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Dalston Curve Garden |
A graduate of the Edna Manley School of Art in Jamaica, Ras is a Barbadian painter with his work being heavily influenced by the Rastafari movement. In 1998 he was awarded the Barbados Service Star in that year’s Barbados Independence Honours.
A graduate of the Edna Manley School of Art in Jamaica, Ras is a Barbadian painter with his work being heavily influenced by the Rastafari movement. In 1998 he was awarded the Barbados Service Star in that year’s Barbados Independence Honours.
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Ridley Road |
In response to the theme, I found many narratives told by former enslaved people, mostly from the United States, although many travelled to England on lecture tours, often sponsored by abolitionists or their congregations. I have concentrated here on narratives available in the English language.
Many had taught themselves to read and write, although some of the narratives were written by fellow abolitionists; Ellen Craft's narrative was incorporated into her husband's and Nat Turner did not live to write, or dictate his tale, but it is well recorded. Hence the title In Their Own Words (Mostly).
The faces I sourced and depicted on the globe – many from a swollen North America; Mary Prince in Bermuda: Olaudah Equiano in Africa - have etched in them the memory of slavery. Beneath Olaudah's western garb a hint of the strip weave patterns of the Eboe region he was kidnapped from suggest the cloth he might once have expected to be adorned with.
It is from these faces I have drawn my inspiration and from their narratives I have learned about the conditions in which they were kept. Cuba and the West Indies are seen here as sharks consuming an endless chain of enslaved people. Imported gunpowder explodes and bottles of rum pour into the heart of Africa to finance the wars which perpetuated the trade in enslaved people.
South America I filled with the work of the unnamed enslaved, and the triangular trade routes I have filled with depictions of the infamous cargo of enslaved African people, the colonial imports of raw materials gathered and mined by these people, and the products that were manufactured – the colonial exports. The colonial appetite for the profits emanating from this practise resulted in the racialisation of slavery. My process aims to help reinstate these people's position in our history.
A Tottenham based multimedia artist currently largely working in acrylics to commission on commemorative portraits. Lucy has exhibited solo and in groups locally, nationally and internationally in galleries, temporary exhibition spaces and public outdoor spaces. Lucy is also a writer and actor.
In response to the theme, I found many narratives told by former enslaved people, mostly from the United States, although many travelled to England on lecture tours, often sponsored by abolitionists or their congregations. I have concentrated here on narratives available in the English language.
Many had taught themselves to read and write, although some of the narratives were written by fellow abolitionists; Ellen Craft's narrative was incorporated into her husband's and Nat Turner did not live to write, or dictate his tale, but it is well recorded. Hence the title In Their Own Words (Mostly).
The faces I sourced and depicted on the globe – many from a swollen North America; Mary Prince in Bermuda: Olaudah Equiano in Africa - have etched in them the memory of slavery. Beneath Olaudah's western garb a hint of the strip weave patterns of the Eboe region he was kidnapped from suggest the cloth he might once have expected to be adorned with.
It is from these faces I have drawn my inspiration and from their narratives I have learned about the conditions in which they were kept. Cuba and the West Indies are seen here as sharks consuming an endless chain of enslaved people. Imported gunpowder explodes and bottles of rum pour into the heart of Africa to finance the wars which perpetuated the trade in enslaved people.
South America I filled with the work of the unnamed enslaved, and the triangular trade routes I have filled with depictions of the infamous cargo of enslaved African people, the colonial imports of raw materials gathered and mined by these people, and the products that were manufactured – the colonial exports. The colonial appetite for the profits emanating from this practise resulted in the racialisation of slavery. My process aims to help reinstate these people's position in our history.
A Tottenham based multimedia artist currently largely working in acrylics to commission on commemorative portraits. Lucy has exhibited solo and in groups locally, nationally and internationally in galleries, temporary exhibition spaces and public outdoor spaces. Lucy is also a writer and actor.
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St John's at Hackney |
My work is critical of the imperial gaze, because I have understood that the positioning of whiteness is neither central nor neutral. Courage, boldness, playfulness and joy are the essential elements in my art. Moreover, bright colours and humour are the disarming weapons through which my messages are carried.
My goal is to create work that gives ample space for Black people to feel seen and understood. My globe explores what it means to subvert the imperial gaze and remove Europe as the centre of one’s frame of reference. The work also alludes to the fairytale ‘Goldilocks and the Three Bears’ and the reality of plunder and stolen legacies on the African continent.
Kazvare’s passion for creative illustrating stems from being able to express her ideas in a way that doesn’t require words. “I absolutely love words and think they are so powerful, but what I love about illustration is that often, it is a tool that helps me to express an idea that I’d probably need hundreds more words to articulate in the same way”, she explains. “Sometimes the messages behind my work are actually quite heavy, so using illustration and imagery brings a little bit of levity.”
My work is critical of the imperial gaze, because I have understood that the positioning of whiteness is neither central nor neutral. Courage, boldness, playfulness and joy are the essential elements in my art. Moreover, bright colours and humour are the disarming weapons through which my messages are carried.
My goal is to create work that gives ample space for Black people to feel seen and understood. My globe explores what it means to subvert the imperial gaze and remove Europe as the centre of one’s frame of reference. The work also alludes to the fairytale ‘Goldilocks and the Three Bears’ and the reality of plunder and stolen legacies on the African continent.
Kazvare’s passion for creative illustrating stems from being able to express her ideas in a way that doesn’t require words. “I absolutely love words and think they are so powerful, but what I love about illustration is that often, it is a tool that helps me to express an idea that I’d probably need hundreds more words to articulate in the same way”, she explains. “Sometimes the messages behind my work are actually quite heavy, so using illustration and imagery brings a little bit of levity.”
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Well Street Common |
Olivia Twist is an illustrator and educator based in East London. The key threads which can be found in her work are place, the mundane and overlooked narratives. Her striking visual language comprises a myriad of esoteric layers informed by a propensity for human-centred research methodologies. As a practitioner her aims are to provide her audience with ‘the shock of the familiar’ and to trigger greater intergenerational discussion.Olivia has a strong interest in participatory design, relational aesthetics and documenting social history as it unfolds.
Olivia Twist is an illustrator and educator based in East London. The key threads which can be found in her work are place, the mundane and overlooked narratives. Her striking visual language comprises a myriad of esoteric layers informed by a propensity for human-centred research methodologies. As a practitioner her aims are to provide her audience with ‘the shock of the familiar’ and to trigger greater intergenerational discussion.Olivia has a strong interest in participatory design, relational aesthetics and documenting social history as it unfolds.
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Hackney Bridge |
I loved designing my cornrow inspired globe; I have always marvelled at the intricate nature and artistry of cornrows, and the skill and patience of those who create them.
Rise Up reflects my penchant for line-doodles and pattern, by celebrating the creativity, initiative, and traditions of African people. It explores key events in the journey toward emancipation, paying tribute to abolitionists, and in particular the role played by female campaigners who themselves were ‘prisoners of gender’.
The central figures are symbolic of individuals rising up to campaign for abolition, as well as Africans later celebrating their emancipation. The contrasting gold background symbolises the financial gains associated with the trade in enslaved Africans. I have also woven words into the design that are associated with Abolition and Emancipation, together with the names of abolitionists and campaigners – female and male – some of whom are relatively unknown.
In addition, Rise Up recognises that hair is a huge part of a Black individual’s identity – black hair is Black history. Pictorial evidence of cornrows dates back to 3000 BC; African warriors and kings sported them in the early nineteenth century; and, in many African societies, braid patterns and hairstyles communicate a person’s community, age, marital status, wealth, power, social position and religion.
The heads of many enslaved people were shaved - ostensibly for sanitary reasons – but also to distance them from their own culture and identity. Many brave individuals adopted cornrows as an act of rebellion and resistance. Cornrows were a secure and secret way to communicate to other enslaved people; if they wanted to escape, women would braid a style called ‘departes’, whereas other patterns took the form of maps, depicting escape routes from plantations and captors. In addition, gold coins and seeds were ingeniously woven into cornrows for safe keeping, to aid survival following escape.
I loved designing my cornrow inspired globe; I have always marvelled at the intricate nature and artistry of cornrows, and the skill and patience of those who create them.
Rise Up reflects my penchant for line-doodles and pattern, by celebrating the creativity, initiative, and traditions of African people. It explores key events in the journey toward emancipation, paying tribute to abolitionists, and in particular the role played by female campaigners who themselves were ‘prisoners of gender’.
The central figures are symbolic of individuals rising up to campaign for abolition, as well as Africans later celebrating their emancipation. The contrasting gold background symbolises the financial gains associated with the trade in enslaved Africans. I have also woven words into the design that are associated with Abolition and Emancipation, together with the names of abolitionists and campaigners – female and male – some of whom are relatively unknown.
In addition, Rise Up recognises that hair is a huge part of a Black individual’s identity – black hair is Black history. Pictorial evidence of cornrows dates back to 3000 BC; African warriors and kings sported them in the early nineteenth century; and, in many African societies, braid patterns and hairstyles communicate a person’s community, age, marital status, wealth, power, social position and religion.
The heads of many enslaved people were shaved - ostensibly for sanitary reasons – but also to distance them from their own culture and identity. Many brave individuals adopted cornrows as an act of rebellion and resistance. Cornrows were a secure and secret way to communicate to other enslaved people; if they wanted to escape, women would braid a style called ‘departes’, whereas other patterns took the form of maps, depicting escape routes from plantations and captors. In addition, gold coins and seeds were ingeniously woven into cornrows for safe keeping, to aid survival following escape.
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Hackney Bridge |
Windrush 1948 is a tribute to the British Caribbean community that came over to rebuild the UK after World War II. The piece seeks to take focus away from the ship itself and raise up the Caribbean community who, despite continuing to face racism and social injustice today, are a vital part of the fabric of the UK and its culture, more than worthy of acknowledgement and celebration.
Kim Thompson is a commercial illustrator and print artist based in Nottingham, UK. With recent clients including Columbia Records, Penguin Random House and Converse, Kim’s work is a visual love letter to nostalgia and kitsch, utilising storytelling, vivid colour and celebrating bold characters both real and imagined. Kim’s work often centres notions of sisterhood, Black joy and empowerment via otherness.
Windrush 1948 is a tribute to the British Caribbean community that came over to rebuild the UK after World War II. The piece seeks to take focus away from the ship itself and raise up the Caribbean community who, despite continuing to face racism and social injustice today, are a vital part of the fabric of the UK and its culture, more than worthy of acknowledgement and celebration.
Kim Thompson is a commercial illustrator and print artist based in Nottingham, UK. With recent clients including Columbia Records, Penguin Random House and Converse, Kim’s work is a visual love letter to nostalgia and kitsch, utilising storytelling, vivid colour and celebrating bold characters both real and imagined. Kim’s work often centres notions of sisterhood, Black joy and empowerment via otherness.
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Olympic Park at Tavern In The Park |
Sophie Mowat is the founder of Mowat&daughter – a design house specialising in woven and printed textiles and surfaces for fashion and lifestyle. Her designs are shaped by her dual heritage, blending the vibrant colours of Barbados with the flora and fauna of the British countryside. She also draws on the patterns and textures she see in daily life; on travels to different countries and visits to exhibitions. Later Sophie found a love of print and pattern design while working for suppliers for leading fashion brands and retailers. After becoming a mother in 2018 and later going freelance in 2020, she developed her own handwriting and design style. Sophie is particularly inspired by culture, history, nature and travel. She believes textile design has strong links to memory and can spark positive recall, as often the designs connect people and places we think of fondly. She designs with enthusiasm, inspiration and innovation in a world of throwaway culture, fast fashion and monotonous repetition.
Sophie Mowat is the founder of Mowat&daughter – a design house specialising in woven and printed textiles and surfaces for fashion and lifestyle. Her designs are shaped by her dual heritage, blending the vibrant colours of Barbados with the flora and fauna of the British countryside. She also draws on the patterns and textures she see in daily life; on travels to different countries and visits to exhibitions. Later Sophie found a love of print and pattern design while working for suppliers for leading fashion brands and retailers. After becoming a mother in 2018 and later going freelance in 2020, she developed her own handwriting and design style. Sophie is particularly inspired by culture, history, nature and travel. She believes textile design has strong links to memory and can spark positive recall, as often the designs connect people and places we think of fondly. She designs with enthusiasm, inspiration and innovation in a world of throwaway culture, fast fashion and monotonous repetition.
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By Sidings Street Bus Stop, Olympic Park |
Hamed Maiye is an interdisciplinary artist flitting between painting, drawing and set design. When not building his colourful installations, the London-based artist centres his stark and monochromatic works on the narratives found in his dreams.
Hamed Maiye is an interdisciplinary artist flitting between painting, drawing and set design. When not building his colourful installations, the London-based artist centres his stark and monochromatic works on the narratives found in his dreams.
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Broadway, E15 1NG |
Koby’s process of creating the idea for the globe involved it being partitioned in two parts —the first being the painting illustrated with the blue banner ‘Justice 4 The Pryces’ which goes on to portray on both corners of the notice, the Ghanaian Adinkra symbol ‘Funtunfunefu Denkyemfuntunefu’ that translates as Siamese crocodiles in English. The symbol represents democracy and unity which serves as a reminder that infighting and tribalism is harmful to all who engage in it.
The piece comes together to pay particular attention to the case of Eustace Pryce, who was murdered in a racist attack in 1984. Shortly afterwards Pryce’s brother Gerald was arrested. The murderer, Martin Newhouse, was also eventually arrested, but the judicial proceedings clearly revealed the bias of the police and of the wider justice system: the murderer was released on bail over Christmas whereas Gerald Pryce, whose brother had died and was dubiously charged with affray, was denied bail. The NMP (Newham Monitoring Project) established in the 1980’s, organised a defence campaign where their work was crucial in contesting Gerald Pryce’s criminalisation, as well as highlighting the institutional racism of the police and legal system.
On the other side of the globe is a depiction of the London riots which occurred almost ten years ago. They spread across London, including in Newham, as well as other major English cities. It was sparked by the death of 29 year old Mark Duggan, who was shot dead by police in Tottenham on 4 August 2011. The riots – the biggest in modern English history – lasted for five days and swept the capital, from Wood Green to Woolwich. The reverberations of these historical events juxtaposed against each other in the context of the present are striking; questioning what has actually changed within the legal system and the institutional racism of the police force.
This globe piece is as much concerned with the present — and the future — as with the past. In a cinematic style of flames which is distinctively his, Koby uses fire as a symbol of cleansing and purification against the structures of institutional racism of the police and legal system; burning down the edifices that have been a significant legatee of these horrendous acts over the years.
Koby’s intention painting was also to bring to life the historical narratives of the inspirational work by community activists as well as individuals like George Eustace and others whose stories and images are largely forgotten by historical accounts, and also to create a dialogue between the past and the present: disturbing parallels with racist violence then and now.
Koby Martin is a Ghanaian born British based Artist. Koby Martin is a proud export of Ghana. His talent and God-given gift was nurtured in his motherland and polished in the United Kingdom. These worlds merge together in his art where traits his African descent and life in Europe thus far, can be seen as a consistent influence in the narratives of his pieces. Koby’s work is an introspective autobiographical exploration of his life which portrays the inclusive human experience of dealing with emotions, memories, thoughts and feelings that we all undeniably feel. Through emotive figures, subjects and abstract forms, he captures beautifully the human essence of both courage and sadness which is a constant theme throughout his work that is expressed in both traditional and digital mediums. Throughout his career, Koby has been responsible for various creative content for global level for artists including Krept & Konan, Wizkid, J Hus, Wretch 32, Chronixx, Tinie Tempah and many more.
Koby’s process of creating the idea for the globe involved it being partitioned in two parts —the first being the painting illustrated with the blue banner ‘Justice 4 The Pryces’ which goes on to portray on both corners of the notice, the Ghanaian Adinkra symbol ‘Funtunfunefu Denkyemfuntunefu’ that translates as Siamese crocodiles in English. The symbol represents democracy and unity which serves as a reminder that infighting and tribalism is harmful to all who engage in it.
The piece comes together to pay particular attention to the case of Eustace Pryce, who was murdered in a racist attack in 1984. Shortly afterwards Pryce’s brother Gerald was arrested. The murderer, Martin Newhouse, was also eventually arrested, but the judicial proceedings clearly revealed the bias of the police and of the wider justice system: the murderer was released on bail over Christmas whereas Gerald Pryce, whose brother had died and was dubiously charged with affray, was denied bail. The NMP (Newham Monitoring Project) established in the 1980’s, organised a defence campaign where their work was crucial in contesting Gerald Pryce’s criminalisation, as well as highlighting the institutional racism of the police and legal system.
On the other side of the globe is a depiction of the London riots which occurred almost ten years ago. They spread across London, including in Newham, as well as other major English cities. It was sparked by the death of 29 year old Mark Duggan, who was shot dead by police in Tottenham on 4 August 2011. The riots – the biggest in modern English history – lasted for five days and swept the capital, from Wood Green to Woolwich. The reverberations of these historical events juxtaposed against each other in the context of the present are striking; questioning what has actually changed within the legal system and the institutional racism of the police force.
This globe piece is as much concerned with the present — and the future — as with the past. In a cinematic style of flames which is distinctively his, Koby uses fire as a symbol of cleansing and purification against the structures of institutional racism of the police and legal system; burning down the edifices that have been a significant legatee of these horrendous acts over the years.
Koby’s intention painting was also to bring to life the historical narratives of the inspirational work by community activists as well as individuals like George Eustace and others whose stories and images are largely forgotten by historical accounts, and also to create a dialogue between the past and the present: disturbing parallels with racist violence then and now.
Koby Martin is a Ghanaian born British based Artist. Koby Martin is a proud export of Ghana. His talent and God-given gift was nurtured in his motherland and polished in the United Kingdom. These worlds merge together in his art where traits his African descent and life in Europe thus far, can be seen as a consistent influence in the narratives of his pieces. Koby’s work is an introspective autobiographical exploration of his life which portrays the inclusive human experience of dealing with emotions, memories, thoughts and feelings that we all undeniably feel. Through emotive figures, subjects and abstract forms, he captures beautifully the human essence of both courage and sadness which is a constant theme throughout his work that is expressed in both traditional and digital mediums. Throughout his career, Koby has been responsible for various creative content for global level for artists including Krept & Konan, Wizkid, J Hus, Wretch 32, Chronixx, Tinie Tempah and many more.
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Theatre Square, Stratford |
Music is uplifting, an expression, an escape and it is learning. The history of black music and its contribution to British identity cannot be underestimated. Enslaved people shipped from Africa to the plantations of America and the Caribbean used traditional songs and hymns not just to raise their spirits in times of oppression and captivity, but also as warnings and even clues as to how they may escape captivity. Their masters may have taken their physical freedom but they could not take their soulful musical intelligence.
Music can educate, relax, console, inspire, heal, excite; powerful words in song teach and inform generations past, present and future. Music can free people’s minds from the everyday struggles they encounter. Songs affect the soul from the moment we are born to the day we die.
My design includes words of songs sung by the enslaved in the 1700s and 1800s. Today’s music has been inspired by the past, and passed through many generations. The circles of music represent speakers on a sound system and music coming outwards across the globe and continually diversifying; music that has its roots in folk and African song. The yellow and orange background represents the sun and hot climate of Mother Africa; and the red, the passion and outrage. The skin tone hearts reference the people of historical slavery but also those trapped in modern slavery today.
The strength and spirit of oppressed souls of history has influenced music throughout the centuries to this day. And even today, music helps those who are still not free to find inspiration and to fight for a better future.
Serena’s work is mainly landscapes, seascapes and nature in oil and mixed media paintings on canvas. She takes inspiration from the world around her, creating works of art that reveal the wonders of nature and the environment.
Music is uplifting, an expression, an escape and it is learning. The history of black music and its contribution to British identity cannot be underestimated. Enslaved people shipped from Africa to the plantations of America and the Caribbean used traditional songs and hymns not just to raise their spirits in times of oppression and captivity, but also as warnings and even clues as to how they may escape captivity. Their masters may have taken their physical freedom but they could not take their soulful musical intelligence.
Music can educate, relax, console, inspire, heal, excite; powerful words in song teach and inform generations past, present and future. Music can free people’s minds from the everyday struggles they encounter. Songs affect the soul from the moment we are born to the day we die.
My design includes words of songs sung by the enslaved in the 1700s and 1800s. Today’s music has been inspired by the past, and passed through many generations. The circles of music represent speakers on a sound system and music coming outwards across the globe and continually diversifying; music that has its roots in folk and African song. The yellow and orange background represents the sun and hot climate of Mother Africa; and the red, the passion and outrage. The skin tone hearts reference the people of historical slavery but also those trapped in modern slavery today.
The strength and spirit of oppressed souls of history has influenced music throughout the centuries to this day. And even today, music helps those who are still not free to find inspiration and to fight for a better future.
Serena’s work is mainly landscapes, seascapes and nature in oil and mixed media paintings on canvas. She takes inspiration from the world around her, creating works of art that reveal the wonders of nature and the environment.
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Stratford International |
Born in Sierra Leone, Julianknxx is a poet, visual artist and filmmaker whose practice crosses the boundaries of written word, music and visual art. Through his practice Julianknxx explores themes of inheritance, loss, and belonging, and their effects on personal and interpersonal narratives.
Born in Sierra Leone, Julianknxx is a poet, visual artist and filmmaker whose practice crosses the boundaries of written word, music and visual art. Through his practice Julianknxx explores themes of inheritance, loss, and belonging, and their effects on personal and interpersonal narratives.
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