Ian Watts' 50-Year Carnival Archive Hits Outernet Screens for 60th Anniversary

Photographer Ian Watts presents 'Carnival 60: Ian Watts at Outernet', a free exhibition at Outernet in central London, running from 27 August to September 2026. The show features 100-150 images from Watts' archive of tens of thousands, documenting Notting Hill Carnival over five decades. Watts, a BAFTA- and Grierson-winning director of photography, first photographed the carnival in 1976 as a teenager with a second-hand East German Praktica camera. He has attended nearly every carnival since, missing only 2012 when work took him to Siberia. The exhibition is arranged chronologically, offering a visual narrative of the carnival's evolution. Watts' work explores themes of identity, diaspora, and community, focusing on the Black diaspora. Notable moments include his first carnival during the 1976 heatwave and riots, and his best experiences in the 1990s. He recommends sound systems Rapattack, Channel One, and Aba-Shant-I. The exhibition is free and runs until September 2026.