Documenting Black Britain

Ahead of their ICA Video Library Gallery Tour and Scanning Social at the ICA on 16 March, submissions-based archive Black in the Day share some images from their archive.

Black in the Day (BITD) is a submission-based archive documenting the lives and experiences of black people in the UK over the decades. Since its launch in July 2016 it has received over 400 submissions, and continues to work towards improving the representation of the black community. We are creating a platform for the pictures to exist and share a honest and accurate representation of the many black experiences across the UK. We want to be able to serve as an educational platform for future generations. By asking people to source and share these photos, we want to encourage intergenerational conversations within families and communities. It is an ongoing project using photos submitted via our website, email or scanning social events.

Black in the Day Scanning Socials are an opportunity for guests to get their photos scanned by the team, learn more about the project and to socialise with their peers while our resident DJ controls the vibe. Scanning Socials are vital because they take the important work BITD does for the black community offline and move it to a real life space. They encourage conversations about the black experience in the UK, celebrate the history and forms new and important relationships between guests. We hope to see you there on 16 March! ■