Documenting Black British Photography | Michael Akuagwu | Adobe Creative Residency | V&A

Why It Matters

By surfacing forgotten Black British photographers and fostering intergenerational mentorship, the project reshapes cultural memory and expands market opportunities for diverse creators.

Key Takeaways

• Residency sparked research into Black British photography’s “Staying Power” collection.
• Project shifted to confronting systemic amnesia via intergenerational photographer dialogues.
• Afro‑surrealist lens blends African prints, cyanotype, and physical media.
• Emphasis on tangible album booklets revives lost analog storytelling forms.
• Collaborative pairs aim to bridge cultural gaps and inspire future creators.

Summary

Michael Akuagwu, a multimedia artist and Photography Resident at the V&A, uses his tenure to spotlight Black British photography, delving into the museum’s “Staying Power” collection that documents Black British life from the 1950s to the 1990s.

His research revealed a gap in public awareness, prompting a shift toward confronting “systemic amnesia” by pairing early‑career and seasoned photographers for intergenerational dialogues. The project blends Afro‑surrealist aesthetics with African‑inspired cyanotype prints, emphasizing tangible formats like album booklets to counter digital ephemerality.

Akuagwu notes, “I love album booklets; they are lost art,” and cites the use of African prints and cyanotype as ways to re‑contextualize images. He describes photography as “raw material” for new meanings, and highlights the collaborative workshops that foster cultural exchange.

The initiative not only enriches the V&A’s narrative of Black British visual history but also creates a replicable model for museums and creators to bridge generational gaps, diversify curatorial voices, and expand audience engagement with under‑represented archives.

Original Description

Step inside the studio of multimedia artist, photographer, designer and podcaster Michael Akuagwu.

Michael invites contemplation on the world around us, exploring themes and systems that affect our culture and society today, often via the medium of self-portraiture. Utilising surrealist techniques by playing with photomanipulation, his work lives outside of reality to explore our own lived experiences.

As a self-taught creative he draws on his own experience of navigating the creative industries and is passionate about helping young people find their own pathways into creative careers.

Inspired by his research on the V&A’s Staying Power project – a collection of photographs documenting Black British life from the 1950s – 1990s – Michael uses this work as a starting point to explore forgotten histories, celebrate their contributions and add to the legacy of the project.

During his residency, he brought together early/mid-career and well-established photographers to share conversations around culture, creativity and practice. By creating a collaborative, open environment, fellow artists were able to share memories of starting points, reflect on experiences in industry and revel in their similarities and differences in the practice.

Alongside the intergenerational conversations, Michael produced a series of mixed media portraits celebrating each pair of photographers while exploring a wide variety of printing and photographic processes with the idea of the medium serving the story.

Inspired by his career in design, he often says that “photography is a great medium as a final thing but I also see it as a raw material to make things from”. The portraits include a cyanotype print that mimics African Batik printed fabric, an animated family portrait using lenticular print, a pop-up book, a house of cards and playable picture vinyl records.

Chapters:

00:00 Meet photography resident Michael Akuagwu

00:10 Black British photographers and experiences (1950s – 1990s)

00:51 Switching Focus from Afrosurrealism to Systemic Amnesia

01:20 Creating Through The Lens

02:42 Embracing physical applications of photography

03:01 Process of making portraits of photographers from through the lens

03:34 Experimentation in Photography

03:57 Navigating A Creative Career as A Second Gen Immigrant

Michael was the Photography Resident as part of the Adobe Creative Residency programme at the V&A in 2025. He is part of art and design collective ‘Rule of Thirds’, who also have a podcast of the same name discussing art, design and culture from the perspective of three Black British multi-disciplinary artists.

The Adobe Creative Residency is supported by the Adobe Foundation.

👉 Find out more about Adobe Creative Residencies: https://www.vam.ac.uk/info/residencies

👉 Visit the Adobe Creative Residencies Display at V&A South Kensington, until November 2026: https://www.vam.ac.uk/exhibitions/the-adobe-creative-residents-on-display

👉 Explore more of Michael Akuagwu’s work: https://www.manlikemike.com/

👉 Discover more about the Staying Power project: https://www.vam.ac.uk/articles/staying-power-photographs-of-black-british-experience

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