Mountain High Archive Deep: 10th Annual Huntley Conference

Artists, poets, musicians and storytellers will unite to deliver a celebration of Black British identity through the lens of the younger generation at the 10th Annual Huntley Conference - the highlight of a series of scheduled events to accompany the ground-breaking exhibition ‘No Colour Bar: Black British Art in Action 1960-1990’ which is on display at the Guildhall Art Gallery in the City of London until 24th January 2016.

The archives of leading Black rights activists and publishers Eric and Jessica Huntley form the impetus for the ‘No Colour Bar’ exhibition, one of the most comprehensive surveys of Black British cultural heritage in recent years. Taking inspiration from the exhibition, the conference is the 10th to be organised by the Friends of the Huntley Archives at the London Metropolitan Archives (FHALMA) in partnership with the LMA and an ideal opportunity for a wider audience to engage with the archives and the issues they present.

What can you see?

From cornrows to afro, Clarks to Nike, representation is how we walk, talk and dress. This year sees FHALMA’s Next Generation of young volunteers (NextGen) take over the total authorship of the conference with an inter-generational approach focusing on the history of creating and distributing positive and representational black imagery. The programme for the conference digs deep into the Huntley Archives and its collections, recasting and re-contextualising Black British cultural production from the 1950s through to the 1990s. It reconsiders the resonance that they hold – examining the ongoing impact of those important narratives and themes in present day Britain.

Highlights of the 10th Annual Conference:

• Contributors include activist and publisher Eric Huntley, artists Sonia Boyce and Larry Achiampong and graphic designer and illustrator Justina Bailey.
• Taking cues from seminal works of black activist visual and literary fiction, such as Andrew Salkey’s ‘Anancy’s Score’, the conference asks how today’s artists and makers are redefining activism and expressing agency.
• Mountain High, Archive Deep: an invitation to all ages to dig into the archives to discover what was then, and celebrate what is now.
• Taster guided tours of the ‘No Colour Bar: Black British Art in Action 1960 to 1990’ exhibition throughout the day.
• The Award-winning David Idowu Choir will conclude the conference with a rousing performance of ‘Ain’t No Mountain High Enough’ that is sure to inspire action for a long time yet.

Dr Margaret Andrews, Chair of FHALMA, comments, “As one of the treasures of the City of London, the contents of the Huntley Archives will attract the interest of present and future generations, not only in London but nationally and internationally. I am confident that the next ten years of Huntley Conferences will further promote engagement with Black British archives and demonstrate the educational, inspirational, professional, career and volunteer potentials of engaging with archives.”

This project is made possible with the support of the London Metropolitan Archives (LMA) and ‘No Colour Bar’ is supported by Arts Council England and its extended programme is generously supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF).