Vanley Burke

Life Between Islands review – a mind-altering portrait of British Caribbean life through art

Seventy years of tumultuous to-and-fro between grey Britain and the golden Caribbean, belonging and exile, power this crucial, enthralling show

Laura Cumming

05, Dec, 2021 @1:00 PM

Life Between Islands review: displaying the power and passion of Caribbean-British art

Resistance and defiance and celebrations, arrivals, departures and returns: from photographs of protests to a Union Black flag, this timely show is an unmissable testament to creativity

Adrian Searle

29, Nov, 2021 @6:38 PM

‘We’re not just passing through’: how photographer Vanley Burke immortalised black Britain

Raised in Jamaica, Burke has spent half a century documenting the lives of black people in Birmingham, from parties and weddings to funerals and anti-racist marches. And his work is far from over

Lanre Bakare

12, Aug, 2021 @9:00 AM

Pride, power, pedals and protest: black British photographers pick a best shot

Black Lives Matter has underlined the crucial role played by black photographers. We asked eight British leaders in their field to pick a favourite image from their archives – and explain why it’s so important to them

02, Jul, 2020 @5:00 AM

Winford Fagan in Handsworth, Birmingham, 1970

‘I think it has become so memorable because of the flag: we were black British, and to see a black person with the flag in that way is surprising’

Winford Fagan

11, Sep, 2015 @3:00 PM

Playing house: why Vanley Burke moved his entire flat into a gallery

The godfather of black British photography has upped sticks and recreated his flat, item by item, into a Birmingham art gallery. A dig through the mixtapes and tribal masks reveals a fascinating alternative history of black Britain

Hannah Ellis-Petersen

21, Jul, 2015 @1:55 PM

This week’s new exhibitions

Robert Clark & Skye Sherwin

17, Jul, 2015 @12:00 PM

Toronto's Contact photography festival: 10 shows to see

With over 1,500 artists in 175 venues, the world’s premier photography festival can be an overwhelming feast for the eyes. Here’s what you shouldn’t miss

Shaun Pett

01, May, 2015 @5:56 PM

Vanley Burke's best shot: African Liberation Day in Birmingham, 1977

'It was a unique moment for black people in Britain. This was the first time there'd been such a large gathering without riot vans'

Interview by Karin Andreasson

25, Jun, 2014 @3:00 PM

For the record

Award-winning photographer Vanley Burke set out to record the impact on the local community of the Aston 'drive-by' gangland shootings. The images that dominate the front pages of newspapers are only part of the story, he tells Steve Sampson.

30, Mar, 2005 @1:15 AM

Changing focus

Chris Arnot on two photographers whose pioneering visions have chronicled the black experience in an inner-city area of Birmingham.

Chris Arnot

25, Sep, 2002 @1:03 AM

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