The Southbank Centre is hosting an exhibition to empower the UK’s next generation of Black creatives. The immersive show, Reframe: The Residency Exhibition, features climate-focused work by 77 Black and Black mixed heritage artists from Manchester, Birmingham, and London. These artists are all part of the Southbank Centre’s landmark career acceleration program Reframe: The Residency. 

Reframe is an initiative to empower the UK’s next generation of Black creatives. It helps address and remove the systemic barriers to career development Black creatives face in the arts and creative industries. 

The exhibition is part of Apple’s global Racial Equity and Justice Initiative. It is a collaboration between the Southbank Centre, Factory International in Manchester, Birmingham City University’s STEAMhouse, and Midlands Arts Centre in Birmingham. 

The free immersive installation combines film, photography, music, and sound design and offers a unique perspective on the climate emergency grounded in the artists’ cultural backgrounds. The exhibition is curated by renowned photographer Misan Harriman, Chair of the Southbank Centre. 

About the exhibition, he said, “We, the next generation of storytellers, are needed more than ever. The Reframe project’s talent and intentionality level is second to none. I am incredibly proud of this cohort.” 

Through stunning visuals and soundscapes presented in a new exhibition space at the Southbank Centre – Reframe Studios – it reflects on the urgent need for collective action. The project aligns with Arts Council England’s Let’s Create Strategy, which strives to build sustainable cultural communities nationwide. 

The free exhibition opens Wednesday, 19 July, and closes Sunday, 27 August.

Discover more from GUAP’s Arts and Culture Section here.