Image: Vanley Burke 2021
About Michael Forbes
Michael Forbes lives and works in Nottingham and London.
Forbes work engages with contemporary discourses on racialised politics, migration, blackness, whiteness; underpinned by history and religion. Through media such as painting, sculpture, installation, photography, and digital works, he analysis' these concepts in depth.
Michael Forbes has exhibited nationally and internationally with exhibitions including;
2023 Want the World to Know, (solo exhibition) Saatchi Gallery, London, 2023 Ingram Art Prize, 2023 Christies' / 1-54 Transatlantic Connections: Caribbean Narratives in Contemporary Art, 2022, BLK this and BLK that... a state of urgency, at Djanogly Gallery. 2021 Space lapse, Royal Sculpture Society. 2021 The World as a Work in Progress Attenborough Arts Society, 2020 London Grads Now, Saatchi Gallery, London, 2020 Tomorrow: London, White Cube Gallery, London, Reformation at Yinka Shonibare’s Guest Projects, the Diaspora Pavilion at the Venice Biennale in 2017 and CPT: Time, History and Memory, Gallatin Galleries, New York. Alongside his artistic practice, Forbes has curated many exhibitions and supports artists’ professional development.
Forbes is a co-founder of Primary, an artist studio complex in Nottingham, where he have served as Chair of the Board of Trustees from 2006–2011 and 2017–2024. In 2018, Primary joined the Arts Council England National Portfolio, and in 2020, with support from Arts Council England and Nottingham City Council, we secured the building’s freehold, ensuring long-term studio spaces for over 50 creatives.
Forbes played a key role in establishing the New Art Exchange, Nottingham, and shaping its early programming. Additionally, He co-founded RCA Black, a platform supporting black students at the Royal College of Art through networking, mentoring, scholarships, and advocacy. He also collaborated with Nottingham Trent University to develop scholarships for black artists in their MA Fine Art programme.
Primary is an artist-led space that exists to support creative research and to develop new ways of engaging audiences. Offering dedicated artists studios alongside more flexible spaces, both within and outside the building, where artists from around the world can meet and work in the heart of Nottingham. Primary is a place where artists and the public can share, experiment and learn about contemporary visual art through an ambitious programme of events and activities.
New Art Exchange (NAE) is a contemporary arts space in Nottingham that celebrates the region's cultural richness and diversity. It is the largest gallery in the UK dedicated to culturally diverse contemporary visual arts. The venue presents an ever-changing programme of art exhibitions, creative activities for families and young people, film screenings, symposiums, lectures, festivals and a live performance programme of music, dance and theatre.
