The Southbank Centre Announces Emerging Black Artists for Pioneering Talent Development Programme.

The Southbank Centre announces the first cohort of Black artists to engage on its pioneering development programme, REFRAME: The Residency is supported by Apple with partners Factory International in Manchester, Birmingham City University’s STEAMhouse and Midlands Arts Centre (MAC) in Birmingham. 

The free programme supports Black and Black Mixed Heritage creatives in London, Manchester and Birmingham. (See list of artists below). It will help to address the systemic barriers to career development Black creatives face in the arts and creative industries. 

These 80 emerging artists will present their artwork at a free exhibition, which opens on Tuesday 18 July at the Southbank Centre and runs for several weeks during Planet Summer, a multi-artform season that explores themes of care, hope, connection and activism in response to the climate emergency.

The Residency is led by tutors who are established artists: Riley Bramley-Dymond (writer and director); Holly-Marie Cato (photographer and director); dubmorphology (production and performance group); Caleb Femi (writer, director and photographer); Joshua Inyang (music producer, artist and radio host); Nicole Justice (singer, performer, composer, producer and audio engineer); Tayyib Mahmood (filmmaker); Denise Maxwell (photographer); and Tanya Weekes (photographer). 

The ground-breaking programme is part of Apple’s global Racial Equity and Justice Initiative (REJI) — and represents Apple’s first REJI expansion into Europe. This collaboration aims to inspire future generations to take part in building a cultural legacy for the UK. 

The project aligns with Arts Council England’s Let’s Create Strategy, which strives to build sustainable cultural communities across the country.

For more information on the REFRAME programme click here.