“Before Them, We” explores intergenerational West African relationships in Britain
This article was originally published on Meeting of Minds
Curated by Nigerian cultural producer and multidisciplinary artist, Ruth Sutoyé, “Before Them, We” explores the authentic and intimate nature of intergenerational West African relationships in the UK. For so long, the stories of West African migration in Britain have been invisibilized, especially the older generations who migrated to the country from the 1940s onwards.
The exhibition also captures how we archive and preserve oral histories. There is also an anthology coming soon, launching in 2022, which pays homage to our grandparents and the narratives of their lives that are lesser known.
I caught up with the visionary behind the exhibition, Ruth Sutoyé.
What does “Before Them, We” mean to you?
I feel like it’s a call to action. It’s asking us, the grandchildren, to be conscious of time. Time seems infinite, but it’s not, you know, a call to action to speak to your grandparents, find out what their lives were like, before you, before your parents and to really document and archive their stories, because that’s their legacy. It’s also a part of the documentation process of our culture, that you won’t be able to fall back on when they’re not there.
It’s an expression of grief. Grief is not linear at all. And I think about my maternal grandmother, we were really, close. The life that she lived, what she got up to, what she told me, and being regretful that I wasn’t a photographer at the time of her passing. I wasn’t an archivist in the way I am now, and not being able to capture those memories, or those stories that she told or shared with me.
The way the space has been curated is very deliberately intimate. When you go to the home of a West African, and sit in their living room, you see all of the frames of that entire extended family and all of their grandchildren, all their children. I think we wanted to really lean into that feeling of intimacy like you were in somebody’s home.
Why was it important for you to have the exhibition?
As a practitioner, I’m always trying to create work that I don’t see. My practice is so invested in keeping the intergenerational dialogue alive. Even in my previous project ‘Bald Black Girls’, I had different Women of different ages, all of the associated events had people from grandparents’, all the way through to teenagers.
I think this is an exciting time to be Black in Britain, because so many of us are contributing to the Black British canon through so many mediums, be it writing, visual arts, music, and performing arts.
I think it’s important, because in 90 years’ time when I’m not here and when my great granddaughter, or someone, wants to research what kind of Black British work existed in the 2020s, they can call upon this, amongst so many other other practitioners who are doing incredible things, I think it’s about legacy and longevity. So much of the oral history and tradition is about passing memories on. So much of what I desire to do in my work, is to create things that outlast me and outlast the moment it was created for.
How has your Nigerian background influenced your work?
It’s a part of who I am. I think there’s the Black British element of myself, the Nigerian and there’s the British Nigerian element — all those facets contribute to my lens on the world, my place in the world, and what stories I feel like I can tell, what spaces I feel like I can facilitate and what I should pass on to others.
I think I’m very interested in amplifying the nuances of Black narratives and the nuances of how we exist, have existed, hope to exist as Black people, and being conscious of the fact that our experience is not singular. Our narrative is not singular, even within our communities here, our narratives are so varied. Ultimately that’s what I hope my lens allows me to showcase anyway.
How do you think we can amplify British African/Nigerian history?
I think with what we’re doing now, there’s so many of us doing things in different mediums. Highlife is out. I’m very excited about that. I think 16-year-old me is screaming, because if 16-year-old me could see the world that I live in now — not to glamorise race relations — but I remember the first time I walked into New Look, and I heard Wizkid playing, my mind was blown. I grew up in the era when being Africanwasn’t cool at all.
So, I think in terms of how we can continue amplifying Black British African artists, I think we’re doing it, from the media spaces we’re occupying, to the work we’re creating across the industry, collaboration is paramount. West Africans are doing great things in education. And I think by bringing in different practitioners into the education space, until we overhaul the education system altogether in this country, things aren’t going to radically change. Education is the common denominator.
You’re a cultural producer and multidisciplinary artist. How did you break into the creative sector?
I feel like I’ve been a creative my whole life. So, I am a full-time freelancer but I also work full time in tech. I’ve been a producer for almost a decade now. So, in terms of cultural productions, and facilitating, be it shows or workshops, I have undertaken many multi-faceted projects.
As an artist my journey has varied because I work across so many mediums — whatever the medium that the project I’m working on demands is what I lean into. Now, I’m heavily in the visual space, and using photography and directing, music, moving visuals or short films. But I’m a storyteller at heart, and all my mediums allow me to be a storyteller.
Are there any future projects or is that a secret for now?
I’m constantly juggling things. I’m working on another project now, but I can’t really talk about it. I feel comfortable sharing when things are ready, rather than prematurely. But a lot of my work will continue centering Black people’s different stories. So, yeah, 2022 watch this space.
Images courtesy of Black Cultural Archives
Before Them, We is curated by Natalie Fiawoo and produced by producer/artist, Ruth Sutoyé, and producer/writer, Tobi Kyeremateng.
