still from Khush (Pratibha Parmar, 1991), courtesy of the artist

8 March 2024, Clore Auditorium, Tate Britain

The ground-breaking films of Pratibha Parmar have been raising issues central to feminism over many decades: from the rights of marginalised women and the LGBTQ community, her work has made the voices and experiences of women of colour heard through feature film works, television documentaries and short films. ‘My passion is firmly focused at the intersections of art and social justice as well as smart entertainment. I have always been compelled to tell stories of people relegated to the margins of mainstream culture. I get excited by collaborating with like-minded humans creating moving images, building different kinds of worlds and possibilities and disrupting existing paradigms. I especially love telling stories with strong female characters.’

A screening focuses on Parmar’s iconic video works from the 1980s and 1990s, Emergence(1986), A Place of Rage (1991) and Khush (1991), accompanied by insights from the director, in conversation with the artist Lubaina Himid.

Programme

Emergence (Pratibha Parmar, 1986), 18 mins, 16mm/digital

A Place of Rage (Pratibha Parmar, 1991) 54 mins, 16mm/digital

Khush (Pratibha Parmar, 1991), 24mins, 16mm/digital

Through a Radical Lens is a moving image programme takes up the themes of Tate Britain’s current exhibition ‘Women in Revolt: Art, Activism and the Women Movement in the UK 1970-1990’ by a series of screening showing the film and videos practices of UK based feminist artists then and now. The Clore auditorium, and other London venues such as the BFI Southbank and Chelsea Space, become spaces for debate around moving image works already well regarded or rarely seen, screening archival restorations beside works recently made. The screenings and conversations of Through A Radical Lens revisit urgencies of the 1970s and 1980s which are still current today.

Programmed by Lucy Reynolds, with curatorial contributions from Club des Femmes, Karen di Franco for Chelsea Space, and Rachel Garfield and Will Fowler at BFI Southbank. 

For more information, visit tate.org.uk or book tickets here.