Professor Tina M. Campt collaborated on a “Conservatory Takeover” at the Barbican Centre in London centered around the theme “Listening to Images,” recalling her 2017 book by the same name. 

The event marked the closing weekend of the Noah Davis exhibition in the Barbican Art Gallery, the catalog of which included a contribution from Campt.

On May 11,  the all-day program transformed the conservatory into a space for collective reflection on the significance of the personal as political, and on archives as powerful sites of transformation.  

“It was deeply inspiring to be in conversation with three amazing Black British artists who spoke with eloquence and deep insight for a sold out crowd about what’s at stake for them in creating innovative artwork at a moment when black communities are contending with right wing attacks on both sides of the Atlantic." 

— Professor Tina M. Campt

Campt moderated a discussion with Grammy Award-winning artist and director Jenn Nkiru, Alberta Whittle, and Phoebe Boswell to talk about intersectional creativity and “Black Worlding,” which was followed by James Massiah’s intimate reading in the Conservatory Well of his poetry in response to the work of Noah Davis. 

A highlight of the day was the presentation of Attuning to the Frequencies of Black Life with musician THABO and artist Julianknxx performing a choral exchange of vocal and musical soundings alongside readings of Campt’s work. 

Conversation flowed organically into performance, live improvisation, and cross-collaboration in a context of thoughtful and attentive listening. Julianknxx locates this practice in the realm of the Bantutronic – a genre and philosophy founded by the poet, artist, and filmmaker, alongside musician THABO. 

“It was deeply inspiring to be in conversation with three amazing Black British artists who spoke with eloquence and deep insight for a sold out crowd about what’s at stake for them in creating innovative artwork at a moment when black communities are contending with right wing attacks on both sides of the Atlantic,” said Campt. “And it was nothing less than a revelation to collaborate with Julianknxx and THABO as they created a sonic soundscape for a reading of my work.” 

“The capacity crowd and the vernal backdrop of the greenery of the Barbican Conservatory made the event a very special experience for all,” she said.

Campt’s book, also titled Listening to Images (Duke University Press, 2017), explores a way of listening closely to photography, engaging with lost archives of historically dismissed photographs of black subjects taken throughout the black diaspora. Campt engages with photographs through sound to discover other affective frequencies. She hears in these photographs, spanning the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, a quiet intensity and quotidian practices of refusal. 

According to the publisher: “Originally intended to dehumanize, police, and restrict their subjects, these photographs convey the softly buzzing tension of colonialism, the low hum of resistance and subversion, and the anticipation and performance of a future that has yet to happen.”

“The capacity crowd and the vernal backdrop of the greenery of the Barbican Conservatory made the event a very special experience for all." 

— Professor Tina M. Campt