‘In the early years of Thatcherism, the Midlands was a really interesting place,” says artist, curator and academic Keith Piper, citing its harsh encounters with recession and industrial blight. “It was a very particular kind of landscape, out of which a very particular kind of creativity began to emerge.”
One notable byproduct was the establishment of the Blk Art Group in Wolverhampton. Made up of young Black art students including Piper, the collective instigated conversations about racism and visibility in art while promoting a distinctly Black British political identity. Though the group only lasted for five years, it is now considered a cornerstone in the development of the Black arts movement and an early meeting point for many who would go on to become internationally renowned figures in the art world.
