Escape the cold weather outside and come to Frank Walter: Artist, Gardener, Radical for an evening co-curated with Goldsmiths, University of London.

Antiguan artist Francis Archibald Wentworth Walter (1926-2009) led a pioneering and unique life as an environmentalist, intellectual, and philosopher.

In this exhibition, embark on a labyrinthine immersive journey through over 100 never exhibited before sculptures and paintings of Caribbean plants, abstract landscapes and imagined intergalactic gardens exploring social justice, Black identity and the complexity of nature. Be transported to the climate of Frank’s “castle on a hill” studio and garden in coastal Antigua.

We’ve collaborated with academics and artists at Goldsmiths, University of London to create four new interactive responses to the exhibition:

Crocus bags, saka cloth and flour bags: Remaking with discarded textiles  

Join Goldsmiths lecturer and designer, Rose Sinclair MBE, for a making activity drawing on the untold crafting traditions of Caribbean women.

Create a unique table mat or art piece from repurposed household textiles in response to the sustainable practices rooted in Frank Walter’s work. Connect with the crafting culture of the Caribbean and with sustainable traditions used to beautify the home.

Rose was recently awarded an MBE for her work as a textiles researcher, curator and academic. Her work focuses on textiles legacy and futures within marginalised communities.

Slipstreaming with Frank Walter

Join staff and students from Goldsmiths’ pioneering Centre for Caribbean and Diaspora Studies for a collaborative, radical writing workshop and installation rooted in the slipstream writing method.

Exploring themes of ancestry and drawing on Walter’s radical practice as a starting point, participants will be invited to produce a brief written response, which will be drawn together in a collaborative slipstream installation.

The workshop will be led by Prof Joan Anim-Addo and Dr Marl’ene Edwin. Joan is a writer and academic whose work spans multiple genres. She is a founding member of the Caribbean Women’s Writing Alliance and the Black British Writers and Scholars Alliance. Marl’ene is Deputy Director of the Centre for Caribbean and Diaspora Studies.

Frank’s Forest: Climate Couriers

Artist and Lecturer Louise Ashcroft leads a participatory workshop inspired by Frank Walter’s works on card and boxes.

Participants will be invited to make and decorate a bespoke cardboard box out of old Amazon boxes into which they will place a fallen autumn leaf collected by Louise from one of 40 London streets with names that have historical links to slavery. Participants will be encouraged to return the leaf to its street of origin on the summer solstice.

In response Walter’s art and political work, participants are invited to speculate what can be done to address the histories of slavery written into our street names.

IRIE! Dance Theatre

The event will feature a performance of dance and music by students of IRIE! dance theatre, Britain’s leading dance theatre company working in the field of African & Caribbean dance fusion.

Founded in 1985 by Beverley Glean MBE, the company set out to create a repertory of works reflective of the African Caribbean influence on the Black British cultural experience. IRIE! delivers the UK’s only degree in Diverse Dance Styles, validated by Goldsmiths.