20/20 Reflections: Christopher Samuel

Date: Thursday 31 July
Where: Chelsea Space, London, SW1
Time: 6.30-8pm​​​​​​​

Event Timings

6.30pm: Arrival (free refreshments provided)

6.45pm: Talk and discussion (Chris and Rachel Fleming-Mulford)

7.30pm: Q&A

8.00pm: Event ends

This event will have a BSL interpreter.

Please note, photo and video recording will be taking place at this event.

If you have any additional access requirements, please email publicprogramme@arts.ac.uk.

Book a free ticket here

Artist Biography

Christopher Samuel is a Black British disabled artist whose practice is rooted in lived experience and shaped by a legacy of migration, growing up as part of the Windrush generation in London and the Midlands. Their work explores identity and disability politics, evolving in step with shifting cultural landscapes. Using humour and poetic subversiveness, they create space for difficult conversations, challenge marginalisation, and reclaim personal and political agency through storytelling.

Rachel Fleming-Mulford is a curator with more than 20 years’ experience in the visual arts and museums sectors. Her practice is artist-led and highly collaborative. It is rooted in an intersectional feminist approach that centres access, equity, and social justice. Rachel works independently and is also Associate Director (Curatorial/International) at DASH. She sits on the board of Kettle’s Yard, Cambridge.

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Watch Us Lead is an exhibition about missing stories from history. Through it, artist Christopher Samuel explores themes of stigma, belonging, and agency.

Through 9 newly recorded interviews for the city of Birmingham’s collection, Watch Us Lead highlights the experiences of disabled people of colour in Birmingham, particularly Black individuals: a largely underrepresented group within the community of the city.

The exhibition combines these stories with stained glass and drawings by Christopher that reflect significant moments in the lives of the individuals featured.

It also includes objects Christopher has selected from Birmingham's own collection, and from the Birmingham-based Midland Mencap Archive, to build a fuller picture of the historic disabled experience in the city.

This exhibition aims to spark conversations around the ongoing issues of under-representation, autonomy, and the real disabled experience.

Commission made possible by 20/20, a 3-year funded programme led by the UAL Decolonising Arts Institute, with funding from Freelands Foundation, Arts Council England and UAL.