Video Interviews
Interview The Wick x Ekow Eshun, ‘The Time is Always Now: Artists Reframe the Black Figure’
In conversation
Curator Ekow Eshun
In conversation
Curator Ekow Eshun
This Culturally Curious Hop takes you to National Portrait Gallery for its major spring exhibition The Time is Always Now: Artists Reframe the Black Figure.
Curated by Ekow Eshun, former Director of the Institute of Contemporary Arts, this exhibition explores the depiction of the Black figure within portraiture – with a focus on themes such as Double Consciousness, Persistence of History, and Kinship and Connection.
Featuring works by 22 African diasporic artists, The Time is Always Now explores the richness and complexity of Black life, celebrating the flourishing moment of Black artists while acknowledging their place within an ever-evolving artistic lineage.
On view until 19 May 2024 at National Portrait Gallery.
Curated by Ekow Eshun, former Director of the Institute of Contemporary Arts, this exhibition explores the depiction of the Black figure within portraiture – with a focus on themes such as Double Consciousness, Persistence of History, and Kinship and Connection.
Featuring works by 22 African diasporic artists, The Time is Always Now explores the richness and complexity of Black life, celebrating the flourishing moment of Black artists while acknowledging their place within an ever-evolving artistic lineage.
On view until 19 May 2024 at National Portrait Gallery.
![The Wick Culture - Duncan Grant Self-Portrait [of Duncan Grant] c.1920 (detail) Private Collection © 2026 Estate of Duncan Grant. All rights reserved, DACS](https://thewickculture.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/11/Duncan-Grant-Self-Portrait-of-Duncan-Grant-c.1920-detail-Private-Collection-©-Estate-of-Duncan-Grant-1.jpg)
