There is a new gallery on the London art scene this year, and the contemporary economic climate, and the development of Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic artists is at front of mind for the new space, aptly named, HOME and founded by photographer, director and curator, Ronan Mckenzie.
As one of the very few Black owned art spaces in London, HOME was founded to create a distinct space with a new set of understandings of how to contextualise a diverse range of artists, which centre a focus on building on personal experiences of institutions and providing a new infrastructure for creativity, namely for those who are Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic artists. "At a time when society has progressed from not wanting to even showcase the work of BAME [Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic] artists, to the current presentations of them which are mainly led by white teams without true understanding to contextualise the work, HOME is a malleable concept which transforms and responds to the artists it houses and the community it is built for." the gallery has said in a press release
“A new art space concept is desperately needed, not only because the representation within most gallery spaces is still not diverse enough to respond to and appreciate the incredibly vast talent who is currently working, but no spaces are able to offer programming that has community and artistic development at the heart of it’s practice. Art spaces remain hierarchal and out of reach for most - especially BAME audiences, making entering artistic spheres extremely difficult and maintaining a place in them even harder. Drawing on my own experiences of showing work at institutions, and working across fashion and arts, I am all too aware of the difficulties of navigating creative industries as a black female, and amongst the current offering in London, there needs to be a HOME.” Mckenzie says.
When it comes to the exhibitions that will be on display, HOME will serve to present a programme of exhibitions over the year which will celebrate the works of these artists who work with varied practices and mediums. From curation, to the spacial design, to the manner in which physical works are handled, exhibitions at HOME will provide an ongoing conversation and collaboration with the artist in an effort to pivot processes towards sustainable infrastructure and a more holistic approach to curation. For the inaugural exhibition, founder Ronan Mckenzie will collaborate with Joy Yamusangie in an exhibition titled, WATA; Further Explorations between November 26 - December 9, 2020.
The show will weave together the works of Mckenzie and Yamusangie, and has been conceptualised around Mckenzie and Yamusangie’s first formal collaboration, a short film of the same name produced at the beginning of 2020. WATA weaves together considerations of ancestry, cross cultural connections, music and migration.
