Triple bill of exhibitions from global majority artists coming to RWA

Fresh from the launch of New Black Narrative – an exhibition of work from the Black Bristol Creatives group which is running in the gallery’s Link Space as part of the inaugural DIASPORA! festival, a trio of summer exhibitions at the RWA has been announced, set to launch on May 25.

All three are from global majority artists: Rasheed Araeen, Valda Jackson, and a group exhibition of portraits of the Windrush generation.

Bristol24/7 takes a closer look at the artworks that will be fill the RWA’s gallery spaces for the coming months.

Portrait of Edna Henry © Amy Sherald, 2023 – photo: Royal Collection Trust

Rasheed Araeen: Conscious Forms

An important figure in the UK arts scene, Araeen is known for a wide body of work encompassing writing, publishing and visual art, often engaging with themes of British identity politics, belonging and migration.

His work has been exhibited around the world, from Tate Gallery to the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi.

Artwork © Rasheed Araeen, Bismillah 2A (Red Yellow Blue), 2021 – photo: courtesy of Grosvenor Gallery

This collection was curated by University of Bristol art historians Dr Zehra Jumabhoy and Dr Elizabeth Robles (director of the Centre for Black Humanities, UoB). The diversity of work shown featured dates from the 1970s onwards, and ranges from bright, abstract sculptures inspired by Islamic geography and architecture, to figurative painting, collage and film.

Beyond the gallery, a performance of Araeen’s 1970 live art piece, Chakras will take place at Bristol docks, engaging in a dialogue with the city’s colonial past and legacy.

Installation © Rasheed Araeen, The Reading Room – photo courtesy of Grosvenor Gallery

Valda Jackson: Miss Polly

The Jamaican-born multidisciplinary Bristol artist and writer Valda Jackson MBE is a studio holder at Spike Island and an academician at RWA. In 2023, she was commissioned by the Royal Mint to design a new 50p commemorating the Windrush generation.

Her powerful and evocative new exhibition brings together spoken word, text, sculpture and painting to tell the story of a British Caribbean child: Miss Polly, a ‘Windrush Girl’ within the wider Windrush story.

Seated Woman (II), © Valda Jackson MBE RWA, 1989 – photo: RWA

“Her multifaceted perspectives, as woven into her shortlisted proposal for the Windrush Monument 2021 and other projects over the last two decades, aims to create a space for both celebration and mourning, acknowledging complex narratives within historical contexts,” say the exhibition notes.

“Valda’s artistic vision aims to authentically represent the people and times she portrays, embracing ambiguity, trauma, poignant emotion and the pursuit of progress and enlightenment.”

Molly’s Buttons (Miss Polly) by Valda Jackson, 2014 – photo: RWA

Windrush: Portraits of a Pioneering Generation

This touring exhibition arrives in Bristol for the first time, following opening periods in Edinburgh and then London.

Commissioned by His Majesty King Charles III, it comprises a collection of 10 portraits of influential Caribbean-British figures by leading artists, honouring the legacy of the Windrush Generation.

Portrait of Professor Sir Godfrey (Geoff) Palmer OBE CD, © Derek Fordjour, 2023 – photo: Royal Collection Trust

Both the sitters and artists were chosen by a panel chaired by Baroness Floella Benjamin DBE.

They include Delisser Bernard, painted by Honor Titus, Edna Henry by Amy Sherald, Gilda Oliver by Clifton Powell, Professor Sir Godfrey (Geoff) Palmer, OBE, CD by Derek Fordjour, and John (Big John) Richards by Deanio X.

New Black Narrative is running until June 24 in the RWA Link Space.

Rasheed Araeen: Conscious Forms, Valda Jackson: Miss Polly, and Windrush: Portraits of a Pioneering Generation, will open at RWA on May 25.

All three exhibitions run until August 11, and will be open 10am-5pm Tuesday-Sunday, with late opening until 7pm on Wednesday.

There will be a free family festival at the RWA on Windrush Day, June 22, to include exhibition entry and arts and crafts activities.

For more information about all upcoming exhibitions, ancillary events and workshops at RWA, go to www.rwa.org.uk.

Main photo: Royal Collection Trust (Portrait of Carmen Esme Munroe OBE, © Sonia Boyce OBE RA, 2023)

Read next:

• RWA hosts staff exhibition: ‘Also Artists’
• Inside the 170 Annual Open at RWA
• Bristol artist designs 50p coin to mark Windrush anniversary