The Empire’s Old Clothes – Publication Launch and Screening
Screening (booking required):
- Date: Friday 19 May 2026, 18:00 – 20:00
- RSVP: Click here to RSVP on Eventbrite
Location:
- Main Gallery, Second Floor, Screening Space
- BACKLIT, Alfred House, Ashley Street, Nottingham, NG3 1JG
Click here for directions and information on access. If you have any questions on access, please email [email protected]. We will be happy to help.
Join us for a screening and publication launch event of The Empire’s Old Clothes, a short, non-linear film by Priya Mistry, that confronts the enduring myths and propaganda of the so-called British Empire.
Moving through histories of eugenics, the invention of the gender binary, enslavement and exoticisation, and the role of technology from early film photography to contemporary AI, the work exposes how these legacies persist today, shaping experiences of racism and ableism in post-Empire Brexit Britain.
Both a provocation and an invitation, The Empire’s Old Clothes asks us to rethink and rewrite inherited histories, and to consider what it means to take action against racism.
At this event, we will screen the full film (15 minutes), alongside the launch of Mistry’s new publication of the same title — featuring rich imagery, artist quotes, and documentation from the associated exhibition at Attenborough Arts Centre (2025).
With thanks to Arts Council England, Unlimited, and Disability Arts Online.
Priya Mistry is a Midlands-based artist, socially engaged practitioner and creative producer–curator working under the pseudonym whatsthebigmistry. Their practice spans visual art, performance, film, and live and digital work, and is known for being witty, bold and often provocative.
@whatsthebigmistry // whatsthebigmistry.com