National Museum Cardiff hosts first UK presentation of Sir John Akomfrah's Listening All Night To The Rain
John Akomfrah; Listening All Night To The Rain, 2024 (still). Multi-channel HD video installation with surround sound. Commissioned by the British Council for the 60th International Art Exhibition, La Biennale di Venezia, 2024. © Smoking Dogs Films; Courtesy Smoking Dogs Films and Lisson Gallery.
CARDIFF.—
Sir John Akomfrah’s Listening All Night To The Rain is a multimedia installation which was commissioned by the British Council for the British Pavillion at the 60th Venice Biennale in 2024. Amgueddfa Cymru is the first venue to host the exhibition as it tours across the UK.
This profound work was originally presented in Venice as a series of eight overlapping works, known as ‘Cantos’. Amgueddfa Cymru is delighted to present Cantos IV, V and VI at National Museum Cardiff from 24 May – 7 September 2025, with the tour supported by the British Council and Art Fund.
Akomfrah, who lives and works in London, is renowned for his influence on experimental film and the study of colonial history and racialised identity. This work is no exception. Beautiful imagery is contrasted with painful truths as the pieces weave together narratives of migration, rebellion, activism, discrimination and environmental impact. It pays homage to marginalised voices including the Windrush generation and reflects on pivotal moments in colonial and post-colonial history.
Each multi-layered piece incorporates newly filmed material alongside archival video footage and still images, weaved together with rhythmic sounds, audio clips and text. This deeply immersive and reflective exploration encourages the act of listening as a form of activism.
Alongside Listening All Night To The Rain, National Museum Cardiff will also show a selection of work by Welsh artist Sean Edwards that featured in his exhibition Undo Things Done when he represented Wales at the 58th Venice Biennale in 2019.
This new display references the artist’s upbringing on a Cardiff council estate in the 1980s, capturing and translating what he calls a condition of ‘not expecting much’ into a shared visual language; one that evokes a way of living familiar to many. Work from Edwards’ Venice Biennale exhibition was acquired by Amgueddfa Cymru for the national collection, and this will be the first time that the work will be presented at National Museum Cardiff.
Amgueddfa Cymru’s Director of Collections and Research, Dr Kath Davies, said: ‘Listening All Night To The Rain is a poignant and deeply reflective piece which draws on events in our shared human histories that have shaped and affect how we see and experience the world. We are honoured that National Museum Cardiff will be the first UK venue and are grateful to the British Council for supporting this tour. We are also pleased to be presenting work that featured in Sean Edwards’s Undo Things Done alongside Sir John Akomfrah’s installation. Having been originally presented at the Venice Biennale, both exhibitions are testament to the calibre of Welsh and British contemporary artists within an international context.’
Tickets for Listening All Night To The Rain (24 May 2025 – 7 September 2025) are free to book.
