The Global Impact of the First World War

The Head & The Load combined music, dance, film projections, mechanised sculptures and shadow play to tell the story of the millions of African porters and carriers who were involved in the First World War. The world premiere of this major new work was staged in Tate Modern’s Turbine Hall.

Taking its title from the Ghanaian proverb, ‘the head and the load are the troubles of the neck,’ William Kentridge’s most ambitious project to date drew on every aspect of his practice: drawing, printmaking, painting, sculpting, performance and filmmaking.

Kentridge is a remarkably versatile artist whose evocative vision combines the political with the poetic. Dealing with subjects as sobering as colonialism and totalitarianism, his highly personal work is often imbued with lyrical undertones and references to his native South Africa.

Working alongside his longtime collaborator Philip Miller, one of South Africa’s leading composers, this celebrated artist created a stunning audiovisual monument to those who died for a cause that was not their own.

In early 1917, the SS Mendi set sail from Cape Town, taking hundreds of black South African volunteers to support the Allied forces fighting in France. But early in the morning of 21 February 1917, the Mendi collided with a cargo ship amid thick fog in the English Channel south of the Isle of Wight and sank, killing 616 South Africans and 30 of the Mendi‘s crew.

The world premiere of SS Mendi Dancing the Death Drill was presented at Nuffield Southampton Theatres in Southampton from 29 June-14 July 2018. It received critical acclaim.

Projected onto three screens, Mimesis: African Soldier tells a story of vast scope and enormous courage. It commemorates and celebrates the African men and women whose suffering has been neglected for too long.

In May 2016, over 50,000 people experienced Dr. Blighty at Brighton’s Royal Pavilion Gardens.

Created by award-winning arts company Nutkhut for Brighton Festival, which celebrated its 50th festival that year, Dr Blighty threw a spotlight on the Indians who travelled across the world to fight for the Allies during the First World War.

Between 1914 and 1916, Brighton’s Royal Pavilion Estate was used as a hospital for Indian servicemen who had been wounded on the Western Front.

Dr. Blighty threw a spotlight on the Indians who travelled across the world to fight for the Allies during the First World War.

More than one million men travelled from India to fight in World War One, and the collective experiences of these volunteer forces constitute one of the great untold stories in military history.

The hospital installation was complemented by a series of related performances and participatory outreach activities, bringing back to life this moving episode in Brighton’s history.

This special concert reunited the Orchestra alongside Albarn and other guest performers to highlight and celebrate the remarkable music and culture of Syria.

As a result of the on-going conflict, many members of the Orchestra have been forced to leave their country.

Artists from Britain and Syria were joined by performers from Algeria, Lebanon, Mali, Mauritania, Senegal, Tunisia and the United States at Southbank Centre.

Yinka Shonibare MBE, one of the leading artists working in the UK, explored how new alliances forged in the First World War changed British society and continue to affect us today.