What kind of a year has 2024 been for you?
It has been a madly busy year with so much going on. Looking back I can’t believe how much I have done and how busy I’ve been with barely any time to look up. I’m very, very lucky that I have extremely supportive colleagues where I teach in Camberwell who have made everything possible by being so incredibly flexible. It has been an incredible year.
What would you say has been your major achievement this year and why?
It is hard to choose just one single thing as the major achievement. I would say it was managing to get through the whole year without anything (including myself) collapsing. It has been a complete rollercoaster moving from one project to the next without much time to rest in between – but absolutely fantastic. Obviously it has only been possible thanks to all the amazing people who have worked with me and/or facilitated each project and event.
The standout things would include the making of work for Love of a Long Vocation for Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, and A Little Slice of Paradise and A Taste of Home for Art on the Underground. Each of these commissions involved working with different communities who were either invisible or misrepresented.
I was also delighted to be selected to show work at Ray Triennial of Photography in Frankfurt, Landskrona Photography Festival and most recently in The 80s: Photographing Britain exhibition at Tate Britain.
My publication Shining Lights: Black Women Photographers in 1980s-’90s Britain was launched at the beginning of the year and has been very well received, winning the Paris Photo-Aperture PhotoBook Award for Catalogue of the Year.
I was also awarded an Honorary Professorship from Norwich University of the Arts. This is a special achievement not least because I’ve worked in art education since 1986. Art education is precious to individuals and society – almost everything we see, touch, feel, or desire has a direct line to a creative practice.
What has changed for the better?
The most significant improvement is simply being busy and getting paid. While it’s not vast amounts, it’s enough to cover my rent and bills, which has allowed me to stop worrying about day-to-day financial pressures. That kind of stability is crucial for maintaining and developing my practice.
What do you wish had happened this year, but didn’t?
I really wish we had gone on a family holiday. While these trips can sometimes be challenging, I find them hugely enjoyable overall. They’re such a great opportunity to properly catch up with everyone over meals and drinks, rather than relying on hurried phone calls and brief texts.
Is there anything you’d like to have done this year but haven’t?
I think spending more time with my close friends – some I haven’t seen for a very long time and in some cases not since 2019. What is great is the way that time falls away as soon as you are in the same room and it is like the last time you met was yesterday.
What are your plans for 2025?
My primary focus will be on my exhibition at Whitechapel Gallery, London which opens in October 2025. Over the next few months – and likely throughout the year – my work will centre on preparing for that show. I also hope to successfully complete a new commission that ties together over 20 years of research, connecting threads across three continents.
Top image: Joy Gregory, pictured in front of her installation A Taste of Home, 2024. Heathrow Terminal 4 Underground station. Commissioned by Art on the Underground. Photo: Thierry Bal
