, HD-55774 Beri Beri, from the series Hairstyles, gelatin silver print, Nigeria, 1974
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