Blk Art Group Survey at Wolverhampton Art Gallery Bittersweet

A new exhibition at Wolverhampton Art Gallery, 'The more things change…', surveys the work of the Blk Art Group, a collective of young Black art students from the Midlands active between 1979 and 1984. The show features early pieces by Claudette Johnson, Marlene Smith, Keith Piper, and Donald Rodney, alongside later works and new commissions. Keith Piper's '13 Dead' (1981) memorializes the 13 young people who died in the 1981 New Cross Fire, which sparked a 20,000-person march. The exhibition includes archival materials, such as correspondence about the 1982 Pan-Afrikan Connection at London's Africa Centre, revealing the group's strategic advocacy. Johnson's 'Trilogy' (1982) depicts defiant Black women; her artist statement addresses racist and sexist oppression. Rodney's 'Cataract' (1991/2023) critiques stereotypes of Black men, while Smith's 'Do, Please. A Happy Ending' (1987) celebrates community. The show runs through 9 July.