The Conversations and Connections exhibit has prompted vital conversations about race and identity with artists calling for more collectivity, solidarity and dialogue.
The Walker Art Gallery has been hosting an exhibit by 40 leading Black women and non-binary artists who have redefined contemporary British art – the first of its kind held in a British National Art Gallery.
Through modern contemporary art, the exhibition has encouraged fresh debate on identity in British society, answering back to recent worrying trends.
Project Curator, Sumuyya Khader, said: “Conversations is a celebration of the ground-breaking work being made by Black women and non-binary artists today.
“We want to focus on the vital conversations that contemporary artists are having with each other and with audiences right now.”
Featuring artists active in the scene currently, this exhibition is showing how art take a stand against discrimination and hate like what the country saw last summer.
Rudy Loewe, whose work ‘Groundwork’ is featured at the exhibit, said: “Fear can be something that divides us and makes us feel a sense of scarcity.
“Instead of feeling like we need to look out just for ourselves, resist this kind of individualism and think about how we can take care of each other in the face of crisis.”
Following the widespread riots seen across the nation and Merseyside, exhibits like this have become even more crucial to British society.
As libraries were burnt in Walton, and asylum seeker hotels were attacked in Knowsley, cases of hate crimes and racially motivated attacks over the past year have become front and centre of society and have prompted exhibits like this to become a unifying force.
Neill Fozard, 77, a visitor to the gallery, said: “I think [exhibits like this are] essential really, anything that opens up the conversation about differences in society has to be tackled.
“The problem we’ve got is the narrowing down of discussions and calling it ‘free speech’, which is terrifying. So the more the merrier.”
According to Home Office statistics published last year, nearly 5000 hate crimes were reported in Merseyside, triple what was seen a decade ago. Of that figure, almost 3000 were racially motivated.
The curator added: “[the artists] are responding to our current cultural climate – demonstrating how art can provide an avenue for interaction, exploration and learning.”
The art itself was chosen through discussions with a steering group representing a cross-section of artists, curators and academics from across the country.
The exhibit is part of a wider project being carried out by the Walker Art Gallery, in which they aim to collect more artwork made by Black British women and non-binary artists, who are currently wholly unrepresented within collections across the country.
This exhibition is supported by the Art Fund and Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art, and will run at the Walker Art Gallery Liverpool until the 9th March.
Just before the exhibit is due to end, there is a ‘Final Celebrations’ event being held at the gallery on the 8th March between 6:30 and 8:30pm, offering a final chance to explore the Conversations and Connections woven throughout the artwork.
