Celebrate Black History Month at these museums and galleries

Autograph is a leading arts organisation that has played a vital role in promoting and supporting black photographic practices for over 35 years. Their central mission is to act as an agent of change by championing photography that explores race, identity and human rights, to redress gaps in photographic history and to highlight who is absent from museum collections, archives and exhibitions.

MIMA have been working to decolonise their collection, following an audit which revealed that Black artists make up only 2% of their collection. They have worked on significant research projects and exhibitions to help the museum learn from Black artists and Black communities, and to develop new approaches to collecting, conservation, interpretation and display in order to make their collection more representative and inclusive.

The Museum of Liverpool has a display titled Liverpool 8 Against Apartheid, highlighting how the city's Black community supported the anti-apartheid campaign in the 1980s through demos, product boycotts and the Free Nelson Mandela Campaign. Highlights include campaign posters, badges and photographs of community demonstrations and marches, revealing the power of activism and the importance of solidarity.

Straddling the border between Scotland and England, Paxton House is one of the finest examples of Palladian architecture in the UK. It also has direct connections to the Caribbean and slavery: its owner during the 18th century was Ninian Home, a Scottish slave plantation owner. In recent years, Paxton House have worked to reckon with this history and decolonise their collections and exhibition spaces, actively embedding the house's historical links to slavery deeper within their interpretation. They have programmed exhibitions, including a permanent display, exploring the links between the historic house and the slave trade.

Since it was founded, Bristol's Arnolfini has done incredible work to champion Black artists and embed postcolonial thinking into its exhibition programme, including significant group exhibitions such as Trophies of Empire (1992), Disrupted Borders (1993), and solo shows by Veronica Ryan, John Akomfrah and Frank Bowling.

Touchstones Rochdale, formerly Rochdale Art Gallery, had a daring and innovative approach to exhibition making and education programming in the 1980s. It focused on exhibiting artists who were engaged in critical and socio-political practice, giving a platform to those who were not given the opportunity to exhibit their work in other high profile institutions, including Sonia Boyce and Lubaina Himid. The gallery also presented its historic collection in new and critical ways, demonstrating the potential for galleries to function as a tool for social change. Touchstones Rochdale is currently closed until 2025 for an extensive redevelopment.