Reimaginings gives space to five female mixed-heritage Cornwall-based artists to forge a deepening connection to each other and their own individual practice - to get some space to research, reflect, and experiment.
In the spirit of the gift of the Globe given to University of Exeter by The World Reimagined and the University’s commitment to acknowledge the history, legacy and future of the Transatlantic Trade in Enslaved Africans, combined with Arts and Culture’s desire to confront and counter structural and institutional racism in Britain while acknowledging intersectionality, we have devised Reimaginings.
Reimaginings gives space to five female mixed-heritage Cornwall-based artists to forge a deepening connection to each other and their own individual practice - to get some space to research, reflect, and experiment. These artists, in varying ways and disciplines, work with ancestral and indigenous knowledges, and autoethnographic narratives of diasporic identity. Navigating the fictional and archival historical presence of people of African descent in Europe, through creative spiritual practices connecting to land, elements and materials of the more-than-human world.
We are here, daring to dream — reimagining a future where we write ourselves in. Calling out to the imaginary, planting seeds in the spirit of our afro-diasporic ancestors. We are connecting and deepening our roots, aligning with the energies of our chosen home, Cornwall. Weaving together a supportive net which inspires and holds our collective hopes.
The artists are:
Events to welcome the Globes gifted to the University by The World Reimagined last year inspired us to think more deeply and creatively about our collective histories and how the themes represented by the Globes manifest in place, specifically in the unique context of contemporary Cornwall. We're delighted that the legacy of the gift of the Globes continues in the collective work of the five incredible artists that comprise Reimaginings, and we look forward to journeying alongside them and the Arts and Culture team as this vital creative space develops.
Events in the last decade and the global movements they sparked, such as #MeToo and #BlackLivesMatter, have exposed systemic prejudice and abuse of power and I know from my research into equity, diversity and inclusion in the arts and culture sector that female artists of colour have been historically marginalised. To continue to address this, Arts and Culture, University of Exeter, has decided to provide some space for five women, five artists of mixed disciplines, practices and heritage who live in Cornwall, to connect. We look forward to seeing what might happen next
Reimaginings is a partnership between Arts and Culture, University of Exeter and the University of Exeter’s Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion Cornwall team on Penryn campus.
University of Exeter
Room 153, Queen's Building
The Queen's Drive
Exeter EX4 4QH
