John Akomfrah: Listening All Night To The Rain marks the UK presentation of a major new multimedia installation by Sir John Akomfrah RA, one of Britain’s most influential contemporary artists and filmmakers. Originally commissioned for the British Pavilion at the 60th Venice Biennale, this powerful exhibition expands his investigation into memory, migration, racial injustice and climate change. The multi-screen, time-based work dissolves the boundaries between sound and image, encouraging visitors to experience history through a sensory and rhythmic engagement rather than conventional visual narratives.
Akomfrah’s installation foregrounds the idea of listening as an act of cultural and political agency — what he calls “acoustemology,” where sound becomes a means of knowing, remembering, and protesting. The work also intertwines personal and collective histories, exploring diasporic identity and the legacies of colonialism through poetic sequences that collapse space and time. Situated within the historic Walker Art Gallery, this exhibition offers an immersive experience connecting contemporary artistic thought with long-standing histories of race and place