At 9 Cork Street, Mayfair, two gorgeous red brick townhouses form Frieze’s only permanent exhibition space, 1980 Black women artists filled a gallery job with their work.
Conceived and independently organized by curator Faridah Folawiyo, the group show ‘Manifold’ is now in its second iteration, following its presentation in London’s Soho district last November. Then as now, it was inspired by the concept of richness and synthesis – the power of people and things to come together.
wrote a recent review of Life Between the Islands, a survey of British Caribbean art at Tate Britain, and got Flavillo – he Lived between London and Lagos, Nigeria – The Early Years – considers the art of the vast African diaspora in relation to time. In most jobs, she says, “past, present and future are all intertwined”. “So I’m just thinking about these ideas of layers and diversity, and artists who work in that way.”
When Folawiyo brought this theme into a dedicated show, she most wanted to attract people happen to be women. “Obviously, as a black woman, I have a personal bias, but it just turned into this thing ,” she said. In addition, Lubaina Himid’s curatorial work in the s, a series of London exhibitions centered on women artists of color, created an intriguing A notable precedent. “What does it mean to have all these pieces in dialogue with each other?” Folawiyo muses. “This is where the name ‘Manifold’ comes from. It’s about celebrating the diverse talents in this community and giving them the space to experiment and express themselves, with as much freedom as possible in their practice.”
For last autumn’s exhibition, Folawiyo invited Turiya Adkins, Chinaza Agbor, Oluwatobiloba Ajayi, Ayo Akingbade, Ayoade Bamgboye, Dana Cavigny, Eva Diallo, Helena Foster, Daëna Ladéesse, Olukemi Lijadu, Emmanuelle Loca-Gisquet, Fadekemi Ogunsanya, Isabel Okoro, Irene Antonia Diane Reece and Agnes Waruguru are involved – a group of 15 young and emerging artists (some of them, like Folawiyo, rooted in West Africa) working in sculpture, painting, photography and Collage work. Instead of giving tips, she started having intimate and open conversations with each of them, often on social media.
