‘The Congregation’ – an evening of conversation, film and audio

‘The Congregation’ puts twenty scenes celebrating figures and histories that have shaped Brixton into conversation with one another. Loewe’s new work for Brixton Underground station pays tribute to the culture of the local area, a focal point for the UK’s Black community over the past 75-years. This event brings to life these conversations, addressing gaps in archives and public memory that shaped Loewe’s research for the artwork. 

SisterMatic is a Black lesbian-run sound system who have been known for offering much-needed lesbian nightlife in the Brixton area, and beyond, since the mid-1980s; TfL Train Operator CJ Rivers is depicted in The Congregation with their child, and activist Marcia Rigg appears in ‘Holding the Flame’, a virtual statue created by Aswarm in memory of her brother, Sean Rigg, who died in police custody at Brixton Police Station in 2008.

Alongside the speakers, an excerpt from Mogniss Abdallah & Ken Fero’s 1991 film ‘Britain’s Black Legacy’ and digital presentation of Aswarm’s virtual statue ‘Holding the Flame’, made for the square outside Brixton Police Station, will expand on the themes of Loewe’s commission. These materials foreground events including the 1981 Brixton Uprising, and the work of social justice and anti-racism campaigners and organisers led by women and queer people, asking: who has shaped Brixton’s public space? And, who is visible in the telling of these histories?  

About Rudy Loewe 

Rudy Loewe (b.1987) is a visual artist living in London, UK. Loewe’s work examines socio-political dynamics and narrates histories collected through archival research, weaving in African and Caribbean folklore. Through media such as painting, drawing, and sculpture, Loewe unravels British government operations attempting to dismantle Caribbean black resistance movements during the 1960s and ‘70s as part of their ongoing PhD research. Anansi, the trickster, is a recurrent character in Loewe’s work, whom they envisage as a gender-nonconforming shapeshifter. Loewe questions who amongst us is forced to shapeshift to survive. 

About Eddie Lockhart and Yvonne Taylor of SisterMatic  

Eddie Lockhart and Yvonne Taylor are founding members of SisterMatic, a sound system which started in the 1980s providing a safe space for Black Lesbian women. This then grew into intergenerational queer nightlife in Brixton and other areas of London. 

About CJ Rivers 

CJ Rivers is a parent and TfL Train Operator who lives and works in London, and grew up in Trinidad and Tobago.   

About Marcia Rigg 

Marcia Rigg is the sister of Sean Rigg who died in custody at Brixton police station in 2008.  She is a political activist on the issues of mental health and policing in the UK. 

Accessibility at the Ritzy

• The screening will take place in Screen 2 which is on the second floor and accessible via lifts
• Screen 2 has two wheelchair spaces, both are positioned on the front row
• The Ritzy offers headphones for those with impaired hearing
• Guide dogs are welcome. If you are bringing a guide dog please let us know in advance via [email protected] so that we can reserve an aisle seat
• Customer toilets are on the ground floor and the first floor. An adapted toilet for wheelchair users is located on the ground floor on the main corridor to the screens
• To discuss any other access adjustments please email [email protected]

Image credit: ‘Gospel Singer’, Horst A. Friedrichs ©. Courtesy Lambeth Archives