Southside Shopping Centre unveils Black History Month celebrations at Southside Shopping Centre

Southside Shopping Centre in
Wandsworth is celebrating Black History Month, with a programme of cultural
events, live performances, and a community led art exhibition aligned with 2026’s
event theme, Honouring Our Communities.

Celebrating the people,
stories, and everyday contributions that shape Wandsworth, the centre has
transformed into a vibrant cultural hub to honour shared heritage and empower
the local community.

At the heart of the
celebrations is a powerful photography exhibition featuring local Black
students from Ark Putney Academy. Created by artist and researcher Kay Rufai,
the exhibition showcases participants from his S.M.I.L.E-ing Boys and
S.M.I.L.E-ing Girls project, following a series of mental health and identity
workshops funded by Southside Shopping Centre.

The programme provided 27
young people, 15 girls and 12 boys, with a safe, interactive space to explore
identity, mental health, stereotypes, and belonging through games, poetry,
photography, and open discussion.

The exhibition is the first
time in the UK that portraits from the S.M.I.L.E-ing Girls programme have been
displayed alongside those of the boys, with the images on display for the
duration of October in front of Waitrose.  

Alongside the exhibition,
Southside will be hosting a vibrant lineup of events to highlight the
creativity, culture and heritage within the community.

Running throughout October, the Black Culture Market will
be showcasing a range of independent Black-owned businesses, offering unique
crafts, fashion, beauty products, and artisanal goods.

On Saturday 3^rd October, guests visiting the
Wandsworth shopping centre are invited to listen to the uplifting rhythms of
Shumba Steelband - a 4-piece steel pan band performing live on the Piazza between
1pm-6pm. Performances will take place throughout the day, infusing the centre
with the joyful melodic sounds of the Caribbean.

On Saturday 17^th October, Pointe Black, a
non-profit community ballet company, will perform ‘Evergreen’ between 1pm and
4pm. Blending classical ballet with African and Caribbean influences, Pointe
Black is a global movement with outreach projects spanning from South London to
Guatemala. The ‘Evergreen’ performance will explore the duality of elements
through dynamic choreography, as a representation of ancestral wisdom through
the wonder of nature.