Romuald Hazoumè has been selected as one of the four major artists to represent The Republic of Benin for the 60th edition of La Biennale di Venezia.

Entitled Everything Precious Is Fragile, this exhibition will explore the rich history of Benin, touching on themes such as the slave trade, the Amazon motif, spirituality and the Vodun religion. These themes are tied together by Benin's exploration of African feminism and pay tribute to women's versatility whilst envisioning a world where differences are seen as a source of richness and strength.

Acclaimed worldwide for his masks made from used plastic petrol cans, Romuald Hazoumè is an artist whose work is firmly rooted in Benin's social, political and cultural context and the globalized world.

October Gallery is delighted to exhibit paintings by Aubrey Williams in a first-time presentation of the artist’s works at Frieze Masters, London. Aubrey Williams' distinctive contribution to 20th century British art was last year recognised, when Tate Britain dedicated a room to works by this master of painterly abstraction, in their rehang of significant examples of British art.

For this year’s edition of 1-54 London, October Gallery will present new works by Zana Masombuka, Alexis Peskine, LR Vandy and Eddy Kamuanga Ilunga. The Gallery’s booth brings together vibrant photography, sculptural works and painting. In addition, Theresa Weber will present a new installation in the West Wing Corridor of Somerset House.

El Anatsui: After the Red Moon has begun its highly anticipated world tour, making a global debut at the prestigious Museum of Art Pudong (MAP), Shanghai, where it will be on display until October 2025. El Anatsui’s cascading metal sculptures have dramatically transformed MAP's entrance lobby and Hall X, offering visitors an immersive experience of his masterful exploration of history, materiality and transformation. This global tour marks a significant milestone in Anatsui's career, and we congratulate him on this extraordinary achievement, which continues to captivate audiences around the world.

This exhibition was originally conceived and commissioned as the Hyundai Commission: El Anatsui: Behind the Red Moon for Tate Modern's Turbine Hall, London in 2023.

Hepworth Wakefield's new exhibition, titled Ronald Moody: Sculpting Life, will explore the evolution of Jamaican-born sculptor Ronald Moody's art and will feature over 50 of Moody's works, ranging from large-scale figurative sculptures to his post-war experimental pieces. These works will be contextualised alongside artists with whom Moody exhibited, as well as members of the Caribbean Artists Movement, such as Aubrey Williams, — a revolutionary group of which both Moody and Williams were founding members of.

Join Dave Neita, who will perform a variety of poems that illustrate the power of poetry to enlighten, enchant and emancipate.

We are delighted to announce that Aubrey Williams: Art, Histories, Futures, the first major monograph on pioneering modernist Aubrey Williams, will be published on 22nd October, 2024.

The book features an extraordinary selection of unpublished and out-of-print writings by Williams, alongside artworks that showcase the full breadth of his practice — from early abstracts and lesser-known murals to his later major works.

The monograph is edited by Ian Dudley and Maridowa Williams, with a foreword by Alex Farquharson, introduction by Kobena Mercer and is published by the Paul Mellon Centre.

JMW Turner and changing visions of landscape is a major new exhibition exploring artists' approaches to landscape from the 17th century to the present day.

The exhibition includes works by Govinda Sah ‘Azad’ who first encountered Turner’s art while studying at the College of Fine Art in Kathmandu. Sah’s later move to Margate introduced him to the Kentish coastline, where Turner famously captured its unique light in many of his late works. Today, Sah continues to live and work in Margate.

The Artist’s Garden and theCOLAB proudly present M A R Y M A R Y, a landmark outdoor sculpture exhibition in central London showcasing the work of nine women artists, including LR Vandy. It is set within The Artist's Garden — a once-overlooked half-acre rooftop above Temple tube station, now the world’s first sculpture garden dedicated to women artists.

Art of Wishes is a remarkable initiative supporting Make-A-Wish UK, founded by renowned collector and philanthropist Batia Ofer. The charity brings the art world together to grant life-changing wishes for children with critical illnesses.

This year, Art of Wishes has been generously gifted a booth at Frieze London to further its mission. Wishes have the power to rescue the magic of childhood and provide a much-needed escape from the gruelling daily reality of a life defined by ongoing treatments, endless hospital stays and their illness.

Talbot Rice Gallery presents a major exhibition of El Anatsui, spanning five decades of his work and extending to the building’s façade, transforming it into an open-air gallery this summer. Titled El Anatsui ‘Scottish Mission Book Depot Keta', the exhibition will showcase a substantial selection of Anatsui’s iconic large-scale sculptural wall hangings made from reclaimed aluminium bottle tops. Additionally, the exhibition features a collection of carved wooden reliefs spanning over thirty years, as well as printed works on paper that narrate the intricate production process behind his monumental metal bottle tops installations.

Join us for the first-ever London screening of Our Blue World, a visually stunning film that explores the transformative power of water through the lens of modern science and ancient wisdom.

Dr. Mark Nelson, Chairman of the Institute of Ecotechnics, will join the event live via Zoom to introduce the film and following the screening, will participate in a discussion and Q & A with Gerard Houghton, Director of Special Projects at October Gallery

In celebration of Frieze Week, October Gallery is delighted to continue their collaboration with Honey & Smoke Grill House with an exhibition of striking works by LR Vandy and Kenji Yoshida. This vibrant exhibition opens 24th September ahead of Frieze London and continues until 2nd November and is situated on Great Portland Street moments from the art fair in Regent’s Park.

How are exhibitions created and artworks juxtaposed to form powerful interactions, resonate with meaning and represent more than the sum of their parts? What happens when Curators collaborate with Artists over prolonged periods? What is creative about the process of hanging an exhibition? What resonances, harmonies and visual dynamics are at play?

Join Artistic Director of October Gallery, Elisabeth Lalouschek, in conversation with Director of Special Projects, Gerard Houghton, for a talk which aims to unpack these intriguing questions, using the works in Vital Force to highlight 45 years of October Gallery’s partnership with some of the world’s most renowned contemporary artists.

Disabled access is available as the talk will take place on the ground floor, within the exhibition, Vital Force.

El Anatsui’s new work Continents in Gestation, will be shown at The Royal Academy’s 256th Summer Exhibition.

The Summer Exhibition is a celebration of contemporary art and architecture and provides a vital platform and support for the artistic community—this year will explore the idea of making space.

Held since 1769, the Summer Exhibition displays works in a variety of mediums and genres by emerging and established artists.

Pie Projects presents Boundless, an exhibition of sublime imagery and breathtaking abstractions by artists Govinda Sah 'Azad' and Judy Tuwaletstiwa. Boundless will showcase compositions of glass, paint and mixed media that evoke contemplation and a sense of limitless possibilities. Through their respective mediums, paint and glass, both artists explore the concept of transcending elementalism, using aesthetic materials to navigate the forces of nature.

This talk will provide an in-depth discussion about Ablade Glover's artistic practice and his latest exhibition, Inner Worlds, Outer Journeys at October Gallery.

October Gallery Education invites you to their 2024 annual show, P.O.V: Pigeons Don't Run This City featuring innovative mixed media artworks. Curated by the OG Youth Collective, this exhibition offers a unique exploration of how individuals are perceived in various contexts and environments. ​

Artworks with themes of "Person and Place," reflect different viewpoints on the vibrant city of London, capturing its movement, energy, and the layered communal memories it holds. ​​

The exhibition challenges visitors to consider how context shapes perception. It invites viewers to ponder: How do pigeons view us? This intriguing question sets the stage for a reflection on urban life from an unconventional vantage point. ​

Discover the collaborative spirit of the exhibition through artworks developed with OGE Beacon schools, community groups, and art education freelancers. Come and see the world through different eyes, and perhaps share your own point of view.

Tate Britain has dedicated a room to the work of Aubrey Williams, a significant aspect in the institution’s 2023 complete rehang of the world’s greatest collection of British art for the first time in 10 years.

Titled Aubrey Williams: Cosmological Abstractions, 1973–85, the display consists of paintings created in the 1970s and the 1980s, and explores Williams' involvement with ecology, cosmology, music and pre-colonial civilisations.

Visitors can now discover the galleries laid out chronologically, from the 1500s to the present day, with the relationship between British art and the wider world being a major theme throughout. Each solo exhibition room, devoted to major historic figures such as William Blake and John Constable amongst others.

Join us for our next gallery talk with Theresa Weber and Matheus Marques Abu. The conversation explores the artists’ ideas, their practice and the new works presented in the exhibition Emergent Energies.

El Anatsui’s work Terra Firma is now on view in a new exhibition at MAK, Vienna.
HARD/SOFT: Textiles and Ceramics in Contemporary Art, showcases work from around 40 international artists, many whose work is being exhibited in Vienna for the first time. The exhibition explores the interplay between textiles and ceramics and examines the materials’ connections with economic and political systems. Furthermore, the exhibited works investigate themes relating to cultural appropriation and post-colonialism.

October Gallery’s presentation at the tenth edition of 1-54 New York, 2024, includes a selection of dynamic works by Zana Masombuka, LR Vandy, Benji Reid, Eddy Kamuanga Ilunga and Alexis Peskine. The gallery’s booth brings together vibrant photography, painting and new sculptural works.

Highlights include Zana Masombuka's first presentation in New York of her series of signature photographic works, Nges’rhodlweni: A Portal for Black Joy.  A recent painting by acclaimed Congolese artist Eddy Kamuanga Ilunga from his ongoing Ghost of the Present series is presented. Alexis Peskine presents new large-scale, mixed-media ‘portraits’ of the African diaspora, which are rendered by hammering nails of different gauges, with pinpoint accuracy, into wood  Striking photographic works by Benji Reid are exhibited for the first time in New York.

Entangled Pasts, 1778–now: Art Colonialism and Change, brings together over 100 major contemporary and historic artworks as part of a conversation about art and its role in shaping narratives around empire, enslavement, resistance, abolition and colonialism.

Organised into three thematic sections that intertwine narratives across time and engage over 50 artists connected to the institution, the exhibition will include El Anatsui’s installation Akua's Surviving Children from 1996. This powerful piece represents a clan of survivors from the Danish slave trade, which operated between Ghana, formerly the Gold Coast, and the Danish West Indies.

The conversation explores Vandy’s working processes and materials, the creation of the artist’s new rope sculptures and examines her daily approach to her work in the studio. Vandy’s recent work was highly influenced by her relocation to a site adjacent to the Ropery at Chatham Historic Dock Yard – an establishment which has preserved traditional rope-making since the 19th century. The exchange will investigate the artist’s use of this versatile material as well as re-visit her series of Hull works.

The talk accompanies LR Vandy's new solo exhibtion, Twist.

The event takes place in the gallery’s ground floor and has disabled access.

The talk will take place in the gallery and disabled access is available.

Congratulations to El Anatsui! We are delighted that Tate Modern unveils a monumental sculptural installation created by the internationally acclaimed Ghanaian artist.

The Hyundai Commission: El Anatsui: Behind the Red Moon is staged in three acts which visitors are invited to move between. The first hanging, titled The Red Moon, resembles the majestic sail of a ship billowing out in the wind, announcing the beginning of a journey across the Atlantic Ocean. Red liquor bottle-tops form the outline of a red moon, or ‘blood moon’, as it appears during a lunar eclipse.

The second sculpture, , is composed of many individual layers that evoke human figures suspended in a restless state. The ethereal appearance of these figures is achieved using thin bottle-top seals wired together to create a net-like material. When viewed from a particular vantage point, these scattered shapes come together into a single circular form of the Earth.

In Anatsui’s final hanging, The Wall, a monumental black sheet of metal cloth stretches from floor to ceiling. At its base, pools of bottle tops rise from the ground in the form of crashing waves and rocky peaks. Behind its black surface, a delicate structure of shimmering silver is revealed, covered in a mosaic of multi-coloured pieces. This combination of lines and waves, blackness and technicolour, echoes the collision of global cultures and hybrid identities that Anatsui invites us to consider throughout his work.

Burn, burn, burn - The Beats light up the Ox will explore the nonconformist world of the Beat Generation and the diverse artistic expressions of this influential movement.

Included is the work Untitled by William S. Burroughs —a fusion of ink and spray paint on a file folder, with words and inscriptions surfacing through the layers. From drawing to performance, music to photography, and film to art, the Beat Generation's experiments yielded a riotous tapestry of colour and controversy.

In this film, world renowned artist, Rachid Koraïchi, takes us to the sources of his inspiration in the Sahara. This initiatory journey, which originates between Djanet and Tamanrasset, continues in the Sufi brotherhood to which he belongs.

Koraïchi shares with us his discourse about peace and humanism, which can be found reflected in his works and installations. Koraïchi: Tu manques même à mon ombre highlights Rachid Koraïchi’s artistic journey and his strong commitment to peace and Tolerance for all. Directed by Laurent Boullard, Koraïchi : Tu manques même à mon ombre dedicated to Rachid Koraïchi, was produced in 2021.

The film is an intimate portrait of a committed and humanist artist, recognised worldwide. Boullard is a television journalist and director of numerous news reports, investigations and documentaries for major French television channels.

(Duration: 64 mins - October Gallery theatre, 2nd Floor - This event has no disabled access).

View the Trailer for the film.

Join renowned artist Rachid Koraïchi for an in-depth discussion about his new body of work in the exhibition Celestial Blue with Gerard Houghton, Director of Special Projects. In celebration of the artist’s 77th year, the talk will explore the development of Koraïchi’s career, his acclaimed work Jardin d' Afrique and how certain elements of Sufism, such as script, the prime number 7 and Tolerance, continue to inform his ongoing artistic practice.

The talk will take place in the gallery and disabled access is available.

In this film, world renowned artist, Rachid Koraïchi, takes us to the sources of his inspiration in the Sahara. This initiatory journey, which originates between Djanet and Tamanrasset, continues in the Sufi brotherhood to which he belongs.

Koraïchi shares with us his discourse about peace and humanism, which can be found reflected in his works and installations. Koraïchi: Tu manques même à mon ombre highlights Rachid Koraïchi’s artistic journey and his strong commitment to peace and Tolerance for all. Directed by Laurent Boullard, Koraïchi : Tu manques même à mon ombre dedicated to Rachid Koraïchi, was produced in 2021.

The film is an intimate portrait of a committed and humanist artist, recognised worldwide. Boullard is a television journalist and director of numerous news reports, investigations and documentaries for major French television channels.

(Duration: 64 mins - October Gallery theatre, 2nd Floor - This event has no disabled access).

View the Trailer for the film.

This exhibition presents a significant body of work by internationally renowned artist Romuald Hazoumè, based on his dedicated study of Fâ divination.

Romuald Hazoumè: The Fâ Series presents twenty-two works, primarily from the mid-1990s. The majority of these large-scale canvases draw from the visual lexicon associated with Fâ, evoking its sacred knowledge through symbols and signs. The show is organised by the Neuberger Museum of Art and curated by Christa Clarke, independent curator, art historian and Senior Advisor at the Center for Curatorial Leadership.

Reconnect Through Love, a group exhibition at Omaka Gallery, highlights the multi-layered and diverse nature of Black love through the perspectives of internationally acclaimed and emerging artists. This showcase endeavours to shed light on the collective experiences of love, offering a genuine and authentic perspective on the myriad forms this powerful emotion can embody. Alexis Peskine is represented by his large-scale nail portrait Kassu Demdemi (Fire Now), in which each meticulously placed nail symbolises a profound connection and resilience within the narrative of Black identity.

Infinity Festival in Margate will celebrate the work of internationally acclaimed artist Govinda Sah ‘Azad’ whose large-scale paintings will be exhibited for the first time in his hometown. The Margate-based contemporary artist is inspired by the ambient light of Thanet, the skyscapes of his homeland Nepal and the mysteries of our cosmos.

Alongside an exhibition of Sah's paintings are workshops, talks, meditation sessions and two special performances featuring Margate-based dancer and choreographer Ash Mukherjee and the Orchestra from Everywhere, which brings together musicians and music from around the world.

Join us for a unique opportunity to hear Artist Susanne Kessler and Elisabeth Lalouschek, Artistic Director of October Gallery speak about their wider practice and reflect upon their very individual career development since graduating from the Royal College of Art in the 1980s. The conversation will be moderated by Gerard Houghton, Director of Special Projects.
The talk will take place in the gallery and disabled access is available.

October Gallery are thrilled that works by Romuald Hazoumè feature in The Stuff of Life | The Life of Stuff, a new, major international exhibition which opened on 10th September, 2023 at the Sainsbury Centre, Norwich, UK.

Visitors can view artworks composed of salvaged materials, re-synthesised fragments, and e-waste. They will encounter new environmental zones, where synthetic and organic matter interact, providing a fertile ground for the invention of mythical worlds, dystopias and speculative future narratives.

A major bottle-top work by El Anatsui also is featured in this exhibition, which includes works by Madi Acharya-Baskerville; Mandy Barker; Karla Black; Maarten Vanden Eynde; Ayan Farah; Daiga Grantina; Diana Lelonek; Ibrahim Mahama Mary Mattingly; Fabrice Monteiro; Marlie Mul; Samara Scott; Tejal Shah; Elias Sime; Michael E. Smith; Sarah Sze; Gavin Turk.

Exhibition catalogue with an text by Gerard Houghton to accompany our current exhibition. Colour plates throughout.

The Fitzwilliam Museum presents a landmark exhibition, Black Atlantic: Power, People, Resistance, which explores new stories from history and investigates which stories get remembered and why.

By bringing together collections from across the University of Cambridge’s museums, libraries and colleges with loans from around the world, Black Atlantic: Power, People, Resistance asks new questions about Cambridge’s role in the transatlantic slave trade and looks at how objects and artworks have influenced history and perspectives. Historical works are shown alongside modern and contemporary works by artists, including Sokari Douglas Camp CBE, Alexis Peskine, Barbara Walker and Donald Locke — each of them challenges and reflects on hidden and untold stories.

We are delighted to announce that the exhibition of works by Hassan Massoudy and Zana Masombuka at Honey & Smoke Grill House is now extended until 6th January, 2024! To accompany the new season, Honey & Smoke will serve their Christmas Feast Menus for large parties.

This collaboration between October Gallery and Honey & Smoke celebrates shared cultural traditions, the ritual of dining together and the combination of heritage and modernity in both food and art.

Elegant, gestural, calligraphic works on paper by Hassan Massoudy are presented on the ground floor of the restaurant. Born to a traditional Iraqi family, Massoudy trained in Baghdad and Paris. A master artist-calligrapher, his work connects with the Middle Eastern influence and tradition through the written word, with peace and tolerance as central themes in his work.

Zana Masombuka, an artist from South Africa, presents a body of striking photographic works in the downstairs area of the restaurant. Her work engages with the intersection of tradition with the modern age, especially through Ndebele culture, symbolism and material contrast, in a radical re-examination of the self.

More about Honey & Smoke & Co here honeyandco.co.uk

October Gallery presents new works by Alexis Peskine and paintings by Govinda Sah ‘Azad’, alongside selected etchings, paintings and ceramics by Rachid Koraïchi, for the 2023 edition of Abu Dhabi Art,

Highlights include arresting new large-scale, mixed-media ‘portraits’ by Alexis Peskine. The artist portrays the African diaspora by creating works rendered by hammering gold and silver leafed nails of different gauge, with pin-point accuracy, into wood stained with black pigment, white hibiscus petals, coffee and mud. Metaphorically connecting the nail to the Black experience, Peskine depicts figures that reveal strength, perseverance and self-possession. Also on view are new works by Govinda Sah ‘Azad’, an artist from Nepal who is known for his paintings of tempestuous skies and cosmic explosions. The works are informed by Sah’s intriguing ongoing metaphysical musings about the nature of reality. Rachid Koraïchi is represented by a selection of works in different mediums, including two striking etchings from the series A Nation in Exile, rendered in a predominately black palette.

The Detroit Institute of Arts will present James Barnor: Accra/London—A Retrospective, a comprehensive survey of the work of British-Ghanaian photographer James Barnor, whose career spans more than six decades. A studio portraitist, photojournalist, and Black lifestyle photographer, Barnor established his famous Ever Young Studio in Accra in the early 1950s and devoted his early photography to documenting critical social and political changes that animated the nation on the cusp of independence from Britain.

For the eleventh edition of 1-54 London, October Gallery presents new works by Zana Masombuka, Alexis Peskine, LR Vandy, paintings by Eddy Kamuanga Ilunga and Owusu-Ankomah and sculptures by Romuald Hazoumè.

Three works by Zana Masombuka will be featured in the group exhibition, COZY – Comfortable in My Skin with Gallery OCA (Of Caribbean Art).

Taking place at Cromwell Place, the exhibition invites you to step into a world of hybrid identities, where power and vulnerability reverberate in conversation and brings together the unique voices of some of Africa, the Caribbean and the diaspora's boldest voices, presenting a multifaceted perspective on womanhood, shaped by the artists’ defining journeys towards self-actualisation.

Work by Aubrey Williams will be shown in 1-54 Presents; a group show titled Transatlantic Connections: Caribbean Narratives in Contemporary Art. This exhibition will be on view at Christie’s, on the occasion of 1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair’s 11th edition. Traversing individual experiences and collective identities, Transatlantic Connections: Caribbean Narratives in Contemporary Art brings together a range of works from some of the most exciting modern and contemporary Caribbean artists of the last 50 years.

We are thrilled that Tate Modern and Hyundai Motor have announced that El Anatsui will create the next annual Hyundai Commission. One of the most distinctive artists working today, El Anatsui is best-known for his cascading metallic sculptures constructed of thousands of recycled bottle-tops articulated with copper wire. Repurposing found materials into dazzling works of abstract art, Anatsui’s work explores themes that include the environment, consumption and trade. His site-specific work for the Turbine Hall will be open to the public from 10 October 2023 – 14 April 2024.

Frances Morris, Director of Tate Modern, said: “El Anatsui is responsible for some of the most unique and unforgettable sculptures in recent times and we are delighted that he will tackle the Turbine Hall this autumn for the annual Hyundai Commission. Anatsui’s much-loved Ink Splash II 2012 in Tate’s collection enchants visitors wherever it’s shown, and we can’t wait to see how this inventive artist will approach a space like the Turbine Hall.”

Exhibition catalogue with an interview by Eleri Fanshawe to accompany our current exhibition. Colour plates throughout.

Romuald Hazoumè's monumental installation, Rat Singer: Second Only to God! will be exhibited in a bold, new exhibition at Kunsthalle Mannheim.

1.5 Degrees: Interdependencies between Life, the Cosmos, and Technology examines the complex interaction of human beings, nature and technology. Exploring how the climate crisis influences all areas of life, the premise of the exhibition questions whether the methods by which humankind has developed the world since the beginning of industrialisation are still legitimate. Includes works by Anselm Kiefer, Richard Long and Julian Charrière amongst others.

Haus der Kulturen der Welt shows Works by Owusu-Ankomah in O Quilombismo: Of Resisting and Insisting. Of Flight as Fight. Of Other Democratic Egalitarian Political Philosophies.

This is a research undertaking, an exhibition, workshops, and a series of performances that discuss new forms of cultural and political resistance through diverse emancipation projects, past and present.

The exhibition embodies an anti-imperialist struggle deeply aligned with different strains of the Pan-Africanist movement and sustains radical solidarity with all peoples of the world who fight against exploitation, oppression and poverty, as well as inequalities motivated by race, colour, gender, religion, or ideology.

Tapfuma Gutsa’s work is presented alongside contemporary artists Maria Thereza Alves, ikkibawiKrrr, Oswaldo Maciá and Uriel Orlow at Elizabeth Xi Bauer’s new exhibition É a lama, é a lama. These artists’ practices acknowledge our climate emergency and turn their gaze to one aspect of our planet, depicting elements such as flora, fauna, water, fire, geological formations and typhoons to address global warming.

É a lama, é a lama is curated by Maria do Carmo M. P. de Pontes.

Join artist Zana Masombuka for a talk about her first London solo exhibition with Harold Offeh, interdisciplinary artist and tutor in Contemporary Art Practice at the Royal College of Art. Masombuka, also known as ‘Ndebele Superhero’ discusses her practice and new body of photographs, sculptures and short film which draw upon her experiences of Ndebele ceremony and ritual. Masombuka explores the intersection of identity and culture, as she creates arresting visual narratives imbued with traditional Ndebele lore and symbolism, which the artist employs to bring about a radical re-examination of the individual’s position within the wider community. The artist’s exhibition Nges’rhodlweni: A Portal for Black Joy continues until the 30th of September, 2023 at October Gallery.

Harold Offeh is known for working in a range of media, including photography and performance. He has exhibited widely in the UK and internationally including: Tate Britain and Tate Modern; Wysing Art Centre; Studio Museum Harlem, New York; MAC VAL, France; Kunsthal Charlottenborg, Denmark; and Art Tower Mito, Japan. Currently a Senior Tutor in Fine Art MFA at The Ruskin School of Art, Oxford University, he also lectures in Contemporary Art Practice at the Royal College of Art, London.

Several photographic works by artist Benji Reid are now on display at Ducie Street Warehouse — Manchester’s social hub that offers DJ nights, movie screenings, a lounge, bar and much more.

Reid describes himself as a Choreo-Photolist, a term he coined to encapsulate his disciplines of theatre, choreography and photography.

Through his works, the artist demonstrates what it means to defy expectations and stereotypes and explores ‘the different ways the body floats and defies gravity’.

Exhibition catalogue with an Essay by Jakub Gawkowski to accompany our current exhibition. Colour plates throughout.

Throughout the month of August, customers will receive a 30% discount on ALL books and catalogues when using the code OG2023. Browse here octobergallery.co.uk/store

Our Gallery Café serves home-cooked dishes during lunch hours, ready to be enjoyed in the Refectory or in the beautiful space of the courtyard garden.

Chef Amy has cooked internationally for three decades and has mastered many cuisines. The varied daily menu attests to this. It's her exceptional self-education in Asian cuisine, however, that led to her signature dish: the Malaysian Laksa Noodle soup. It’s on the menu every Tuesday.

Amy's daily lunch menu features a soup of the day and two dishes of the day (one always vegan) and changes regularly. Fresh pastries and cakes can also be purchased as well as coffee, teas, soft drinks, wines and beers. Booking is required for groups of five or more guest

October Gallery’s Youth Collective presents a ‘take over’ and exhibition, All for One, One for All. Located in the gallery’s Theatre space, this exhibition is a celebration of collective identity, an expression of empowerment, and an invitation to other local youth groups to gather and share their creative ideas. As series of hands on events for Young People and Youth Workers will accompany the exhibition as well as Family Art Day which will be run by the OG Youth Collective.

October Gallery and Trebuchet Magazine are pleased to present Ecological Envisioning: Aubrey Williams, Ecology and the Artistic Lens. This talk will explore the relationship between art and ecology, focussing on Aubrey Williams’ avid interest in science, advancement of technology and its impact on civilisations.

The discussion will reveal insights from Dr Giulia Smith - Art Historian and Research Fellow at Ruskin School of Art Oxford, who is an authority on Aubrey Williams, and the conservation practitioner, Dr John Fanshawe, who is Senior Strategy Adviser at BirdLife International, and leads an arts, science and conservation programme for the Cambridge Conservation Initiative. The talk will be moderated by Kailas Elmer, Managing Editor of Trebuchet and hosted by October Gallery within the current exhibition, Aubrey Williams: Future Conscious.

Aubrey Williams, often cited as being ahead of his time, trained as an Agricultural Officer in Guyana in the early 1940s. The exhibition Future Conscious spans three decades — from the 1960s to the 1980s — and highlights Williams’ prescient understanding of, and concerns regarding the mounting problems impacting environmental and ecological stability.

October Gallery presents Imruh Bakari (Writer and Film Maker) and Dr Ian Dudley (Visiting Fellow in Art History at the University of Essex) together in conversation, in celebration of its latest Aubrey Williams exhibition, Future Conscious .

The conversation will focus on Imruh Bakari’s long friendship with Aubrey Williams , including time spent on location, in the UK and Guyana, gathering footage for what became his influential documentary film, The Mark of the Hand - Aubrey Williams (1987). This remarkable film followed Williams’ journey to his birthplace of Georgetown, Guyana. The film traces the course of Williams’ surprisingly emotional return to Hosororo, in Guyana’s Northwest interior region, to visit the Indigenous Warrau people who originally inspired him to pursue his lifelong path as an artist. Ian Dudley has written and published scholarly papers on the art of Aubrey Williams, paying particular attention to the Indigenous cultures of Central America and Guyana. Dudley’s insightful publications have generated fresh insight into some of the varied petroglyphic elements seen within Williams' paintings.

This wider discussion will address Williams’ understanding of pre-Columbian histories and cultures, and his prescient foreboding of alienation from the natural world in contrast to Indigenous knowledge systems and their reversible impact on the delicate ecosystemic balance upon which planetary sustainability depends.

Exhibition catalogue to accompany our current exhibition. Colour plates throughout.

Colour plates throughout and an interview text by Gerard Houghton

Iranian artist Golnaz Fathi will discuss her new body of work in the exhibition: No rain will put out this fire. The talk examines the artist’s career, creative process and artistic practice beyond the boundaries of pure calligraphic form as it expands into the gesture of modernist abstraction.

LR Vandy will display a new sculpture outside the International Slavery Museum, which explores storytelling, interpretation and the wider historic waterfront. The work, titled Dancing in Time: The Ties That Bind Us, is handmade by sewing sections of rope and binding the ends with twine. This pop-up installation is part of the International Slavery Museums’ series of activations and will be located beside the dry dock in the public space of Liverpool’s Waterfront.

Listen to an interview with LR Vandy on BBC Radio Merseyside at 8.30 pm on Monday, 3rd April.

We are delighted that Alexis Peskine's film Raft of Medusa will be presented in a new group exhibition at Centre Pompidou-Metz this November. A Gateway To Possible Worlds brings together over 200 works from the late 1960s to the present day and highlights the bonds between imaginary worlds and our reality.

Join John Kenny, internationally acclaimed trombone soloist and the world’s first player for 2,000 years of the great Celtic war horn, the Carnyx, for a unique musical event which is part recital and part a detective story.

Kenny puts the Carnyx in context by showing how it is related to a great family of instruments world-wide, from the dawn of time to the present day, by performing music on instruments from many periods and cultures: trombone, sackbut, Polynesian Conch, Mayan Pod Trumpets, alphorn, didgeridoo, and magnificent Irish Bronze and Iron Age horns. As the story unfolds, he will show you the great Tintignac Carnyx of ancient Gaul, the litus and cornu made by the Etruscans, lost after ethnic cleansing by Rome, that is now reconstructed in collaboration with the European Early Music Project.

A selection of CDs are available after the concert and also from the Carnyx & Co website, which reflect the wide range of Kenny’s work and interests. All proceeds support research and development in music archaeology and the development of revolutionary musical instruments that enable profoundly physically disabled musicians to perform at professional level.

To discover more, visit the Carnyx & Co website: www.carnyx.org.uk

Works by Aubrey Williams will be shown at Modern Art in a group exhibition featuring over 40 artists.

Taking its title from a painting by the celebrated American artist Charles Burchfield, The Moth and The Thunderclap aims to show how artists have been compelled to reflect an indeterminate psychological space where nature and culture collide, often filtered through their experience of landscape.

To accompany the exhibition Liberated, Jukhee Kwon will present a talk about her work and creative process. Kwon’s primary material comes from unused and abandoned books, which, by skilful slicing and precision cutting, she converts into captivating sculptures that inhabit their surroundings. Kwon completed her BA Degree in Fine Art at Chung-Ang University, Seoul in 2005 and achieved her Master’s Degree in Book Arts at Camberwell College of Arts, London, in 2012. Kwon first exhibited at October Gallery in 2013, and the same year the Gallery presented her large-scale installation Arabesque Dream, created from seventeen books, at Abu Dhabi Art Fair. She lives and works in Italy.

Colour plates throughout and an essay / interview text by Gerard Houghton

October Gallery is pleased to participate at Art Dubai 2023 for its 16th edition, with a selection of new and recent works by international artists. For the Contemporary section at Booth E12, the gallery brings together striking pieces by El Anatsui, Jordan Ann Craig, Eddy Kamuanga Ilunga and Alexis Peskine. In the Modern section at Booth M6, the gallery will present a solo show of works by acclaimed photographer James Barnor.

Alexis Peskine's large-scale mixed media portrait Passage (Iemanjá's Tears)? is displayed at the Foundling Hospital as part of their new exhibition, Tiny Traces.

The exhibition presents a rich history of London life from 1739-1820, with stories of more than a dozen children from the African and Asian diasporas. The works presented form a dialogue with the historical narratives of the hospital, enabling visitors to explore the many emotions arising from the archive and ask questions about the past, present and future.

October Gallery first opened its doors on 14th February 1979, in the heart of London. Founders from The Institute of Ecotechnics, including October Gallery Director Chili Hawes, sought to create a space for artists from around the world, a meeting place for thinkers, poets, actors and dancers.

‘It began as an ongoing experiment in the visual arts, creating an autonomous space in the centre of a world city that would act as a platform to display work from all around the world. In the last forty-four years of continuing expeditions around this extraordinary planet, October Gallery has encountered many friends and discovered a wealth of Transvangarde artists. Our search will always be for the startling beauty of the new, wherever we find it.’ — Chili Hawes.

We will celebrate our forty-fourth anniversary with a 20% discount on Dream No Small Dream, a comprehensive book about October Gallery’s history.

Museum Sztuki will open a major exhibition, Erna Rosenstein, Aubrey Williams. The earth will open its mouth, showing works by Williams (1926–1990) alongside Rosenstein (1913–2004), a Polish artist of Jewish origin born in Lviv. The works of Williams and Rosenstein are the starting point for reflection on art – challenging history and diasporic identity by finding expression in the language of abstraction and oneiric surrealism.

Join artist Sokari Douglas Camp CBE, in conversation with Africa Fashion lead curator Dr Christine Checinska, at V&A South Kensington. Learn the story behind the artist's monumental work, Europe Supported by Africa and America, which addresses the legacies of slavery and inequality, issues of power and gender, and the climate crisis. The large-scale steel sculpture is currently on display in the Dorothy and Michael Hintze Galleries and complements the Africa Fashion exhibition.

This conversation will also offer direct insights into Sokari Douglas Camp's process of ‘welding, cutting and bending steel’.

Jonkonnu Masquerade, a catalogue about the artist’s recent work and exhibition, will be available at the event.

Colour plates throughout and an interview text by Gerard Houghton

We are pleased to present the first international monograph on Eddy Kamuanga Ilunga. Published by Rizzoli.

In his work, Kamuanga explores the seismic shifts in the economic, political and social identity of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, which have been taking place since colonialism. Internationally recognised as one of the most interesting young contemporary African talents, Kamuanga’s work has been shown across Africa, Europe and the United States.

The monograph includes texts by Sammy Baloji, Sandrine Colard, Gerard Houghton and Gabriela Salgado, with a foreword by Gus Casely-Hayford.

October Gallery has been saddened to learn that our dear friend, the artist Laila Shawa, has passed away. She was 82 years old.

Laila last visited October Gallery for a celebratory lunch in the courtyard, in July 2020. Although during the pandemic, the meeting was a belated celebration of her 80th birthday and to plan her next exhibition of new paintings, for February 2023. This will now become a retrospective survey of her life’s work.

Laila Shawa was born in 1940, in Gaza - then British Palestine - into a family with long ties to the region. She lived for many years in London and continued to work tirelessly for peace in the Middle East through the medium she knew best, her art.

The acclaimed Walls of Gaza series, beginning in 1992 and still being added to, was her best known work. This series of silkscreen prints made from photographs of messages of defiance daubed by an embattled people on the walls of Gaza City is currently being shown as part of the 58th Carnegie International exhibition Is it morning for you yet?

Laila Shawa’s work survives as a heart-rending testament to her unfulfilled desire for a lasting peace in her beloved homeland. She will be sorely missed by all who knew her.

Exclusive to October Gallery this new edition, true black and white giclée print on Hahnemühle Baryta FB, 350 gsm paper, Image size 22 x 22 cm. Edition of 100 (plus 10 APs), is now available to purchase.

Join Govinda Sah ‘Azad’ in discussion with Gerard Houghton, Director of Special Projects at October Gallery, on the occasion of his solo show in London, Absent Presence.

This artist’s talk will offer insights regarding the new series of paintings presented, the influence of different environments and Sah’s unique creative process. Born in 1974, in Rajbiraj, Nepal, Govinda Sah ‘Azad’, currently lives and works in Margate, UK.

Describing his ongoing journey, Sah states: ‘Originally, in Kathmandu, I worked in a realist mode, before gradually moving towards abstraction, in London, where clouds became a subject that allowed me to meditate upon the more spiritual aspects of Nature. Margate, being more open, means I often work outside, where the change in the colour of light is more profound. One immediate consequence is that although my colour palette becomes simpler, my paintings feel much brighter. It’s a challenge to capture these fleeting, almost transcendental effects, that are so difficult to hold onto, but that necessity forces my work to keep on developing, which delights any artist!’

To accompany Eddy Kmuanga's Ghost of the Present exhibition we released a new set of limited edition giclée prints.

Explore our store for other prints, exhibition catalogues and books.

Join us for an evening with professor and poet Dave Neita who will perform his art play Uncovering Art : Uplifting Society. The story charts the journey of a street sweeper who discovers discarded objects, which he transforms into contemporary art for the purpose of uplifting people and promoting social justice.

This event will take place in October Gallery’s Theatre Room, with a bar providing refreshments.

October Gallery will participate in the 2022 edition of AKAA Art Fair with a presentation spanning sculpture, works on paper, photographs and paintings by artists, Nnenna Okore, Alexis Peskine, Benji Reid, and Frantz Lamothe.

Internationally renowned artist Romuald Hazoumè will be in conversation with Gerard Houghton (October Gallery Director of Special Projects) on the occasion of his 5th solo show in London, Carnaval. In this new exhibition of much-anticipated work, Hazoumè returns to his signature masques bidons (repurposed masks), in which the artist keenly observes international concerns and the figures that populate the world’s political stage. This talk will offer insight from the artist himself, as Hazoumè unpacks the charged concept of his new works, his unique creative process, and his keen eye for detail coupled with his droll sense of humour.

Le Jardin d'Afrique, Zarzis, Tunisia, by Rachid Koraïchi, has been shortlisted for the Aga Khan Award for Architecture, 2022.

The artist, Rachid Koraïchi, began to design, co-ordinate and create Le Jardin d'Afrique, after purchasing a plot of land near Zarzis, in southern Tunisia, in 2018. The result, a memorial garden of great beauty, is an ecumenical cemetery that provides a sanctuary and dignified place of final repose for hundreds of unburied bodies found washed ashore along the Tunisian coastline. The unclaimed corpses of these men, women and children are the sad remains of individuals of all nationalities and faiths, who have drowned, by misadventure, while crossing the Mediterranean Sea.

The entire project is Rachid Koraïchi’s heartfelt response to news that these migrants’ bodies were being disposed of on a local refuse tip. Le Jardin d'Afrique is intended as a personal tribute to those countless individuals who have perished in searching for a better life elsewhere. Basing this mortuary monument on our shared notion of paradise as a garden of repose full of sweet-smelling flowers and the evocative sound of fresh water, this welcoming African garden exemplifies what one individual can do to alleviate the desperate distress caused by this intolerable situation.

Photographic representations of the twenty shortlisted entries are currently on display in an exhibition in King’s Cross, from the 2nd to the 30th of June, as part of the King’s Cross Outdoor Art Project, coinciding with the London Architecture Festival.

The Aga Khan Award for Architecture was established by His Highness the Aga Khan in 1977 to identify and encourage building concepts that successfully address the needs and aspirations of communities in which Muslims have a significant presence. The AKAA’s selection process emphasises architecture that not only provides for people’s physical, social, and economic needs, but that also stimulates and responds to their cultural objectives.

As energy is poured into the return to a supposed “normality,” October Gallery is delighted to announce a radical departure in the form of a collaborative association with the New School of the Anthropocene. This is an ensemble of experienced academics from the higher educational world who, in the company of fellow artists and practitioners, wish to restore the intellectual adventure and creative risk that once characterised arts education in the UK.

Today’s university system appears unfit for purpose, yoked to punishing systems of debt finance and managerial bureaucracy, and falling miserably short in its responsibility to nurture future generations as mindful participants within the complex universe in which we are all embedded. In proposing a genuinely affordable interdisciplinary education, the New School of the Anthropocene at October Gallery will, from September 2022, open its doors to like-minded students of all kinds who consider experimentation across the critical-creative seam to be the prerequisite to personal resilience and cultural renewal.

Four decades after our revitalising renovation of the old school in Holborn, October Gallery will again transform to provide an appropriate environment for the New School to come. Come and join us!

Join October Gallery for the final day of our exhibition In the Light, with a unique opportunity to meet artist Alexis Peskine.

Peskine will discuss his photographic works included in the exhibition, his recent artist residency in Cameroon, and his participation in the Congo Biennale 2022.

The catalogue to accompany Sokari Douglas Camp's Jonkonnu Masquerade exhibition at October Gallery is now available. 32 page soft cover with an interview with Gerard Houghton.

The Royal Academy presents the 254th Summer Exhibition, a unique celebration of contemporary art and architecture, providing a vital platform and support for the artistic community. Celebrated British sculptor Alison Wilding RA will co-ordinate this year’s Summer Exhibition, and working with the rest of the Summer Exhibition Committee, will explore the theme of climate. Works by El Anatsui and by Govinda Sah 'Azad' will be presented.

Sokari Douglas Camp CBE's new sculptures are especially created for display at KCAW Art Trail, next to The Design Museum, where her work once stood as part of the Commonwealth Institute. The works can be viewed from the 18th June throughout the summer and during Kensington + Chelsea Art Week from 23rd June to 3rd July.

Written by two acclaimed scholars, Okwui Enwezor and Chika Okeke-Agulu, 'El Anatsui: The Reinvention of Sculpture', is the product of more than three decades of research, a comprehensive, incisive and authoritative account of the work of El Anatsui, the world-renowned, Ghanaian-born sculptor.

Published by Damiani, this book shows why his early wood reliefs and terracottas, and the later monumental metal sculptures, exemplify an innovative, critical search for alternative models of art-making. 'El Anatsui: The Reinvention of Sculpture' places Anatsui’s work within a broader historical context, specifically the postcolonial modernism of mid-twentieth-century African artists and writers, the cultural ferment of post-independence Ghana, as well as within the intellectual environment of the 1970s Nsukka School. By recovering these histories, and subjecting his work to vigorous analysis, the authors show how and why El Anatsui became one of the most formidable sculptors of our time.

We are delighted to announce that the café at October Gallery has reopened.

Food From Mar's serves simple dishes made with seasonal ingredients, sustainably sourced where possible. It is homely food, cooked from the heart and served with warmth.

October Gallery's Director of Special Projects Gerard Houghton will be in conversation with Sokari Douglas Camp CBE on the occasion of the artist's new solo exhibition Jonkonnu Masquerade.

Anthony Sattin’s much anticipated book is now published, and an official launch will take place at October Gallery on 26th May. The inspiration for the gallery's current exhibition Nomadic Resonance, this is a ground-breaking story of nomadic peoples on the move across history, from one of the major influences on travel writing today.

October Gallery artists are included in a rich programme of external exhibitions and residences around the World.

Our current exhibiting artist Aubrey Williams is showing at Tate Britain in Life Between Islands Caribbean British Art 1950s – Now until 3rd April and at Barbican Centre, London in Postwar Modern New Art in Britain 1945 – 1965.

James Barnor's touring retrospective, organised by the Serpentine Galleries, London, is showing at MASI Lungano, Switzerland until 31st July. Barnor also has a solo exhibition Ever Young at Barakat Contemporary, Seoul, South Korea until 8th May.

Alexis Peskine has a residency at Fondation MAM in Cameroon which will culminate in an exhibition from 15th April - 15th June, 2022.

For London Gallery Weekend, October Gallery is pleased to announce the first public launch in the UK of El Anatsui. The Reinvention of Sculpture by Okwui Enwezor and Chika Okeke-Agulu on Friday, 13th May, 6-8 pm, with a presentation by co-author Chika Okeke-Agulu taking place at 7 pm. The launch celebrates the work of El Anatsui and coincides with the gallery’s exhibition Nomadic Resonance, that includes a new large-scale work by the artist. Chika Okeke-Agulu will be available to sign copies of the book after the presentation.

Written by two acclaimed scholars Okwui Enwezor and Chika Okeke-Agulu, El Anatsui. The Reinvention of Sculpture, is the most comprehensive, incisive and authoritative account yet on the work of El Anatsui, the world-renowned, Ghanaian-born sculptor.

To mark the closing of the exhibition Aubrey Williams: Sunphase - Works on Paper October Gallery will hold two screenings of Mark of the Hand

This remarkable film follows the artist , Aubrey Williams as he returns to his birthplace of Georgetown, Guyana’s capital city. After restoring one of his murals at Timehri International Airport, the artist travels on to Hosororo, in the depths of the rainforest, returning for the first time, in forty years, to visit the Warrau people who originally inspired him to follow his lifelong path as an artist. That once arduous days-long journey through deep forest by canoe and track has since become a forty-five minute hop by plane, and the film traces the course of that surprisingly emotional return.

Join yoga teacher and artist Laura Coates for an evening of meditation and movement in the October Gallery.

There will be a tour of the exhibition and some abstract drawing activities to get your creative juices flowing. We will then come together in the gallery to flow in a yoga sequence especially designed for the space and in relation to the Aubrey Williams: Sunphase exhibition.

Please bring your yoga mat and wear comfy exercise clothes!

October Gallery is saddened to hear of the sudden passing of our dear friend, Pamela Kember, who was also one of the Gallery’s Trustees. A writer, curator and art historian, Pamela was an inspirational person, dedicated to arts and education.

October Gallery Director Chili Hawes will be in conversation with Elisabeth Lalouschek (Artistic Director) and Gerard Houghton (Director of Special Projects) on the occasion of the new exhibition
Aubrey Williams: Sunphase - Works on Paper.

As part of Expanding Horizons, in honour of the late Pamela Kember, artist Yong Min Cho has choreographed a special piece exploring the concept of drifting to be performed at October Gallery.

Drifting builds on the project Drifting Dérive’, a series of installations, performances, and artworks curated by Pamela Kember at Asia House in 2014.

Congratulations to Naomi Wanjiku Gakunga whose work Wetereire – Waiting in the RA Summer Exhibition has won the prestigious Charles Wollaston Award.

Established in 1978 and presented to the ‘most distinguished work’ in the exhibition, it is one of the most significant art prizes awarded in the UK.

Gakunga’s sculpture is informed by her upbringing amongst the Kenyan Kikuyu people. Working primarily with metal and wire, her unique works are created by combining traditional techniques with contemporary processes, in a meditation upon the progression from past to present.

Yvette Twagiramariya interviewed Benji Reid for BBC What's New following the occasion of his first solo exhibition Laugh at Gravity, 2021.

The interview took place at 1-54 London, 2021, Somerset House.

October Gallery and all our friends have been shocked to hear of the sudden passing of our dear ‘Duchess’ Claudia Boulton. Late in October, Claudia suffered a heart attack and was hospitalised, under sedation, for observation. She died, peacefully, without ever coming round.

The catalogue to accompany Jordan Ann Craig's Your Wildest Dreams exhibition at October Gallery is now available. 32 page soft cover with an interview with Natani Notah.

Jordan Ann Craig's solo exhibition Your Wildest Dreams (2nd December 2021 - 29th January 2022) has been selected for Elephant's Pick of November’s Essential Artists.

The catalogue to accompany Eddy Kamuanga's Ghost of the Present exhibition at October Gallery is now available. 32 page soft cover with an essay by Jean-Sylvain Tshilumba Mukendi & Sorana Munsya.

Artist Jordan Ann Craig will be in conversation with Dee Haughney, October Gallery curator, on 4th December 2021, on the occasion of her first solo exhibition at October Gallery, Your Wildest Dreams.

In her latest solo exhibition, Craig presents a newly completed series of reimaged hard-edge paintings, which are based on Cheyenne cultural design and autobiographical observation.

James Barnor is amongst the luminaries of the photography world being honoured for their innovation and outstanding contributions to the photographic medium. Now in its 142nd year, the RPS Awards consist of eighteen categories that cover art, science, education, film and publishing.

Read Julian Lucas' piece for the
New Yorker on El Anatsui

"His runaway success began with castaway junk: a bag of bottle caps along the road. Now the Ghanaian sculptor is redefining Africa’s place in the global art scene."

From the touring exhibition Triumphant Scale to Anatsui's studio in Nsukka, Lucas explores the artist's life, process and works in incredible depth

The accolade celebrates artists, thinkers, business leaders and advocates who have pioneered arts from Africa and the Diaspora.

You can view Eddy's artist page here

James Barnor’s career as a studio portraitist, photojournalist and black lifestyle photographer spans six decades, recording major social and political changes in London, UK, and Accra, Ghana. His forthcoming Serpentine gallery exhibition, Accra/London: A Retrospective, focuses on the period 1950-1980, selected from more than 40,000 available images.
James Barnor: London/Accra – A Retrospective is at the Serpentine, London, from 19 May 2021
(subject to government guidelines)

Artist Eddy Kamuanga Ilunga will be in conversation with Sorana Munsya and Jean-Sylvain Tshilumba Mukendi on the occasion of his new exhibition Ghost of the Present, open at October Gallery. This talk will be moderated by Gerard Houghton, Director of Special Projects at October Gallery

October Gallery was saddened to hear of the passing, on July 29th, of Phillip King, at the age of 87. Mentored by Anthony Caro and, for a time, an assistant to Henry Moore, Phillip King was a remarkably innovative sculptor who became one of the leading lights of modern British sculpture during the 60s and 70s. While serving as Professor of Sculpture at the Royal College of Art in the 80s, he was instrumental in introducing the young Sokari Douglas Camp, to the Gallery, where she held her first solo show in 1984. King went on to serve as a distinguished President of the Royal Academy of Arts from 1999 to 2004.

Born overseas himself and often travelling abroad to teach, King was a decided internationalist. He first visited October Gallery for the Gerald Wilde exhibition of 1980, and soon after became the inaugural ‘Lifelong Member’ of October Gallery. Phillip remained a great ally and supporter of the Gallery’s efforts to exhibit the work of artists from around the planet, expressing, in a letter of 2019, his admiration of the Gallery’s “commitment to celebrate little known artists from unfamiliar places - or one might even say whole continents.” He will be much missed by all.

Hard on the heels of these sad tidings came still more sad news, that the great Trinidadian artist, LeRoy Clarke, had died on July 27th, at the age of 82. LeRoy was an uniquely gifted man, respected as an influential figure throughout the Caribbean, both for his art and for his insightful and provocative poetry. While he agreed to contribute work for October Gallery’s 1992 exhibition, Trinidad and Tobago, he was unwilling to travel to London because of “not wishing to re-cross the Middle Passage.” Only after prolonged discussions with Ulric Cross, (then High Commissioner for Trinidad &Tobago in London, who later became a Gallery Trustee), was he eventually persuaded to accompany his paintings in person. His presence transformed the tenor of the show.
br> Five years later, in 1997, LeRoy had few qualms about accepting a second invitation, returning to participate in the 1997 Yoruba Diasporas exhibition. On that occasion, his stay coincided with a visit by John Allen, a co-Founder and Trustee of October Gallery. The two quickly became firm friends, talking, barefoot, late into the night, sharing poems, stories and memories of their adventures in New York and roving around the Caribbean. We count ourselves fortunate to have spent time with LeRoy Clarke, and fondly remember the mighty warmth of his presence.

October Gallery will participate in the 2021 edition of Photo London. This will be the first time the Gallery is exhibiting at the major international photography fair. Works by James Barnor, Benji Reid, Alexis Peskine and Romuald Hazoumè will be shown by October Gallery.

Jardin d’Afrique — the Algerian artist Rachid Koraichi’s lavish memorial and burial site for drowned migrants—was unveiled on Wednesday in a ceremony attended by Audrey Azoulay, the director-general of Unesco.

The project is partly intended as a rebuke of global authorities that Koraichi believes are indifferent to migrant deaths. It was inaugurated at a time when more than 800 have died crossing Mediterranean so far this year—compared with 350 a year ago—according to IOM, a Geneva-based UN agency...

Le Jardin d’Afrique (The Garden of Africa) is a significant new project by Rachid Koraïchi. The artist has created a memorial resting place in Southern Tunisia for the many migrants drowned while crossing the Mediterranean in search of a better life.

Koraïchi describes Le Jardin d’Afrique as 'a walled garden, where geometrically laid out tombs are shaded by trees and scented herbs. The walkways dividing the rows of tombs are ornamented with tiles covered with talismanic glyphs, hearts and other auspicious signs. The garden is also populated by the figures of ‘those who pray’, representing family and friends in far-off lands as well as patrons, supporters and visitors who come to pay their respects.'

Le Jardin d’Afrique will be inaugurated on 9th June 2021 with a visit by UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay.

October Gallery and our artists have an exciting programme of external exhibitions and art fairs over the coming months. Including a major retrospective of James Barnor at the Serpentine.

Rachid Koraïchi features in Contemporary Ceramic Art from the Middle East at the Victoria & Albert Museum and along side Golnaz Fathi in Reflections: contemporary art of the Middle East and North Africa at the British Museum. Works by Laila Shawa are part of the exhibition Inside/Out at CAP Kuwait and LR Vandy's sculpture from the series Superhero Cog Woman will feature at Kensington Chelsea Art Week in late June.

The new catalogue to accompany our current exhibition Rachid Koraïchi: Tears that Taste of the Sea is now available in our online store.

Sokari Douglas Camp was recently interviewed by Jon Snow, on Channel 4 News, about her monumental work ‘All the World is Now Richer’, a memorial sculpture made to commemorate the abolition of slavery. This major piece consists of a line of life-sized figures representing the successive stages in the saga of slavery, while underlining the fact that people of slave heritage are brave, and possess both strength and dignity. Behind each individual figure extends a ‘shadow’ containing a phrase describing that specific stage, the whole building together to form one powerful statement. A permanent public placement is presently being sought for this timely and important piece.

LR Vandy in conversation with Chris Spring.
Moderated by Dee Haughney, 2021.

October Gallery celebrated 40 years of artistic endeavour with a labour of love - producing a 304-page book surveying the art, events, people and ideas that have driven the Gallery’s development since it first opened its doors, in 1979. Weaving together essays, archival material and a wealth of colour plates, Dream No Small Dream gives a fascinating overview of the interconnecting forces that transformed the Gallery from a start-up project in central London to an acknowledged player on the global stage of the contemporary art world.

October Gallery is pleased to announce that Benji Reid has been chosen as the cover artist for Trebuchet, the articulate and stylish Art publication. Featuring an in-depth interview with Reid, the Eighth issue of the magazine explores the subject of Contemporary Surrealism.