Paul Mellon Centre | Maud Sulter: The Centre of the Frame, A Panel Discussion

Livestream from Cambridge: 16.00 – 17.30

Panel
Gilane Tawadros (Chair), Chief Executive of DACS
Laura Castagnini, Curator and Writer
Dionne Sparks, Artist, Teacher and Zabat sitter
Marcia Michael, Artist and PhD student
Evan Ifekoya, Artist and energy worker

Organised to coincide with the exhibition Maud Sulter: The Centre of the Frame at the New Hall Art Collection, Murray Edwards College, Cambridge, this panel focuses on the life, work and legacy of Scottish-Ghanaian artist, Maud Sulter (1960–2008). Featuring curators, researchers and artists, the discussion will explore the multi-disciplinary nature of Sulter’s practice which crossed different mediums but was rooted in questioning the representation of Black women in art and literature. The panel accompanies Maud Sulter: The Centre of the Frame, which brings together Sulter’s iconic photographic series Zabat (1989). The series, which the artist called a ‘diasporan family portrait’, features photographs of contemporary Black female figures dressed as the Greek muses. The panel will include reflections on Sulter’s process of creating Zabat, her interest in the history of photography and portraiture, and her challenging of the role of model and muse. It will explore her network of female collaborators and life-long passion for supporting Black women, as well as her self-identity as a Black lesbian woman. Taking an expanded view of her practice, it will consider the importance of drama, sound and performance in her work and exhibitions and the way in which she collaborated with practitioners in different creative fields.

Image Credit: Maud Sulter: The Centre of the Frame, New Hall Art Collection, 2021-22. Photograph by Wilf Speller