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Ajamu X

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Ajamu X
human
Ein sex anaa gendermale Edit
Country wey e be citizenUnited Kingdom Edit
Ein date of birth1963 Edit
Place dem born amHuddersfield Edit
Languages edey speak, rep anaa signEnglish Edit
Ein occupationartist, photographer, archivist, curator Edit
ResidenceLondon Edit
Dey archive forrukus! Federation Edit
Dema official websitehttp://ajamu-fineartphotography.co.uk Edit
Copyright status as creatorworks protected by copyrights Edit

Ajamu X (born 1963 insyd Huddersfield) be a British artist, curator, archivist den activist. He be best known for ein fine art photography wich explores same-sex desire, den de Black male body, den ein work as an archivist ein activist to document de lives ein experiences of black LGBTQ people insyd de United Kingdom (UK).

Early life

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Dem born Ajamu insyd 1963 insyd Huddersfield to Jamaican parents. Ein grandparents arrive for England insyd 1958 den ein parents follow insyd 1962.[1]

"impressively progressive for de times".[1] He study Black History den photography insyd Leeds. While insyd Leeds, he den two friends create de magazine BLAC, an acronym for Black Liberation Activist Core. Insyd October 1987, after seeing it advertised insyd de newspaper Caribbean Times, Ajamu attend de first, ein only, National Black Gay Men's Conference wey dey hold at de Black Lesbian ein Gay Centre insyd Camden. By January de following year, he get to move for London.[2][3]

Dem dey give him de name Ajamu insyd 1991; it means "he hu fights for wat he believes".[1]

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Career

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Ajamu's work often highlights stories of black LGBT people hu he feels are often marginalise from mainstream British Society; additionally he dey choose to focus for those hu are black ein openly "out" ein dem families dey accept dem. Ajamu talk says he rejects de claim dat Jamaican culture be particularly homophobic ein believes dat homophobia exists across cultures ein families of all backgrounds.[1]

He often speaks of ein work as a "sex activist"; he has run "sex parties for men hu want to have sex plus men" since de 1990s,[1] den same-sex desire ein pleasure are recurring themes insyd his photography. Ein first major exhibition Black Bodyscapes, insyd 1994, e focus for de private sexual realities of black gay men.[4] More recent projects include Fierce: Portraits of Young Black Queers. an exhibition of 24 portraits of a "…new generation of Black ein proudly out young, emerging den establish talent"[5] at London's Guildhall Art Gallery insyd 2014[6] ein I Am For You Can Enjoy[7] plus Khalil West, at Contact Theatre, Manchester, insyd 2016, wich uses photography ein video, to explore de lives of queer Black male sex workers den their clients. Ajamu dey describe himself as an "artist hu has created an archive"[8] den, in addition to ein art practice, continues to document black LGBT experiences.

Insyd 2000 Ajamu ein Topher Campbell co-founded rukus! Federation[9] an "arts company wey dey dedicate to celebrating den showcasing de best insyd challenging, provocative works by black lesbian, gay, bisexual den trans-gender artists nationally den internationally."[2] Ajamu be de Archive Manager "De Black LGBT Archive Project", a major initiative to develop an archive collection on "Black Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual ein Trans-Gender heritage, history ein live experience insyd de UK".[2] Insyd 2008 Ajamu co-curated de exhibition Outside Edge: a journey through Black lesbian ein gay history at de Museum of Docklands.[10] De rukus! Black Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Cultural Archive be deposite at London Metropolitan Archives insyd 2010.[11]

Ajamu be de subject of Topher Campbell's first film The Homecoming: A Short Film about Ajamu insyd 1995.[12] De documentary film Brixton Recreation plus Ajamu, wey dey directe by Danny Solle, wey feature ein experiences of cruising den sex as an out Black gay man insyd Brixton.[13]

Ein fine art photography be insyd national den international collections including de Gallery of Modern Art insyd Glasgow, Autograph ABP, den de Neuberger Museum of Art insyd New York. Ajamu be co-chair of Centred, an LGBTQ community organisation, insyd London's Soho.[14]

Selected exhibitions

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  • 2019 Diasporic Self – Black Togetherness as Lingua Franca, Framer Framed, Amsterdam (14 dec – 17 feb 2019)
  • 2016 Khalil West and Ajamu - I Am For You Can Enjoy, Contact Theatre, Manchester (4 February - 18 June 2016)[7]
  • 2013 Fierce - Portraits of Young Black LGBTQ people by Ajamu, Guildhall Art Gallery, London
  • 2012 Future Histories, Street Level Photoworks, Glasgow
  • 2011 Queer Self Portraits Now, Fred, London[15]
  • 2010 Photoshow, Leslie-Lohman Museum of Gay and Lesbian Art, New York
  • 2009 Familiar Strangers, Gallery of Modern Art, Glasgow
  • 2004 Hidden Histories, Walsall New Art Gallery, England
  • 1997 Transforming de Crown, Caribbean Cultural Centre, New York.[16]
  • 1994 Black Bodyscapes, Camerawork, London[17]
  • 1992 From Where I Stand, Brixton Art Gallery, London[17]

As Curator:

  • 2016 Curatorial Resident, Visual AIDS, New York[18]
  • 2008 Outside Edge: a journey through black British lesbian den gay history, Museum of Docklands, London[10]

References

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  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Surtees, Joshua (25 July 2014). "Ajamu challenges homophobia". Guardian Trinidad and Tobago. Retrieved 29 June 2017.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 "Ajamu X interview". Sam The Wheels. Archived from the original on 9 May 2017. Retrieved 13 April 2016.
  3. ↑ Cook, Matt (2014). Queer Domesticities: Homosexuality and Home Life in Twentieth-Century London. Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 978-1-137-31607-3.
  4. ↑ Seery, Emma (28 March 2014). "Ajamu: Sexual Idenitifcation". Open Eye Gallery. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 2 December 2015.
  5. ↑ Minott, Zinzi (27 March 2013). "Fierce and That: Pondering the Work of Ajamu X an Original Afropunk". AfroPunk. Retrieved 2 December 2015.
  6. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named OpenDem 2014Nov
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 "Khalil West and Ajamu - I Am For You Can Enjoy". Contact Theatre. Archived from the original on 22 March 2016. Retrieved 13 April 2016.
  8. ↑ Vincent, John (28 February 2014). LGBT People and the UK Cultural Sector: The Response of Libraries, Museums, Archives and Heritage since 1950. Ashgate Publishing, Ltd. p. 3. ISBN 978-1-4724-0331-5.
  9. ↑ "Love and lubrication in the archives: rukus! Black Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Cultural Archive catalogue launched". London Metropolitan Archives. City of London. 2015. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 13 April 2016.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 "Who works on an exhibition like Outside Edge?". Museum of London - blog. Archived from the original on 24 June 2016. Retrieved 13 April 2016.
  11. ↑ Ajamu (June 2011). "Celebrating History" (PDF). Runnymede Bulletin (366): 26. Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 August 2016. Retrieved 2 December 2015.
  12. ↑ Donnell, Alison (11 September 2002). Companion to Contemporary Black British Culture (in English). Routledge. ISBN 9781134700257.
  13. ↑ Avery, Simon; Graham, Katherine M. (6 October 2016). Sex, Time and Place: Queer Histories of London, c.1850 to the Present (in English). Bloomsbury Publishing. ISBN 9781474234948.
  14. ↑ "Trustees, Centred". Centred. Archived from the original on 10 October 2015. Retrieved 2 December 2015.
  15. ↑ "Queer Self Portraits Now". Artlyst. Archived from the original on 25 June 2016. Retrieved 13 April 2016.
  16. ↑ Eddie Chambers (29 July 2014). Black Artists in British Art: A History since the 1950s. I.B.Tauris. ISBN 978-0-85773-608-6.
  17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 Melanie Keen; Elizabeth Ward; Institute of International Visual Arts (1996). Recordings: a select bibliography of contemporary African, Afro-Caribbean and Asian British art. Institute of International Visual Arts and Chelsea College of Art and Design. p. 44. ISBN 978-1-899846-06-1.
  18. ↑ "Introducing 2016 Visual AIDS Curatorial Resident Ajamu". Visual AIDS. 17 February 2016. Retrieved 13 April 2016.
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