Through talks and presentations, Watts shares insight into his archive and the wider cultural narratives embedded within his work. Camden Town Hall (October 2025) In Conversation with Art Curator Lisa Anderson, presented alongside the Outernet exhibition and organised by Camden Council V&A Academy, Victoria and Albert Museum (March 2025) – Black Photography:1980s Rebellion to Renaissance Through the Lens […]
“ 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.
Aside from his photographic work, Ian is a BAFTA, RTS and Grierson award-winning director of photography with extensive experience filming documentaries, history, factual, entertainment, music and arts programmes. He has worked with all the main UK broadcasters including the BBC, ITV, Channels Four and Five, Sky and international broadcasters such as Disney, National Geographic, Oprah […]
Ian has shot and provided photographs for a wide variety of music, fiction and arts books, plus media publications over the last two decades. Behind the Masquerade: The Story of Notting Hill Carnival Book published by Art Media Group, 1988 By Kwesi Owusu and Jacob Ross. Photographs by David A. Bailey, Jacob Ross, and Ian […]
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 […]
Ian’s photographs have appeared on album covers and promotional materials for a range of soul, reggae, and African music stars, including Stevie Wonder, Fela Kuti, Kintone and Revelation. Fela Kuti Box Set #5 Several of Ian’s photographs of the late Afrobeat musician Fela Kuti, were used on the vinyl record album Fela Box Set #5, which was co-curated by […]
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 […]
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)