FOREWORD Don't let the mirror be the only place: a note to young Black artists in Britain today from an old woman who tried to follow the rules. In the 21st century, if you are Black and you live in Europe and you want to see a reflection of yourself and the lives of people like you, the watching of television, the reading of newspapers and visits to mainstream cinema are all a waste of time; a distorted replica is all you will find. You will still even now, be depicted as a cheating overpaid sports personality, a desperate but guilty victim of war and devastation, or a vacant, clueless exotic. You may feature, before your early downfall, as a gun toting criminal or even a dead jazz legend, maybe even a feisty sex worker but you will only be seen and remembered as a kindly community elder or member of the nursing profession if you are exceedingly 'lucky'. Ordinary life in Britain is speckled with the thin and bitter threads of racism from the bottom to the top but luckily it is also bursting with creative activity and many of the people trying to redress the balance between one and the other are young Black artists. Balance my initial pitiful and bleak vignette above with work by artists in this exhibition. Iintense, determinedly well made self portraits, heart- warming photographs of friends and family, clever graphic design, experimental sculpture and drawings, smart documentary work full of integrity. Then, add to the mix a thorough examination of the history of the work of Black Americans working in the late 20th century but still making strong work today. Artists including, Betye Saar, David Hammons, Carrie Mae Weems, Lorna Simpson and Glen Ligon. Look ahead, plan well. All of this will give you the energy to go on and fight for the creative space to experiment with ideas and materials, it will give you the nerve to battle for the opportunity to critically debate in public some of your new ways of thinking and collaborating. It is undoubtedly true that your work has to be better than any one else's, but whoever you are and whatever you make must be visually dynamic and true to itself (and passionately true to you). If the international contemporary art arena is the place where you want to perform, you have to play by the many rules which dictate the game, some of these are that: 1.You must produce pieces that completely challenge and yet subtly reference the canon. 2.You must be able to be deeply articulate and ready to talk and write about your research. 3.You must dare to fail. 4.You must make real friends who can support you on an industrial scale. If you decide that this makes sense, please remember also to step outside the comfortable, walk the tightrope, push the materials and the working methods to their limit, look in the mirror, help fellow artists reach their potential and live a long long life.
-LUBAINA HIMID
Contemporary Artist and Professor of Contemporary Art at the University of Central Lancashire.