Goldsmiths CCA
St James’, New Cross, London, SE14 6AD
20 October 2022
Convened by Dr Clare Carolin and Dr Nina Wakeford
The aim of this event was to explore how historical links between the Northern Irish and Black American civil rights movements have been referenced in work by British artists and muralists from the North of Ireland and to focus on how contemporary curating can frame such connections.
The event began with a screening of Helen Cammock’s film The Long Note (2018), before presentations by and discussions with Clare Carolin, Bill Rolston, Helen Cammock and Cherry Smyth. Following an introduction by Nina Wakeford, Carolin made a brief presentation about the genesis of the event and its relationship to her recently completed research project at the Imperial War Museum. Bill Rolston followed with a keynote presentation of his research on murals and muralists in the North of Ireland closely focused on his most recent books on this subject, Ireland and the Unfinished Revolution (Beyond the Pale Press, 2021) and Drawing Support 5 (Beyond the Pale Press, 2021). There was then a discussion between Cammock and Rolston chaired by Smyth. This discussion responded to event prompts such as: how have visual images generated in distinct contexts of colonialism and racism transmitted information and affect between communities battling for social justice? How might curatorial practice address the protest aesthetics of anti-imperialism in the North of Ireland?
