Beyond The Bassline recognised at Museums + Heritage Awards and Cultural Enterprise Awards
Beyond the Bassline: 500 years of Black British Music has been shortlisted for best Temporary or Touring Exhibition of the Year (budget more than £80k) at the Museums + Heritage Awards.
Launched in 2002, the awards are a major recognition in the museum world, celebrating projects that push the boundaries of how history and culture are shared with the public.
The exhibition has also won Best Publication for their accompanying book Beyond the Bassline: 500 Years of Black British Music at the Cultural Enterprise Awards for this year. The book is edited by Paul Bradshaw and features an introduction by exhibition curators Dr. Aleema Gray and Mykaell Riley.
This award highlights excellence in publications created by cultural organisations, and is a testament to the team’s ability to capture the spirit of the exhibition onto the written page, translating centuries of history, creativity, and resilience for audiences everywhere to experience.
This time last year, the exhibition opened at the British Library, a historic moment as the first major exhibition to document 500 years of the rich musical journey of African and Caribbean people in Britain. Amongst the sound archives, artefacts, and performances on display, is our short film Of Us, directed by Liara Barussi.
As the Welsh partner in the exhibition, our film shared an untold perspective into one of the UK’s oldest Black communities, based in Tiger Bay in Cardiff, and gave audiences a glimpse into an often forgotten part of Black British history.
Thank you to Dr Aleema Grey and the British Library team for opening up this collaboration and curating an exhibition that shares the rich musical journey of African and Caribbean people in Britain. And congratulations to everyone involved, the artists, curators, researchers, and storytellers who brought it all to life.
Photos by Jim Stephenson
