Royal Academy confronts colonial legacy with 'Entangled Pasts' exhibition after 250-year delay

The Royal Academy's exhibition titled 'Entangled Pasts, 1768–Now: Art, Colonialism and Change' represents its first significant exploration of colonialism in 250 years. Curated by Esther Chadwick, Cora Gilroy-Ware, and Dorothy Price, the show showcases 100 artworks spanning from the eighteenth to the twenty-first century, featuring artists such as J.M.W. Turner, Joshua Reynolds, John Singleton Copley, Sonia Boyce, and Hew Locke. Aiming to address four decades of discussions, RA director Axel Rüger, along with Royal Academicians Locke and Isaac Julien, leads this initiative. The exhibition debuted in the wake of George Floyd's murder in 2020 and the subsequent Black Lives Matter movement. The RA appointed its first Black British Royal Academician in 2005.