Behold our power - celebrating the RCA’s Black community

In the latest episode of the Royal College of Art Podcast, Emily Moore and Ekua McMorris discuss initiatives to support the RCA’s Black community. Host Benji Jeffrey was joined by Emily Moore (Painting MA, 2020) – co-chair of RCA BLK, the association of Black Students, Alumni & Friends – and Ekua McMorris (Photography MA, 2009), former RCA Student Union President and current tutor on the Graduate Diploma Art and Design at the College.  From an online support network to scholarships and socials, Emily explains the origins of RCA BLK and how it has evolved to support the needs of Black RCA students, past, present and future.  Ekua shares her experiences of curating the 2011 RCA Black exhibition, which showcased the work of RCA artists and designers from throughout the College’s history. Their conversation considers the importance of solidarity, financial support, and the visibility of those who have gone before.  Featured in the podcast is a poem by Thalia Dougourou (Visual Communication MA, 2023), which was commissioned by RCA BLK, as part of Black Star, a project creating a time capsule of artworks from the RCA BLK community to be sent into outer space. Thalia’s practice dismantles Eurocentric perspectives on African history through word and image. Discover her RCA2023 graduate work. The music in this episode is from Andrew Pierre Hart (Painting MA, 2019). It’s taken from a mix he created to accompany his exhibition ‘The Listening Sweet - 3 - Lagos’ at Tiwani Contemporary in Lagos Nigeria. The work he exhibited explored the dialogue between painting, sculpture and music – a fundamental part of his practice. You can discover more about Andrew’s work on his website. More information: RCA BLK You can find out more about RCA BLK on their website. You can also get in touch with RCA BLK through their Instagram or contacting them via email. [email protected] Further details of The Frank Bowling Scholarships, open to Black students, can be found on our website.  The Yinka Shonibare residency in Lagos, Nigeria, that was mentioned is an opportunity for the extended RCA BLK community: email [email protected] for the open call information pack RCA You can find out more about the RCA on our website. If you are interested in studying here, you might want to check out an Open Day. Details of the Graduate Diploma in Art & Design, can be found here. You can also find out more about the wider Student Support offered by the College. RCA Black exhibition The RCA Black exhibition featured 23 artists from the RCA’s history. You can read more about it in a Guardian interview with Ekua. The RCA alumni Ekua mentioned in the podcast were: Barrington Watson  Frank Bowling Joy Gregory Charlie Allen Faisal Abdu'Allah Other artists mentioned in this episode Emily talks about artists featured in Frieze art fair and 154, including: Lubaina Himid Jadé Fadojutimi Shaquelle Whyte She also mentions Jarelle Francis (Curating Contemporary Art MA, 2023) who established Meadow Gallery, with an exhibition of work by Roisin Jones (Contemporary Art Practice MA, 2023). Ekua discusses Black female artists Lubaina Himid, Marlene Smith and Claudette Johnson