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Pan-African Cultural Encounters + Panel Discussion

Saturday 29th August 2026

Presented as part of the Barbican’s acclaimed Project a Black Planet season, Pan-African Cultural Encounters + Panel Discussion brings together a remarkable programme of films exploring the movement of people, ideas, art and culture across Africa and its global diasporas. Through rarely screened archive films and contemporary moving-image works, the event examines how artists, filmmakers and cultural movements have shaped a shared Pan-African identity across generations.

 

The afternoon opens with Le Sénégal et le Festival Mondial des Arts Nègres (1966), directed by pioneering Senegalese filmmaker Paulin Soumanou Vieyra. The documentary captures the landmark First World Festival of Black Arts held in Dakar in 1966, an extraordinary gathering of artists, writers, musicians and intellectuals from across Africa, the Caribbean, Europe and the Americas. Widely regarded as one of the defining cultural events of the twentieth century, the festival celebrated Black creativity while promoting dialogue, solidarity and international cultural exchange.

The programme then moves into the present with A Letter (Side B) by British-Ghanaian artist Larry Achiampong, whose work explores migration, family history and the experience of belonging across continents. His film reflects on memory, identity and the enduring connections between Africa and its diasporic communities, offering a deeply personal perspective on contemporary Pan-African experience.

Audiences will also see Okay Keskidee! Let Me See Inside by filmmaker Rhea Storr, inspired by London’s legendary Keskidee Centre, the UK’s first Black arts centre. The film revisits an important chapter in Black British cultural history while exploring questions of creativity, performance and community that continue to resonate today. Completing the programme is We Came Back (1969) by Ghaouti Bendeddouche, a fascinating portrait of post-independence Algeria and the optimism, artistic ambition and political imagination that characterised a generation seeking new futures after colonial rule.

Following the screenings, audiences are invited to stay for a special panel discussion hosted by archivist and film programmer Damilola Lemomu, Project Curator and Archivist at the June Givanni PanAfrican Cinema Archive (JGPACA). Joining the conversation are artists Larry Achiampong and Rhea Storr, who will explore how contemporary artists continue to navigate, reinterpret and reshape Pan-African exchange through film, archives and creative practice. The discussion will consider the continuing influence of cultural festivals, migration, artistic collaboration and shared histories in shaping Black identity across borders.

Part of the Barbican’s wider Project a Black Planet programme, which features more than fifty exhibitions, screenings, performances and public events inspired by the global history of Pan-Africanism, this unique afternoon demonstrates how cinema has long served as a powerful space for dialogue, solidarity and cultural expression. Whether you are interested in African history, Black British culture, world cinema or contemporary art, Pan-African Cultural Encounters offers an inspiring opportunity to experience films that continue to shape conversations about identity, creativity and international Black cultural exchange.

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