Today, October 1st, marks the beginning of Black History Month – a thirty-one-day celebration to commemorate and celebrate the history and present of the African diaspora. The event in its current incarnation began in the US in 1970 and was first observed in the UK in 1987. The theme for Black History Month for 2024 is ‘reclaiming narratives’ underscoring the event’s commitment to correcting histories and shining a light on untold stories, to better represent and understand the contributions and complexities of Black heritage.

One of many celebratory events taking place this month includes Conversations, at the Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool, bringing together work by more than fifty Black women and non-binary artists. Among them is Sumuyya Khader, an upcoming Liverpool-based painter and illustrator who produces bold, blocky graphic illustrations and printed works for protest posters and book covers, social enterprises, and artist-led groups, as well as minimalist paintings in acrylic, working in both figurative and abstract modes. This dipytch portrays two figures close up, seen from behind – a subtle gesture of reclamation as the subjects maintain their power in autonomy, their gaze turned away from the viewer.

Khader is also the founder of Granby Press, a community-based organisation focusing on printed matter and design, and is in the process of collecting an archive of black culture and history in the L8 area of Liverpool. Conversations opens on 19 October and runs to 9 March 2025.

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