UK Black Female Photographers – UKBFTOG – and FUJIFILM proudly present Living the Dream, a group exhibition of a vibrant and diverse community.
The showcase celebrates culture, creativity, and womanhood through the lens of Black female photographers and will be available to view at the FUJIFILM House of Photography from Thursday 9th March – Sunday 7th May.
Women always gathered to care, defend, and support each other to freely grow to become the best version of themselves. While striving for this growth to happen in all fairness UKBFTOG members also recognise they are their “ancestors’ wildest dreams”. With Living the Dream, 51 image makers aspire to stimulate the next generations and to pay tribute to inspirational women, and supportive men, from past and present. In addition, the McKenzie Heritage Collection generously loaned several archival pieces. By drawing parallels between historical Black British life and life as we know it today, the exhibition seeks to highlight inextricable connections and challenge socially conditioned biases. Visitors are invited to enter the gallery space with an open mind envisioning their own dreams whilst engaging with the artists’ boldly captured images.
Special thanks to FUJIFILM UK, Digitalab and the McKenzie Heritage Collection for their contributions toward the making of this exhibition. And Rele James, MPB, Cultura Creative and JKG Photography.
Dominique Nok, Curator of Living the Dream, said:
“This exhibition is a response, reminder and acknowledgement that we are ‘Living our ancestor’s wildest dreams’ coined by American visual artist and activist Brandan Odums. I believe that having female role models from the Global Majority sharing their images with the world is vital for imagining specific futures. I would love the viewer, no matter race, no matter gender, no matter social status to find within themselves common ground with the image makers and their works.
I stand and agree with what abolitionist Harriet Tubman once said: “Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars, to change the world”.
Theo Georghiades, General Manager at FUJIFILM UK said:
“At Fujifilm, our passion and heritage lies in photography, so naturally, we love nothing more than encouraging people to capture photographs of the world around them. However, it is a fact that much of the photography we see doesn’t actually reflect the diversity of our communities. We are proud to partner with UK Black Female Photographers on the Living the Dream exhibition to continue our support of creative communities in helping increase representation and diversity in photography”.
Visitors to the Living the Dream exhibition are also welcome to attend and take part in a variety of events across the duration of the gallery that will offer tips and advice on photography and the wider industry.
Please visit: Eventbrite https://ukbftog.eventbrite.com
Download the Exhibition Guide here.