We sat down to talk to Kaia Charles, the curator of Another England: Mapping 100 Years of Black and Asian History which was displayed at NOW Gallery in November.

“We had archival imagery and new pieces that were commissioned for this exhibition on display. The contemporary commissions are so lovely to show how these communities are represented today. It’s across the UK but a lot of these images are focused on London because that’s where a lot of these communities were first based,” says Kaia. Another England is a project that Historic England launched over a year ago and it maps places of significance to black and asian communities.

“The new commissions are from artists that I find really interesting. They expand on themes that we know the archive touches on. It’s evident when you walk around the exhibition that they’re in such a dialogue with the archive images. It’s so important to document this history that’s still in living memory. The amazing images of Olive Morris from the Squatter’s Handbook are so incredible. She wasn’t celebrated in her short lifetime so it’s amazing to showcase her work. She endured a lot. It shows us how important it is to conserve these archives.”

If you missed it, the photography can be viewed on the NOW Gallery website.