S.M.I.L.E-ing Boys Southside Exhibition
Date and time
Welcome to the opening night of the S.M.I.L.E-ing Boys Southside Exhibition, curated and produced by Kay Rufai
About this event
Welcome to the S.M.I.L.E-ing Boys Southside Exhibition Launch at the Southside shopping centre! Join us for an evening celebrating unbridled Black Joy through portraits, videos and a talk from the artist and participants.
What is the S.M.I.L.E-ing Boys Project?
The S.M.I.L.E-ing Boys Project addresses the mental health needs of black boys while challenging the negative portrayal of this demographic in the media through creative arts workshops using photography, poetry, film and discussions in a co-creative collaborative process within schools. The project uses these mediums to empower the participants to explore themes around race, identity, masculinity, sexuality and mental health. The project is a public health response to rising levels of serious youth violence and the media portrayal of black boys and men as perpetrators and victims.
The 18 portraits on display are a culmination of an 8-week long series of workshops with 60 Black boys from Ark Putney, St John Bosco & Ark Bolingbroke schools in Wandsworth. The project is funded by Wandsworth council, Paul Hamlyn Foundation & Nike.
About the artist
Kay Adekunle Rufai is a Photographer, Poet, Filmmaker, Author, Mental Health researcher, founder of the internationally acclaimed S.M.I.L.E-ing Boys project & The 1st Artist in Residence for a police force in the UK . He has spent the past 8 years exploring public health approach to violence reduction, mental health, masculinity and community cohesion through art, photography, educational workshops and public speaking. A great deal of his work has directly engaged diverse communities, minority groups, inmates, gang members, refugee and displaced groups of people as well as collaboratively creating bodies of work with them. His work has been featured in The Guardian, BBC, The Voice and various news outlets.
Tickets are FREE, so do share with advocates, supporters, funders and interested parties invested in the mission of the S.M.I.L.E-ing Boys Project.
This event will take place in-person at the Southside Shopping centre, Wandsworth London, SW18 4TF 6.00pm - 9pm
Can’t make this event? No worries! The exhibit will still be available to view at sSouthside shopping centre from the 9th – 25th Feb 2022.
Follow us on Instagram for more @smilingboysproject
