Revisiting the Work of Black Artists in Scotland through New Collecting

Featuring
Barby Asante, Tam Joseph, Donald Locke, Maud Sulter, Lisandro Suriel, Alberta Whittle, Aubrey Williams, Matthew Arthur Williams and Ajamu X

This exhibition brings together new acquisitions and existing works from Glasgow Museums’ collection, reflecting complex dialogues around race, Empire, independence and post-colonial legacies. Co-curated with independent duo Mother Tongue, the acquisitions draw upon their research collating a chronology of Black artists living, studying, working and exhibiting in Scotland, from the 1860s onwards. These acquisitions - spanning 1963 to 2019 - were supported by an Art Fund New Collecting Award, and are presented alongside a new commission from Barby Asante.

Revisiting the Work of Black Artists in Scotland through New Collecting showcases artworks from Glasgow Museums’ collection and has been co-curated with the independent curatorial duo Mother Tongue. In 2018, Mother Tongue proposed a research affiliation with Glasgow Museums to highlight existing work by Black artists in the Glasgow Museums' Collection - Timespan by Tam Joseph was a key focus for the project. As this affiliation developed Mother Tongue proposed series of new acquisitions across varied media which would address historical and contemporary gaps in the collection. 

These acquisitions were supported by an Art Fund New Collecting Award with Prof Lubaina Himid CBE as mentor and brings together work post-1960s to reflect complex dialogues around race, Empire, independence and post-colonial legacies, each of which brings with them wider socio-political narratives. 

Presented in partnership with Mother Tongue (Tiffany Boyle and Jessica Carden) through an Art Fund New Collecting Award in 2018. These awards offer 100% funding for focused collecting projects, enabling curators to expand collections into exciting new areas or deepen existing holdings in significant new ways.

Barby Asante: The Queen and the Black-Eyed Squint (2021) was supported by Art Fund.

Image: Timespan (1987), Tam Joseph. Courtesy and copyright of the artist.
Gifted by Contemporary Art Society to Glasgow Museums’ collection in 1992.