The Maud Sulter Annual Lecture with Joy Gregory
5 – 6.30pm Thursday 22nd October
Reid Lecture Theatre
Free but ticketed – Book via Glasgow Women’s Library here
Street Level Photoworks in partnership with Glasgow Women’s Library, The Glasgow School of Art and Many Studios is delighted to welcome award-winning artist Joy Gregory to deliver The Maud Sulter Annual Lecture.
Joy Gregory is an award-winning artist specialising in photography, renowned for her exploration of identity politics and beauty culture. A graduate of Manchester Polytechnic and the Royal College of Art, she has exhibited extensively in the UK and internationally, participating in numerous biennales and festivals. Her work is held in major public and private collections, including the Victoria and Albert Museum, the UK Government Art Collection, the Institute of Modern Art, Brisbane, and Yale University.
Gregory was the recipient of the 2023 Freelands Award. Her major retrospective, Catching Flies with Honey, opened at the Whitechapel Gallery in October 2025, accompanied by a publication of the same title. The exhibition is currently touring and will open at Arnolfini in October 2026 as part of the Bristol Festival of Photography.
She is also the editor of Shining Lights, an anthology of Black British women's photography from the 1980s and 1990s, published by MACK in collaboration with Autograph. The project was originally conceived in 1987 with Araba Mercer. Researching and assembling the images for the book led to Gregory's first encounter with Maud Sulter, who was already making a significant impact as a confident and formidable presence in the art world. Gregory and Sulter also both exhibited at the first Johannesburg Biennale, Africus (1995), although in different exhibitions.
In addition to the lecture, Gregory will host a salon at Glasgow Women’s Library in the east end of the city, designed to support emerging women of colour creatives. This relaxed and informal gathering offers a unique opportunity to learn from and be in conversation with one of the UK’s most innovative artists working with photography today.
The Annual Maud Sulter Lecture is presented by Street Level Photoworks, Glasgow Women’s Library, and The Glasgow School of Art. The series aims to build on Sulter’s legacy by providing a platform for Black and Women of Colour creatives who knew Sulter; can speak to the context she worked in; discuss her work; place her work in a wider field of practice; have crossovers in their practice; or discuss how Sulter’s legacy has impacted their own approach. In this way, the Annual Maud Sulter Lecture aims to keep the reach of her work alive.
Part of Black History Month and the Season of Photography 2026, a celebration of photography in Scotland running from 1 September – 20 December 2026.
Banner Image: Salamanca (1992) © Joy Gregory. Courtesy of the artist.
Left Image: Portrait of Joy Gregory © Tara Jang