A History Untold: Presented by Maro Itoje

A strong advocate for education and the Black Curriculum, the theme of the exhibition was conceptualised by Itoje and inspired by his personal experience of schooling on Black history.

A History Untold features new work by six African and Diaspora artists. These works celebrate Black history and the contributions Black figures have made to civilisation and society across the centuries. From the origins of mathematics to jazz, the exhibition reveals lesser-known stories and addresses the oversimplified history of colonialism in the current system through a post-colonial lens.

Presented across both floors of the gallery, A History Untold features works by African artists Giggs Kgole, Djakou Kassi Nathalie, Steve Ekpenisi and Damilola Okhoya on the top floor and an immersive installation featuring sculpture and sound by British-Ghanaian artists Adelaide Damoah and Peter Adjaye on the ground floor.

"Throughout my time in school I learnt very little about Africa and black history and it was only upon leaving formal education that I began to discover the colossal contribution it has had to the world we live in today. By celebrating black history and the black contribution to society, A History Untold aims to underline the importance of including more black history on the British national curriculum so young people growing up have a wider and more informed view of the world, breaking down biases that currently exist." – Maro Itoje, England Rugby player and philanthropist.

“It’s never been more urgent to question the history we’ve been taught and consider what we know from different perspectives, in order to disrupt and transform the inequalities that flagrant omissions and mistruths have caused. This show seeks to challenge viewers to adopt a more critical approach to history through the lens of African artists on the continent and the Diaspora, whilst celebrating fundamental fields of knowledge that source their root in Africa.” – Lisa Anderson, Curator.

Signature African Art will donate 15% of the proceeds generated from A History Untold to local and national community initiatives including a series of public art projects, which aim to raise awareness of the gaps in the current curriculum.

A History Untold aims to educate audiences and invites viewers to consider the history they have been taught. It seeks to inspire change in the curriculum and hope in the liberatory force of education.

A History Untold celebrates an inclusive, post-colonial historical education by telling stories from multiple African and African Diaspora perspectives. Giggs Kgole, known for his engaging 3D artworks, explores the role South African jazz played in shaping communities such as the Black cultural hub Sophiatown, which was destroyed under apartheid and eventually rebuilt. For A History Untold, Kgole transports viewers to the town, creating a 3D musical scene using collage which brings to life Zimbabwean and South African jazz legends Oliver Mtukudzi and Hugh Masekela.

Djakou Kassi Nathalie shares the story of Africa’s contribution to mathematics through the Ishango bone, one of the oldest mathematical artifacts to be discovered which dates back to the Upper Palaeolithic Period of human history over 20,000 years ago. A skilled ceramicist, Nathalie has created a clay sculpture of the bone comprising traditional African masks and surrounded by dice for this exhibition.

Contemporary sculptor Steve Ekpenisi who embraces metal and discarded objects as a primary medium, highlights the significance of African metallurgy which is believed to have forged the path for the Industrial Revolution. For A History Untold, Ekpenisi portrays a 5-foot-tall sculpture of an African blacksmith in the process of making iron.

Multidisciplinary artist Damilola Okhoya reveals the final untold African story in the exhibition, focusing on the theme of the power of paper. Okhoya’s work examines Queen Amanirenas and the Meroitic script – one of the oldest writing systems in Africa – as well as the city of Timbuktu in Mali, formerly a centre of learning and education in the 14th century, which brought students from across the region to its universities and libraries.

Adelaide Damoah and Peter Adjaye’s collaborative work represents an African Diasporic perspective that pays tribute to their shared Ghanaian ancestry. Their multi-media sculptural installation and soundscape takes over the entire ground floor of the gallery. The sculpture is formed of a 4.2 metre canvas featuring repeated imagery of Adelaide’s paternal ancestor who lived during the colonial era of the British Gold Coast (present day Ghana) and fought during World War II. Wrapped around a supporting structure, the sculpture alludes to an ancestral tree, whilst evoking traditional Ghanaian, funerary attire. Peter Adjaye’s immersive six channel soundscape, a cinematic journey of intrigue and drama featuring ancient west African percussion and dialogue between Adelaide and her father, activates the structure. Combined, these elements powerfully reframe the history of Ghanaian colonialism and African diasporic experience through image and sound, on the artists’ terms.