Exhibition: A World in Common: Contemporary African Photography

Bringing together 36 artists from different generations and geographies, this exhibition explores how photography and video have allowed artists to examine legacies of the past while imagining more hopeful futures.

Unfolding across seven thematic sections, the exhibition highlights contemporary perspectives on cultural heritage, spirituality, urbanisation and climate change, revealing shared artistic visions that reclaim Africa’s histories and reimagine its place in the world.

Since the invention of photography in the 19th century, Africa has been broadly defined by Western images of its cultures and traditions. During the colonial period, photography was used as a tool to construct the representation of African societies through a Eurocentric lens.

Challenging these dominant images of the continent, the exhibition features around 100 works that illuminate how photography can imagine alternative visions of Africa’s many histories, cultures and identities. Regal portraits of kings and queens join intimate scenes of family life, fading archival postcards of vanishing cities, and stark documentary images of post-industrial ruin.

Family photo albums and stylishly composed studio portraits reflect the shared sense of community and belonging that connects Africa and its global diaspora, while scenes of devastated coastlines and otherworldly landscapes consider the growing impact of the climate emergency on the world we inhabit. Guiding viewers along many landscapes, borders, and time zones, the exhibition showcases how photography allows the past and future to co-exist in powerful and unexpected ways.