John Akomfrah: Listening All Night To The Rain

Our struggle is also a struggle of memory against forgetting… – 'Choosing The Margin As A Space Of Radical Openness' (1989), Bell Hooks (1952-2021) British artist John Akomfrah opens the U.S. premiere of Listening All Night To The Rain, the critically acclaimed work first commissioned for the British Pavilion at La Biennale di Venezia in 2024. Akomfrah brings a focused iteration to New York, debuting the central multi-channel film, Canto VI, which traces pivotal moments in the histories of colonised nations, focusing on the independence movements and uprisings that swept Africa and Asia from the 1940s to the 1970s, as well as the parallel history of women's struggle for liberation. The presentation at Lisson Gallery coincides with Akomfrah's continued engagement with histories of resistance in the United States; alongside this exhibition, The Baltimore Museum of Art and the Menil Collection have co-commissioned John Akomfrah: The Hour Of The Dog, an immersive multi-channel film installation exploring non-violent civil rights protests of the 1960s, including the work of young activists from the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC). The project premiered at the BMA in November 2025 and travels to the Menil Collection from April 2026.