Outernet London showcases one of the most comprehensive Notting Hill Carnival photo archives on its giant screens to mark 60 years of Carnival Carnival 60: Ian Watts at Outernet is an immersive installation using the Notting Hill Carnival photo archive of renowned and award winning photographer Ian Watts. Ian’s photography was transformed into an incredible […]
“ I am passionate about my work and enjoy capturing people’s lives, thoughts and experiences. I work hard to ensure I bring empathy and an understanding eye to the subjects I am either filming or photographing, whoever they are. ”
Among the first words I said at an exclusive little photography workshop on the east coast last year were: “I don’t give a sh*t about your photographs.” They were not my best-chosen words ever.
As part of the Black History Season at Outernet in conjunction with Camden’s Black History month in October 2025, award-winning filmmaker and photographer Ian Watts unveiled a powerful new photographic installation at Outernet, capturing 40 years of Notting Hill Carnival through his lens. The installation showcases a vibrant mix of black-and-white and colour photography, chronicling the evolution of Carnival […]
Photographic presentation at the Victoria and Albert Museum, London in association with the V&A Photography Academy. The event showcased unseen 1980s photographs documenting UK Black community resilience and global activism, with a talk exploring Watts’ personal archive from the 1980s, highlighting the tension between political rebellion and cultural renaissance, particularly within London’s Black communities. (March […]
This vibrant exhibition presented a compelling visual archive of Notting Hill Carnival from the late 1970s to the present, as documented by British-Jamaican photographer Ian Watts. His photographs capture the essence of Carnival’s dynamic cultural expressions, while challenging the persistent marginalisation of its significance within broader socio-political narratives. A dedicated carnivalist, Watts emphasises the […]
Filmmaker and photographer Ian Watts presented a large-scale photographic installation, Carnival Through the Lens of Ian Watts, at Outernet, London’s most visited cultural destination, as part of its Black History Season in October 2025, in collaboration with Camden’s Black History Month. The exhibition immersed audiences in the rhythm, energy, and cultural heartbeat of one of […]
Road Make to Walk: Remembering 1976, photo exhibition documenting a seminal Carnival at The Tabernacle in West London, the spiritual home of Notting Hill Carnival. (June 2026)
Rhythm Kitchen permanent installation exhibition London (May 2018) Black Sound Exhibition Black Cultural Archives (April–November 2017) Bernie Grant Arts Centre, Tottenham (April 2018–December 2019) Red October Exhibition Liverpool (October 2017) Masquerading: The Art of the Notting Hill Carnival Photo exhibition sponsored by the Arts Council of Great Britain (1986)
Images from the Black Sound exhibition at the Black Cultural Archives. (April–November 2017)