The amazing story of 500 years of Black music in Britain is being told through a new exhibition just launched at Portsmouth’s Central Library.
Inspired by the British Library’s new Beyond the Bassline exhibition, Central Library in Guildhall Square is hosting a free panel display which is open now and runs until 25 August.
It explores the people, places and genres that have formed the soundtrack to British life for five centuries. The display highlights music as a form of entertainment and a vehicle for community, as well as a source of liberation, protest and education. It spotlights clubs, carnivals and community hubs from across the country that have cultivated creative expression and inspired a number of black British music genres.
The exhibition will be brought to life by a talk by Simon Hudson, the author of ‘History Through the Black experience’, on Tuesday 25 June at 7pm. Tickets available from Portsmouth Central Library or online from 7 May at https://www.wegottickets.com/portsmouthbookfest.
A Portsmouth City Council spokesperson said
“Portsmouth Library and Archive Service is delighted to be working with the British Library on their incredible exhibition. Portsmouth is a city with a rich musical history and a diverse culture, and this exhibition has something to appeal to everyone.”
Dr Aleema Gray, lead curator of Beyond the Bassline at the British Library, said:
“The exhibition represents a timely opportunity to broaden our understanding of Black British music and situate it within a historical conversation. Black British music is more than a soundtrack. It has formed part of an expansive cultural industry that transformed British culture.”
Portsmouth is one of over 30 local library displays as part of the Living Knowledge Network, a UK‑wide partnership of national and public libraries, which supports libraries to expand people’s access to inspiring experiences and share the UK’s national heritage. Founded by the British Library with the National Library of Scotland and the National Library of Wales, the network is the only one of its kind in the UK. See streams of free events, exhibitions and workshops: www.LKN-events.co.uk.