Catch up TV
2022: Sonia Boyce: Finding Her Voice
Alan Yentob follows acclaimed artist Sonia Boyce as she prepares to make history as the first black woman to represent Great Britain at the Venice Biennale. Why does that matter? Because this historic, sprawling exhibition is widely seen as the most prestigious and influential showcase of contemporary art in the world. The pressure is on for Sonia to pull off the biggest exhibition of her career.\n\nHer Venice Pavilion is inspired by a passion project she has been obsessed with for over 20 years. Called the ‘Devotional Collection’, it’s a massive archive of memorabilia relating to the contributions of black women in the British music industry, and Sonia is bringing many of her collected names to Venice.\n\nThis insightful and timely film charts the two months leading up to the Biennale’s opening week, and also explores Sonia’s 40-year evolution as an artist. Beginning with the large-scale pastel depictions of herself that announced the arrival of a major new talent back in the 1980s, and looking at her experiments with interactive sculptures made of hair in the 1990s, the film ends with what fascinates Sonia Boyce today: performance art created through improvisation, play and experimental\nsinging.\n\nSonia finds herself part of a wider conversation at this year’s Biennale. Her close friend and former Brixton neighbour Zineb Sedira is the first artist of Algerian heritage to represent France, and her former pupil Alberta Whittle is making history as the first black woman to represent Scotland. For the first time in its history, women artists dominate the Biennale. Could this be a moment of fundamental change not only for Sonia Boyce, but for contemporary art history?
Source: BBC 4
Most recent episodes of imagine...
Imagine...
2021: Kazuo Ishiguro: Remembering And Forgetting
Filmed during lockdown, Alan Yentob invites us into the intriguing world of award-winning novelist Kazuo Ishiguro. The only living British author to hold the Nobel Prize in Lite ...
13-03-2025
BBC 4
Imagine...
2024/25: The Academy Of Armando
Alan Yentob profiles the stellar career of one of the great satirists of our age, Armando Iannucci, whose impressive body of work includes The Day Today, The Thick of It, Veep, ...
12-03-2025
BBC 4
Imagine...
Vincent Van Gogh: Painted With Words
Drama-documentary presented by Alan Yentob, with Benedict Cumberbatch in the lead role as Van Gogh. \n\nEvery word spoken by the actors in this film is sourced from the letters ...
15-10-2024
BBC 4
Imagine...
2019: 3. Bill Viola: The Road To St Paul's
Bill Viola is renowned the world over as a pioneer of video art. As the Royal Academy in London mounts a major exhibition of his vast and immersive installations, alongside work ...
04-08-2024
BBC 4
Imagine...
2019: 4. Edna O'brien: Fearful And Fearless
Edna O’Brien is one of the greatest literary talents and rule breakers of her generation. In 1960, her revolutionary debut novel ‘The Country Girls’ broke down ...
29-07-2024
BBC 4
Imagine...
Autumn 2016: Listen To Me Marlon
Stevan Riley's award-winning documentary Listen to Me Marlon uses hundreds of hours of Marlon Brando's own archival audio tapes and home movie footage, combined with excerpts fr ...
06-07-2024
BBC 4
Imagine...
Winter 2017/18: 5. Ingrid Bergman In Her Own Words
Widely regarded as one of the greatest actresses of the 20th century, Ingrid Bergman's talent was matched only by her incandescent screen presence. From her infamous performance ...
16-06-2024
BBC 4
Imagine...
Winter 2012: 1. Ian Rankin And The Case Of The Disappearing Detective
Britain's most successful crime writer, Ian Rankin, invites imagine... to get up close and personal and follow him as he writes his next novel. \n\nMaverick cop DI John Rebus pr ...
15-06-2024
BBC 4
Most popular episodes of imagine...
Imagine...
2022: 2. Labi Siffre: This Is My Song
Alan Yentob presents a film exploring the life and work of the Ivor Novello Award-winning black British singer-songwriter Labi Siffre. An enigmatic and reclusive talent, Siffre ...
14-02-2022
BBC 4
Imagine...
2018: Becoming Cary Grant
Cary Grant was one of Hollywood's greatest leading men - suave, sophisticated and as comfortable in romantic comedies as he was in iconic Hitchcock thrillers. imagine...Becoming ...
12-05-2022
BBC 4
Imagine...
Summer 2014 - Rio 50 Degrees: Carry On Carioca
As Brazil prepares to host the Fifa World Cup this summer and the Olympic Games in 2016, imagine... explores the cultural and social history of the city of Rio de Janeiro.
18-05-2014
BBC 4
Imagine...
2019: 5. Faith Ringgold: Tell It Like It Is
Harlem-born artist, author and activist Faith Ringgold painted some of the most truthful and empowering representations of African Americans during the civil rights and women&rs ...
05-05-2024
BBC 4
Imagine...
2023: The Factory: Made In Manchester
imagine... tells the story of Manchester’s colossal new cultural venue - Aviva Studios - the home of Factory International and the Manchester International Festival.\n\nWi ...
11-12-2023
BBC 4
Imagine...
2021: Bernardine Evaristo: Never Give Up
Alan Yentob explores the remarkable life and work of the trailblazing Anglo-Nigerian author Bernardine Evaristo, whose Booker Prize-winning novel Girl, Woman, Other has become a ...
26-10-2023
BBC 4