About
Billy Dosanjh is a critically acclaimed artist whose work is rooted in the de-industrialised landscapes of the Black Country, in the Midlands.
He employs film, photography, sculpture, printmaking and painting to humanise marginalised narratives and challenge systems of power. From postwar South Asian immigrant stories to the landscapes of the de-industrialised Black Country, Dosanjh's practice bridges personal diaspora with global critiques of empire.
A BAFTA voting member with works in 24 national collections — including recent acquisition of Dayshift (2019) and film Year Zero: Black Country (2013) by the Arts Council Collection — Dosanjh's art demands accountability for progress's human and environmental costs, evolving from early documentaries to expansive visions of overlooked worlds.
He is founder and Creative Director of Reimagining Industrial Migratory Stories CIC, an art production house that reframes the cultures and experiences of empire workers through moving image, fine art photography, and site-specific immersive experiences.
"I make art that revels in diaspora worlds. It comes from a place of connection with the stories and storytellers of cultures from elsewhere. I'm inspired by Smethwick, my hometown, and its surrounding Black Country areas. To this day my practice stays rooted in what many locals argue is the centre of the modern world. I tap into lived experiences, moments out of ordinary consciousness, to open doorways into liminal spaces at the edges of culture and society."
Education
MA Documentary Directing, National Film and Television School. Associate Lecturer in Screen Doc at Goldsmiths, University of London.
Awards & Nominations
RBSA Photography Exhibition First Prize 2023 (Dayshift & Seamstress). Film London Lodestar. Derek Jarman Artist Film Award. Satyajit Ray Award. Grierson Award nomination. Royal Television Society Award.
Broadcast
Green Lions (BBC4, DAZN), Sikhs of Smethwick (BBC4), A Very British History (BBC4, multi-part series, 2 seasons).
Collections
Works held in 24 national collections including the Arts Council Collection (Dayshift, 2019; Year Zero: Black Country, 2013) and the Contemporary Arts Society (Seamstress).
Grants & Funding
The National Lottery Heritage Fund, Arts Council England (4 direct awards), Sandwell Council, Creative Black Country, Birmingham Rep Theatre, New Art Exchange, UnLtd, BBC Films, BFI, FLAMIN / Film London, DAZN.
"In postwar Britain, we have yet to develop a set of cohesive stories around the South Asian immigrant experience… By firmly planting his artistic project in the working class, post-industrial, communities of South Asian heritage in the Black Country, Dosanjh has taken on the task of creating a new form of 'settler art'. In our post-Brexit times of divisive anti-immigrant rhetoric, echoing Enoch Powell, and often most stridently voiced by UK-born politicians from South Asian heritage immigrant families, Dosanjh's artistic project seems not just timely, but an urgent cultural conversation. Without settling the past, there is no clear way forward."
— Hammad Nasar, co-curator of British Art Show 9 and Principal Research Fellow at the Decolonising Arts Institute, UAL
"Dosanjh's work occupies a fascinating territory that is informed by Euro-American art theory, but resolutely remains 'from the culture [of the region]', revealing a new language and perspective. Dosanjh's practice also contributes to and contemporises the little explored and emerging areas of 'newfoundland' and 'settler art'… by fundamentally speaking to the universal migratory experience."
— Melanie Kidd, Curator and Head of Programmes, New Art Exchange, 2022
Selected Talks & Interviews
- Kaleidoscope: Q&A with Filmmaker Billy Dosanjh — Somerset House
- In Conversation with Melanie Kidd — New Art Exchange, Nottingham
- In Conversation with Deborah Robinson — The New Art Gallery Walsall
- FLAMIN / Film London Masterclass: An Introduction to Artists Working With Film
- Mind the Gaps — Flatpack Film Festival Talk