Made By She: SANKOFA Exhibition

Bae Tokyo and Ultra Super New Gallery team up with Nigerian-American artist Amarachi Nwosu on a Black History month exhibition and screening in Tokyo, Japan under their Made By She series. Her exhibition ‘Untold Stories Of The Diaspora’ will commemorate the expansion of black narratives and the act of artist taking ownership over stories on their community by creating new stories that shape history. 

The Exhibition included a photo story shot in Cape, Coast Ghana called Sankfofa and Amarachi’s Black In Tokyo documentary, released under Melanin Unscripted. This will mark the first time since the films release that it is screened in Japan and with Japanese translation. Born from the collaboration between Bae Tokyo and the UltraSuperNew Gallery, Made by She’s mission is to foster a safe space where all can converse, think and grow by sharing experiences with each other. The exhibition series was created to support women and the LGBTQ community globally and to help create impactful change. 

Featured art theme : 

The exhibition is called “Untold Stories Of The Diaspora” because it represents the ability to reimagine black narratives by creating new history. On one hand the photo exhibition will focus on the rebirth of narratives of the past like slavery, while the Black in Tokyo focuses on the present and future by expanding the narrative of what blackness is today and how black culture has transcended across borders as a result of a unique history. 

Created with the intention of transforming narratives on slavery, ‘Sankofa’ which translates to Going Back to Forgotten Gems, is a photo story that takes the viewer on a journey through Cape Coast Castle where thousands of slaves were captured and held captive by western colonizers. Rather than reproducing the narrative of black inferiority, which the castle often represents, the story shows three models reclaiming the space and its meaning and places the female character as an empowered protagonist in a space where many black women were berated and placed at the bottom of the social ladder. Sankofa teaches us that we must go back to our roots in order to move forward. Amarachi believes the power of imagery is able to transform how we see ourselves in context to the world. While the past cannot be changed, she wants us to use visuals as a way to to help spark and educate the minds that will shape the future.