In the first of its brand-new series of Arts Council Collection National Partner exhibitions, Firstsite is staging Super Black – an exhibition that asks, ‘What does it mean to be black in England today?’.

Led by people from Essex’s black community, the exhibition presents artworks from the Arts Council Collection, alongside new work by Southend-based artist, Elsa James, and objects from the Vanley Burke Archive.

In creating the exhibition, Elsa has been joined by Lawrence Walker, Chair of Black History Month Colchester, Rachel Walton, co-founder of African Families in the UK (AFiUK), and Simone McLean and Yasmin Carr, of Colchester-based S&S Caribbean Café.

The artworks they have chosen for the exhibition reflect the group’s discussions, consisting of pieces that they feel give an expression of black consciousness, and the representation of black artists in galleries across the UK.

Super Black in discussion

The Super Black group  discuss what it’s like to be black in Britain today

Find out more about the Arts Council Collection National Partners Programme.