Gallery Talk: Benji Reid in Conversation with Jarelle Francis

An informal discussion with award winning artist Benji Reid about his artistic practice and creative journey. Step inside the world of acclaimed multi-disciplinary artist and photographer Benji Reid for a special conversation with Jarelle Francis, Curator and Founder of Meadow. Together, they’ll explore Reid’s distinctive artistic practice and the ideas, inspirations, and conceptual framework behind the striking works exhibited in the exhibition Spotlight: Benji Reid. This intimate discussion offers a unique opportunity to gain deeper insight into the exhibition directly from the artist. The talk will take place on the ground floor of the gallery: for access information see here. Please note that seating is not guaranteed for all ticket holders. If you have any concerns or enquiries, please contact [email protected] The exhibition opens 3rd September and continues until 3rd October, 2026. More information here About Benji Reid Benji Reid’s vision as Performer and Creative Director has made him an Award Winning and senior contributor to the Black Physical Theatre canon over the last 30 years. Having produced and performed over 30 works for international cultural institutions led by The National Theatre, Birmingham Rep, PS122 (New York) and Sydney Opera House. Merging his performance success with photography, Reid began producing images in 2012. Benji’s work was exhibited as part of Get Up, Stand Up Now at Somerset House, June 2019. His works have also been shown in MoCADA (Museum of Contemporary African Diasporan Arts), New York, as part of the 2019 exhibition Styles of Resistance: From the Corner to the Catwalk. Reid’s first solo show A Thousand Words was exhibited at Contact Theatre, Manchester in 2016. In 2020 and in 2021, he exhibited his solo exhibition Laugh at Gravity at October Gallery in London. In 2022 his work was included in Fayre Share Fayre, at the Whitworth Art Gallery, Manchester; the same year, his photograph Holding on to Daddy (2016) (winner of the Wellcome Photography Prize, 2020 Mental Health category) featured at Bethlem Museum of the Mind Exhibition, London. 2023 marked Reid's return to theatre with a work that combines his photographic practice with his previous career in the performing arts. Find Your Eyes, a meditation on the creative process, premiered at Manchester Academy in Summer 2023. Audiences witnessed Reid constructing his images live, revealing the craft, physical discipline and emotional courage behind each photograph. The highly acclaimed work subsequently appeared during the 60th Venice Biennale in 2024 and at Sadler’s Wells in 2025. The performance went on tour and had its Arab World Premiere at NYUAD The Arts Centre, Abu Dhabi, in September 2025. About Jarelle Francis Jarelle Francis is a London based curator and founder of Meadow. He holds an MA in Curating Contemporary Art from the Royal College of Art where he was the recipient of the Frank Bowling Scholarship. He has previously worked for the Centre for British Photography and currently works as an Exhibitions Assistant at Tate. His independent curatorial work has led him to work with artists like Dennis Morris and organisations including the Bernie Grant Arts Centre and Kensington and Chelsea Art Week. In 2023, he founded Meadow to work with interdisciplinary artists to produce new solo exhibitions. So far he has worked with Roisin Jones, Cairo Girls School, Suley, Dohyun Baek and Raza Tariq. The ethos is to show contemporary practice in an experimental manner, pushing the boundaries of what is happening within the arts at the moment, and helps artists to expand their practice. October Gallery Trust has nurtured and promoted extraordinary artists from a multitude of cultures — long before such global perspectives became common practice. The gallery has been widely valued as a nexus for artistic, intellectual and ecological collaboration, supported by a rich cross-cultural education programme. As we look ahead, we do so with the same pioneering spirit that defined our beginnings. Your support helps us continue offering individuals and communities a welcoming, globally minded oasis. A small donation of £5 will help preserve our historic gallery as a sanctuary for creativity, ecology and learning. Please donate by clicking the link here.