Left: Bob Marley, international superstar, reggae icon and Caribbean creative genius. Picture courtesy www.MANIKUS.com

A whole generation who missed out on Bob Marley's inspirational performances are to get their chance to relive the magic of the reggae legend with a special evening talk and presentation at the 198 Gallery in Brixton, London.

The talk, hosted by the American broadcaster, writer and reggae archivist, Roger Steffens, takes place on June 5 and will feature an array of video footage and never before seen images of the reggae star.

A collaborative project between the gallery and the George Padmore Institute, the event came about as a result of a local connection - namely Brixton based reggae legend and dub poet, Linton Kwesi Johnson, as Asaka Yokowa of the 198 Gallery explained.

Right: Brixton's 198 Gallery: an international gallery with strong local ties. Picture courtesy 198 Gallery.

"Linton lives locally and is one of our patrons, and he's also very much part of the set up at the George Padmore Institute, so it's quite logical to stage the event here."

"Also, years ago when we first opened we had a large open area at the back of the gallery where there used to be live jazz events, so I suppose you could say we are returning back to our routes."

The event is also chance for the Brixton based gallery to briefly open its doors to the public during its current period of refit and expansion.

Left: when the 198 Gallery re-opens its doors in the autumn they will be presenting the second phase of their acclaimed 'Urban Vision' exhibition. Picture courtesy 198 Gallery.

"The whole space is to be redone, the gallery is being refitted with better lighting and we will have better facilities all round," said Asako. "When we re-open in the autumn it will be our fifteenth anniversary so we will have a large party and launch the second Urban Vision Exhibition."

The exhibition will be a continuation of the gallery's youth arts education project addressing social exclusion and deprivation by uniting artists with a cross-section of young people.

Until then locals deprived of a unique and vital gallery will have the chance to learn about a musical legend .

"Although we host international exhibitions and welcome visitors from all over the world, a major part of our remit is to serve the local population, so we are fully aware of the popularity an artist like Bob Marley has within the local Afro Caribbean community," explained Asako.

Right: as well as being an expert on Bob Marley, author Roger Steffens is co-founder of Beat magazine and chairman of the Reggae Grammy Committee. Picture courtesy www.MANIKUS.com

The event will run at the George Padmore Institute, on Tuesday June 3 at 7.00pm (tel. 020 272 4889) and the 198 Gallery (tel. 020 7978 8309) on Thursday June 5 at 7.00pm. Tickets are priced £5.00 with students and concessions at £3.00. For more information and reservations please contact the venues directly.