Topher Campbell is an artist filmmaker and writer who has created a range of works in broadcasting,

film A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are generally, sinc ...

theatre Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors to present experiences of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a Stage (theatre), stage. The performe ...

television Television (TV) is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. Additionally, the term can refer to a physical television set rather than the medium of transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...

performance A performance is an act or process of staging or presenting a play, concert, or other form of entertainment. It is also defined as the action or process of carrying out or accomplishing an action, task, or function. Performance has evolved glo ...

, installation,

exhibitions An exhibition, in the most general sense, is an organized presentation and display of a selection of items. In practice, exhibitions usually occur within a cultural or educational setting such as a museum, art gallery, park, library, exhibition ...

and

archive An archive is an accumulation of historical records or materials, in any medium, or the physical facility in which they are located. Archives contain primary source documents that have accumulated over the course of an individual or organ ...

. His works explores sexuality, masculinity, memoir afro-futurism and the city, particularly in relation to feelings sensations emotions and climate change. Campbell is a Fellow of the

Royal Society of Arts The Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce, commonly known as the Royal Society of Arts (RSA), is a learned society that champions innovation and progress across a multitude of sectors by fostering creativity, s ...

, and a past recipient of the Jerwood Directors Award (2005). He holds an honorary doctorate from the

University of Sussex The University of Sussex is a public university, public research university, research university located in Falmer, East Sussex, England. It lies mostly within the city boundaries of Brighton and Hove. Its large campus site is surrounded by the ...

for his work in the arts and Black LGBTQ advocacy.

Early life

Campbell was born in

Coventry Coventry ( or rarely ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands county, in England, on the River Sherbourne. Coventry had been a large settlement for centurie ...

, England, to a Jamaican mother and an unknown African-American Father. Campbell has referred to his parents' relationship as "a love affair between his mother and a handsome stranger". His mother abandoned Campbell after a breakdown at the age of one and he would not reunite with her until he was 13 years old. He was raised in the National Children's Home (now

Action for Children Action for Children (formerly National Children's Home) is a United Kingdom, UK children's charity created to help vulnerable children and young people and their families in the UK. The charity has 7,000 staff and volunteers who operate over 4 ...

) in Sutton Coldfield

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...

. In his 20's, Campbell was a "club kid " on the scene in London, Paris and New York, and worked as a model. He was the first member of his family to go to University, attending the

and graduating with a bachelor's degree in

intellectual history Intellectual history (also the history of ideas) is the study of the history of human thought and of intellectuals, people who conceptualization, conceptualize, discuss, write about, and concern themselves with ideas. The investigative premise of ...

. In 2017, he was awarded an

Honorary Doctorate An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or '' ad hon ...

by the University of Sussex for his work; it is the first Honorary Doctorate to be given to an openly Black Queer man in the UK. Campbell has described himself as "acutely shy throughout is20's and into is30's", which caused him to learn to establish himself as "commanding decisive and clear" in "professional settings".

Career

As an actor he has starred in Isaac Julien's ''Trussed'', Campbell X's ''Stud Life'', and Ian Poitier's ''Oh Happy Day''. He is a former artistic director of

The Red Room Theatre Company The Red Room Theatre Company is a theatre company based in London, United Kingdom. In the 1990s, it was an important venue for new play writing. Description It was founded in 1995 by Lisa Goldman as a voluntary organization and became regular ...

and past chair of the Independent Theatre Council UK. In 2000, he co-founded rukus! Federation a Black LGBTQ Arts collective with the artist Ajamu X. In 2017, he was longlisted for the Spread the Word's inaugural Life Writing Prize for his forthcoming memoir ''Battyman''. He is currently on the board of Marlborough Productions

Theatre

Campbell was selected for the prestigious Regional Theatre Young Directors Training Scheme at the age of 24. He was the first Black director to be awarded on the scheme. He is a former artistic director of

and past chair of the Independent Theatre Council UK. The Red Room was an experimental theatre company dedicated to challenging the status quo through innovative work and collaborations. It was also a founder company of a series of performance research projects across Europe called the @worknetork that included Theatre and Performance companies from Sweden, Denmark, Germany, Greece and Portugal. As artistic director he created The Oikos Project, an artist led conversation about climate change and activism including play commissions, community engagement and a new installation. This also included a collaboration with the

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs, and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

Martin Kaltwasser to create the UK's first fully functioning recycled theatre and installation art work, The Jellyfish Theatre. The Jellyfish Theatre was nominated for the AKA What's On Stage Theatre Event of the Year Award, 2011 and the Architects Journal Small Projects Award. Other work includes ''Unstated'', a multi-media installation and performance, the ''Poverty Project,'' and the Red Room Platforms, a series of interactive arts and politics interventions. Film Campbell's films have appeared in festivals worldwide. His first film, ''The Homecoming'' (1995) about the artist and photographer

Ajamu X Ajamu X (born 1963 in Huddersfield) is a British artist, curator, archivist and activist. He is best known for his fine art photography which explores same-sex desire, and the Black male body, and his work as an archivist and activist to docume ...

commissioned by Black Arts Video Project, is a meditation on Black masculinity and sexuality, themes Campbell has continued to explore throughout his work.^:282

''Fetish'' (2018)

In 2018 Videojam and The

Barbican A barbican (from ) is a fortified outpost or fortified gateway, such as at an outer defense perimeter of a city or castle, or any tower situated over a gate or bridge which was used for defensive purposes. Europe Medieval Europeans typically b ...

commissioned Campbell to create work for them. The resulting piece, ''FETISH'', was inspired by the works of

Jean-Michel Basquiat Jean-Michel Basquiat (; December 22, 1960 – August 12, 1988) was an American artist who rose to success during the 1980s as part of the neo-expressionism movement. Basquiat first achieved notoriety in the late 1970s as part of the graffiti ...

. In it, Campbell walks naked through the streets of New York City. Describing his process, Campbell stated:

FETISH came about because I wanted to express more complex, nuanced and creative notions of my space in the world whilst also honouring the fallen. It's a film that I willed into being as a place for me to reflect on all the different masculinities and femininities inside of me and to offer a vision of humanity and humanness; amongst all the violence and degradation.

The work reflected the challenges of walking through the city, and generally navigating space as a Black person. He considered the work a dual journey, a protest on the streets of Manhattan, as well as an artistic journey for the audience viewing the film. It was created in collaboration with 2014

Mercury Music Prize The Mercury Prize, formerly called the Mercury Music Prize, is an annual Music award, music prize awarded for the best album released by a musical act from the Music of the United Kingdom, United Kingdom or Music of Ireland, Ireland. It was cre ...

winners

Young Fathers Young Fathers are a Scottish Progressive rap, progressive hip hop group formed in Edinburgh in 2008. Their second EP, ''Tape Two'' (2013), won the Scottish Album of the Year Award. In 2014, they won the Barclaycard Mercury Prize, Mercury Prize ...

. Campbell moved into television directing in 2004 after completing the BBC Doctors Directing Course. He went on to direct episode of Doctors for two years. He then directed Eastenders between 2007 and 2010. Other directing credits include Una Marson Our Last Caribbean Voice for BBC and Moments that Shaped Black Queer Britain for BET/Paramount. Artist Campbell has pursued an art career alongside his directing work. He created The Book of Politics for Transform Festival in Leeds. His work in theatre has continually experimented with installation. site specific spaces and mixed media experiences. He was awarded the Prospect Cottage Residency in 2022 and invited to screen ''Fetish'' at the

British School at Rome The British School at Rome (BSR) is a British interdisciplinary research centre supporting the arts, humanities and architecture established in Rome. Historical and archaeological study are at the core of its activities. History The British Sc ...

. Tate Modern In 2024, Campbell was invited by

Tate Modern Tate Modern is an art gallery in London, housing the United Kingdom's national collection of international Modern art, modern and contemporary art (created from or after 1900). It forms part of the Tate group together with Tate Britain, Tate Live ...

to create an installation for the Transformer Rooms. ''My Rukus! Heart'' is an exploration of sexuality, the Black Queer Body, memory and an archive of emotion’ there is humour, sex and the preservation of Black queer life.

rukus! Federation

In June 2000, Campbell and

founded rukus! Federation, a Black Queer arts charity dedicated to presenting the best in work by Black Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer (BLGBTQ) artists.^:277 The name, which "is a derivative of the word 'raucous and also draws on the name "Rukus . . . a well-known African-American porn star" was chosen in order to "present he artists'politics more playfully".^:277 In 2005 the rukus! archive project was launched. Originally, they "wanted to call it the Black, Lesbian, and Gay ''Queer'' Archive" but the Charity Commission "objected to the word queer, because some people might find it offensive" and the name was changed. Housed at the

London Metropolitan Archives The London Archives (previously known as the Greater London Record Office 1965–1997, and London Metropolitan Archives 1997–2024) is the principal local government archive repository for the Greater London area, including the City of London ...

, Campbell and Ajamu X founded the archive to:

collect, preserve, exhibit, and otherwise make available for the first time to the public historical, cultural, and artistic materials related to the Black lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender communities in the United Kingdom.

It is the UK's first and only archive dedicated to Black LGBTQ artists. In 2008 it received the London Metropolitan Archives' Archive Landmark Award. Projects related to the archive include the play ''Mangina Monologues''. In 2024 Topher Curated Making A rukus! a dynamic exhibition for

Somerset House Somerset House is a large neoclassical architecture, neoclassical building complex situated on the south side of the Strand, London, Strand in central London, overlooking the River Thames, just east of Waterloo Bridge. The Georgian era quadran ...

. Making A rukus! told the story fo the origins of rukus! Federation as an arts project culminating in the rukus! Archive

Influences

Campbell has cited

Derek Jarman Michael Derek Elworthy Jarman (31 January 1942 – 19 February 1994) was an English artist, film maker, costume designer, stage designer, writer, poet, gardener, and gay rights activist. Biography Jarman was born at the Royal Victoria Nursing ...

, Isaac Julien and James Baldwin as important influences on his work.^:282 He has also drawn on academic thinking "around Black mainstream identity politics around hybridity, and notions of difference and diversity, as defined by Black artists", for example,

Sonia Boyce Dame Sonia Dawn Boyce (born 1962) is a British British African-Caribbean community, Afro-Caribbean artist and educator who lives and works in London. She is a Professor of Black Art and Design at University of the Arts London. Boyce's research ...

Radio

*''Talking Huck Finn'' (2001) –

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. The station replaced the BBC Home Service on 30 September 1967 and broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes from the BBC's headquarters at Broadcasti ...

*''Facing Leicester Square'' (2002)

BBC Radio 3 BBC Radio 3 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It replaced the BBC Third Programme in 1967 and broadcasts classical music and opera, with jazz, world music, Radio drama, drama, High culture, culture and the arts ...

Plays

*''Blood Knot (Derby Playhouse)'' (1990) *''

Woza Albert ''Woza Albert!'' ("Come Albert!") is a satirical South African political play written by Percy Mtwa, Mbongeni Ngema, and Barney Simon in 1981 and first performed at the Market Theatre in Johannesburg. The play is a two-man show that contains ...

'' (1991) *''Necklaces (Talawa Theatre Company)'' (1992) *''Flamingo Theatre London'' (1992) *''Moor Masterpieces (West Yorkshire Playhouse)'' (1996) *''Wicked Games – (West Yorkshire Playhouse)'' (1996) *''Good Copy – (West Yorkshire Playhouse)'' (1996) *''Jar the Floor – (West Yorkshire Playhouse)'' (1997) *''Pantheaon of the Gods – (Young Vic Theatre)'' (2001) *''Dead Funny – (Nottingham Playhouse)'' (2001) *''Unstated'' (2008) *''

Oikos ''Oikos'' ( ; : ) was, in Ancient Greece, two related but distinct concepts: the family and the family's house. Its meaning shifted even within texts. The ''oikos'' was the basic unit of society in most Greek city-states. For regular Attic_G ...

'' (2010) *''

Protozoa Protozoa (: protozoan or protozoon; alternative plural: protozoans) are a polyphyletic group of single-celled eukaryotes, either free-living or parasitic, that feed on organic matter such as other microorganisms or organic debris. Historically ...

'' (2010)

Filmography

As director

As actor

As writer

*''For Coloured Boys'' *''Black and Gay in the UK'' *''On Freedom: Powerful Polemics by Supporters of Belarus Free Theatre'' *''Brothas 2.0 part or Outlaws to Inlaws'' (Kings Head Theatre London)

As executive producer

*''Oikos, a Journey in Wood'' (2010)

Awards

*Jerwood Directors Award (2005) *

Award (2008) *Small Projects Award (2010) *Nominated for the Urban Intervention Award 2010 *Nomination for the AKA Theatre Event of the Year Award