Join us for a conversation about Black British photography in the 1970s and 1980s with curator and cultural historian Mark Sealy and artist Vanley Burke, featured in the This Is Britain exhibition.
Burke and Sealy will share their perspectives on new opportunities for Black British photographers, as well as continuing obstacles within the broader context of racial tensions and conflict. Introduced by Kara Felt, This Is Britain exhibition curator, former Andrew W. Mellon Postdoctoral Curatorial Fellow in the department of photographs at the National Gallery of Art, and currently assistant curator of art at the Denver Botanic Gardens.
About the Presenters
Vanley Burke (born 1951, St. Thomas Parish, Jamaica), has been a leading chronicler of the Black British experience since the late 1960s. Based in Birmingham, Burke has largely pictured everyday moments in Black British life, reflecting members of his community back to themselves and countering negative stereotypes in the media. In addition to international traveling exhibitions, Burke has also displayed his work in more easily accessible locations, such as community centers, clubs, pubs, churches, pool halls, and schools. As an avid collector, Burke continues to connect histories through his substantial archive housed at the Library of Birmingham. The National Gallery recently acquired two of his photographs.
Mark Sealy OBE (born 1960, London, United Kingdom) is the Executive Director of the London-based photographic arts agency Autograph, and Professor of Photography, Rights and Representation at University Arts London - London College of Communication. He earned his PhD from Durham University England and is interested in the relationship between art, photography and social change, identity politics, race, and human rights. He has written for many of the world’s leading photographic journals, produced numerous artist publications, curated exhibitions, and commissioned photographers and filmmakers worldwide. Sealy’s critical writings on photography have also been published by Lawrence and Wishart. Photography: Race, Rights and Representation, published 2022 and Decolonising the Camera: Photography in Racial Time, published 2019.