Becoming with the Archive: Black Feminist Visions in Photography

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Join us in the gallery for an evening of creative exchange inspired by Nydia A. Swaby’s book on Pan-Africanist and feminist Amy Ashwood Garvey, whose contributions to social justice and Black women’s rights have largely been forgotten. Swaby pieces together Ashwood Garvey's biography from her scattered archive through a series of 'curatorial fabulations', filling in the gaps of the archive through reinterpretation and creation. Doing so has offered Swaby a reflection on the practice of Black feminist archiving in the past, present and future.

Read more and book tickets on Autograph's website

At this event, Swaby will present excerpts from her book, accompanied by photographs from Ashwood Garvey’s archive and self-portraits that respond to her research. Swaby will be joined by Adjoa Armah and Pelumi Odubanjo for a performative reading, exploring how Black women have engaged photography as a means of self-fashioning, political assertion, and making visible the layered histories and diasporic ties that shape their worlds.

There will be a drinks reception and an opportunity to purchase Swaby’s book, plus you can view both of Autograph's exhibitions which utilise portraiture as a tool for self-discovery and navigating change.