The University of Glasgow has installed a new exhibition in recognition of black history month.
An exhibition has been installed on the east quadrangle of the main campus, to celebrate Black History Month, which has now been celebrated by the University of Glasgow for several years. The purpose of the month is to recognise the contribution of African and Caribbean peoples to the United Kingdom.
The Exhibition is a collection of 17 monochrome portraits, titled ‘Hail, the Dark Lioness’ which aim to shed light on the unseen communities of South Africa, taken by photographer Zanele Muholi. The images are presented in triangular prism structures protruding from the quad with an image on each face.
Zanele Muholi has been active as a photographer from the early 2000s. Her work was displayed at the Glasgow School of Art in 2017 but this is the first time that her work has been displayed at the University of Glasgow. As well as this, her photographs have been exhibited at the Tate Modern. Muholi’s self-described aim is “to re-write a black queer and trans visual history of South Africa for the world to know of our resistance and existence at the height of hate crimes in South Africa and beyond.”
This exhibition coincides with a number of other events run by the University to recognise Black History month, including academic seminars on racism issues within the context of education, and a talk by Barbara Becnel, a PhD candidate who has spent over twenty years working for prison reform in California. The exhibition is free to view, and will run until 6 November.
