FORTHCOMING EXHIBITION

SOKARI DOUGLAS CAMP: Fashion & Fortune

21st May - 27th June 2026

**Sokari Douglas Camp**, *Pineapple Daisy*, 2024.
Mild steel acrylic paint. 107 x 43 x 34 cm.

**Sokari Douglas Camp**, *A La Mode*, 2025.
Mild steel, acrylic paint, coins 66 x 32 x 23 cm

This May, internationally renowned artist and sculptor, Sokari Douglas Camp CBE opens a new solo exhibition of strikingly sculptures at October Gallery. Titled Fashion and Fortune, the artist brings together large and smaller scale steel sculptures alongside selected prints. Douglas Camp, as in previous exhibitions, mines the historical records of earlier visual artists to examine power, commerce and colonialism within a broad Caribbean and, by extension, African context.

Drawing inspiration from Robert S. DuPlessis’ book The Material Atlantic, Douglas Camp explores clothing, commerce and emblems of wealth as reflected in fashion and dress. Through intricate metal figures, elaborate headdresses, and the incorporation of coins, the artist highlights both the oppression embedded in colonial systems and the creativity with which marginalized people reasserted identity and status. Furthermore, by delving into her own Nigerian family’s complex dress code, Douglas Camp deftly plays upon imbuing fabrics and modes of dress with new meanings. With these exhilarating new works presenting an impressive selection of motifs including dazzling displays of flowers and fruit, including a lively depiction of the tropical pineapple, she observes how people of diverse ethnicities, social positions and occupations impacted the emergence of a distinctive sartorial culture across the Atlantic world.

These latest sculptures tease out the complex intertwining histories of trade, colonialism and lineage, while simultaneously celebrating the resilience of the people of Africa and the African diaspora throughout the globe.

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NEWS, EVENTS & RECOMMENDATIONS

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For nearly fifty years, October Gallery Trust has nurtured and promoted extraordinary artists from a multitude of cultures, decades before it became common practice. It has historically been valued as a nexus of artistic, intellectual and ecological collaboration, aligned to a prolific cross-cultural educational programme.

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LR Vandy: Rise

14th March – 13th September, 2026 Yorkshire Sculpture Park,
The Weston Gallery

Rise is the first solo museum exhibition by LR Vandy, created for The Weston Gallery at Yorkshire Sculpture Park. Working with rope and found materials, Vandy explores power dynamics, cultural traditions and the legacies of international trade through large-scale, materially resonant installations.

Image: LR Vandy in front of Dancing in Time: The Ties That Bind Us, 2023.

Photo by Peter Carr.

El Anatsui: 'Go Back and Pick'
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View photographs and watch the Cocktail Preview Opening Speeches, whilst immersed in a explorable, high resolution recording of the exhibition
El Anatsui: 'Go Back and Pick'

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VISIT OCTOBER GALLERY

Bloomsbury, London

October Gallery has been instrumental in bringing to worldwide attention many of the world’s leading international artists, including El Anatsui, Rachid Koraïchi, Romuald Hazoumè, Nnenna Okore, Laila Shawa and Kenji Yoshida. The Gallery promotes the Transvangarde, the very best in contemporary art from around the planet, as well as maintaining a cultural hub in central London for poets, writers, intellectuals and artists, and hosts talks, performances and seminars, see www.octobergallery.co.uk/events

The rich diversity of art presented is an inspiration to collectors and enthusiasts. Institutions such as the British Museum, London; the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Centre Pompidou, Paris; Museum Kunstpalast, Düsseldorf, Germany; Neue Galerie, Kassel, Germany; Setagagya Art Museum, Tokyo, Japan have all collected works from October Gallery.

Founded in 1979, October Gallery is a charitable trust which is supported by sales of art, rental of the Gallery's unique facilities, grants from various funding bodies and the active support of dedicated artists, musicians, writers and many friends from around the world. The Gallery’s Education Department is inclusive of all ages from under 5’s to PGCE student and delivers a wide range of provision, see www.octobergalleryeducation.com

October Gallery is open from 12:30 to 17:30 pm, Tuesday to Saturday.
The Gallery is closed during official holidays and the entire month of August.

October Gallery Cafe is open from 12:30 pm – 2:30 pm, Tuesday to Friday.

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ACCESSIBILITY

There are two steps at the main entrance, each has a rise of 160mm and a 310mm tread (no handrail). The main entrance push door is 750mm wide.
Assisted or ramp access at the Gallery’s main entrance is available upon request.

Chairs can be found in the Gallery space.
The refectory is fully accessible by wheelchair.
Access to the courtyard has a 100mm ramp down coming from the corridor door.
There is also an accessible toilet in the Courtyard.

October Gallery is a Grade II listed building and therefore has no lift access to rooms above the ground floor. This includes the Theatre, the Clubroom and the first floor.

We welcome all visitors and will do our best to accommodate specific needs. Please do let us know in advance if there is anything in particular, we can help with. Call + 44 (0)20 7242 7367 or email gallery@octobergallery.co.uk preferably a day in advance.

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