Southbank Centre

Historian and filmmaker David Olusoga joins journalist Nesrine Malik in conversation to chart the story of Black British history, bringing to light overlooked narratives.

From well-known figures to individual lives consigned to the margins of history, how do the lived experiences of Black British people through time influence questions of belonging and identity?

This conversation was recorded live in our Royal Festival Hall on 11 July 2024 as part of You Belong Here, or summer series of events that draw on the themes of our Hayward Gallery exhibition, Tavares Strachan: There Is Light Somewhere.

The talk sees Olusoga draw on his acclaimed documentaries including ‘Britain's Forgotten Slave Owners’ and his groundbreaking ‘Black and British: A Forgotten History’.

Journalist and author Sathnam Sanghera traces the legacies of the British empire around the world, drawing on his book Empireland: How Modern Britain is Shaped by its Imperial Past, in conversation with Colin Grant.

This conversation was recorded live in our Queen Elizabeth Hall on Sunday 14 July 2024, as part of You Belong Here, our summer programme of events inspired by the unsung stories and forgotten trailblazers celebrated in our Hayward Gallery exhibition Tavares Strachan: There Is Light Somewhere.

Sathnam Sanghera is the Sunday Times bestselling author of Empireland: How Modern Britain is Shaped by its Imperial Past, memoir The Boy With The Topknot, and novel Marriage Material.

Colin Grant’s books include Bageye at the Wheel, shortlisted for the Pen Ackerley Prize, and Homecoming: Voices of the Windrush Generation, a BBC Radio 4 Book of the Week. His latest book is I’m Black So You Don’t Have to Be. Grant is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and director of WritersMosaic, an online magazine and division of the Royal Literary Fund.

On 15 September 2023, the Southbank Centre hosted a cross-cultural takeover by the fashion designer Nicholas Daley.

Renowned for his intricate, colourful knitwork and interplay with music and culture, Daley has used fashion as a means to explore ideas around identity, heritage, and memory, intertwined with wider Black British and diasporic themes.

Nicholas Daley Presents Woven Rhythms saw a number of events curated by Daley take place across the Southbank Centre, beginning with this panel discussion. Intersecting reggae, punk and alternative soundscapes, four trailblazing and rule-breaking musicians from two generations came together for a conversation about music, DIY culture, politics and identity.

In conversation were Pauline Black, lead singer of iconic two-tone band The Selecter, DJ and dub master Dennis Bovell, South London musician and producer Wu Lu, and Delilah Holliday of alternative punk band Skinny Girl Diet.

The conversation is introduced, and hosted, by BBC broadcaster and NTS Radio host, Zakia Sewell.

Out of the Kiln: From Technique to Concept presents Aaron Angell and Serena Korda - two artists who featured in the Hayward Gallery exhibition, Strange Clay: Ceramics in Contemporary Art - in conversation with exhibition curator Cliff Lauson and Isabella Smith, Deputy Editor at Crafts. They discuss working with ceramics, and explore how their clays, glazes and firing techniques give form to their creative vision.

Recorded on 26 November 2022, this talk was presented in partnership with Crafts magazine and was edited by Shivani Dave.

Image Credit: Aaron Angell, Pie #1, 2020 © Aaron Angell. Courtesy of Rob Tufnell, London/Venice. Photo: Andy Keate.

In the Black Fantastic is a four-part podcast series inspired by the Hayward Gallery exhibition of the same name.

This series brings together artists, musicians and writers in conversations that draw on the themes of the exhibition – curated by Ekow Eshun – including myth, science fiction, spiritual traditions and the legacy of Afrofuturism.

This fourth and final episode brings together sculptor and visual artist Hew Locke, and sculptor and performance artist Nick Cave, both of whom have work featured in the exhibition. Locke’s works in In the Black Fantastic include portraits from his series ‘How Do You Want Me?’ (2007) and a number of his sculptural statues, whilst the work of Cave on display includes a trio of his famous Soundsuits, and Chain Reaction (2022), a sculpture of interlocking hands.

This podcast series is hosted and executive produced by Chrystal Genesis, produced by Jaja Muhammad, researched by Zara Martin, mixed by Carmela DiClemente, and was conceived by Glen Wilson.

In the Black Fantastic, the exhibition, is at Hayward Gallery, London until 18 September 2022. Find out more about the exhibition at southbankcentre.co.uk/venues/hayward-gallery

In the Black Fantastic is a four-part podcast series inspired by the Hayward Gallery exhibition of the same name.

This series brings together artists, musicians and writers in conversations that draw on the themes of the exhibition – curated by Ekow Eshun – including myth, science fiction, spiritual traditions and the legacy of Afrofuturism.

This third episode brings together interdisciplinary filmmaker Cauleen Smith, whose works featured in In the Black Fantastic include the drawings BLK FMNNST Loaner Library 1989–2019 (2019) and the installation Epistrophy (2018), and composer and cellist Ayann Witter-Johnson.

This podcast series is hosted and executive produced by Chrystal Genesis, produced by Jaja Muhammad, researched by Zara Martin, mixed by Carmela DiClemente, and was conceived by Glen Wilson.

In the Black Fantastic, the exhibition, is at Hayward Gallery, London until 18 September 2022. Find out more about the exhibition at southbankcentre.co.uk/venues/hayward-gallery

In the Black Fantastic is a four-part podcast series inspired by the Hayward Gallery exhibition of the same name.

This series brings together artists, musicians and writers in conversations that draw on the themes of the exhibition – curated by Ekow Eshun – including myth, science fiction, spiritual traditions and the legacy of Afrofuturism.

This second episode brings together artist Lina Iris Viktor whose works featured in In the Black Fantastic include a number from her 2017-2018 portrait series ’A Haven. A Hell. A Dream Deferred’, and poet and essayist Salena Godden.

This podcast series is hosted and executive produced by Chrystal Genesis, produced by Jaja Muhammad, researched by Zara Martin, mixed by Carmela DiClemente, and was conceived by Glen Wilson.

In the Black Fantastic, the exhibition, is at Hayward Gallery, London until 18 September 2022. Find out more about the exhibition at southbankcentre.co.uk/venues/hayward-gallery

In the Black Fantastic is a four-part podcast series inspired by the Hayward Gallery exhibition of the same name.

This series brings together artists, musicians and writers in conversations that draw on the themes of the exhibition – curated by Ekow Eshun – including myth, science fiction, spiritual traditions and the legacy of Afrofuturism.

This first episode brings together artist Rashaad Newsome, whose works featured in In the Black Fantastic include Isolation (2020) and Ansista (2019), and producer, composer and DJ, The Twilite Tone.

This podcast series is hosted and co-produced by Chrystal Genesis, produced by Jaja Muhammad, researched by Zara Martin, mixed by Carmela DiClemente, and was conceived by Glen Wilson.

In the Black Fantastic, the exhibition, is at Hayward Gallery, London until 18 September 2022. Find out more about the exhibition at southbankcentre.co.uk/venues/hayward-gallery

In 2019, Jean Paul Gaultier brought his Fashion Freak Show – called a 'fabulous fiesta of fabric and flesh' by The Guardian – to the Southbank Centre.

But before his extravaganza exploded onto the stage at Royal Festival Hall, the designer himself appeared here in conversation with TV presenter Anita Rani, reflecting on his decades in fashion.

Born in a Paris suburb in 1952, Gaultier started his career at Pierre Cardin at the age of just 18. He has gone on to rise to the top of the fashion world with his own label, ruffling industry feathers and dressing huge stars – including Madonna in the now-infamous bustier – along the way.

Hear him discuss his childhood inspirations, his love of British eccentricity and his vision for the future of the fashion industry in our podcast.

Malala Yousafzai's activist work championing the educational rights of girls led to her being shot by a Taliban gunman in 2012, when she was just 15 – but she refused to be silenced.

She came to the Southbank Centre to launch her memoir I Am Malala on Sunday 20 October 2013, appearing in conversation with former Southbank Centre Artistic Director Jude Kelly. The following year, Yousafzai became the youngest ever Nobel laureate.

In our recording of that talk, hear Yousafzai speak about sibling rivalry, her love for the landscape of her home in Pakistan's Swat Valley, and, of course, her belief in the power of education.

'We need to change the ideology. We need to tell people what the real power is. You are not powerful if you have a gun, because through guns you can only kill. You are powerful when you have a book, when you have a pen, because through pens you can save lives. And that's the change that we want to bring in our society.'