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Our Curator Joins Black History Art Panel

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"The Black History Research Group’s work is vital in shining a light on Hertfordshire’s untold histories. I’m thrilled to help select the artists who will bring these stories to life."

— Katherine Thomas-Ferdinand, Curator, The Thomas-Ferdinand Gallery

Dateline: London, UK – 26 January, 2025

Our curator, Katherine Thomas-Ferdinand, has joined the selection panel for an exciting project led by St Albans Museums’ Black History Research Group (BHRG). This initiative seeks to commission six Black Caribbean or African Hertfordshire-based artists to produce graphic, illustrative, or painted artworks.

Artists will receive a fee of £250, with their creations featured in the BHRG’s zine and displayed in an exhibition at St Albans Museum + Gallery, running from 1st October to 2nd November 2025.

St Albans Museum + Gallery · © St Albans Museums

Joseph Johnson, 19th-century sailor turned busker after being denied his pension, wearing a self-built boat-shaped hat symbolising his naval career.

Sharing Community Stories

Led by Aisha Adi (BHRG Chair and Consultant on the zine project) and Laura Lennard (St Albans Museums), the BHRG is a passionate team of local researchers dedicated to uncovering and documenting Hertfordshire’s diverse Black histories. Their current research highlights topics such as Black Roman soldiers in Verulamium, Black abolitionists in the area, 20th-century NHS workers, and local industries that profited from enslaved labour.

This project aims to bring their research to life and celebrate the lived experiences of the Black community. Our curator is delighted to support the selection of talented artists who will creatively interpret these stories.

Submissions are open until 28th February 2025. Interested artists are encouraged to email an expression of interest, along with examples of their recent work, to laura.lennard@stalbans.gov.uk.

St Albans Museums are also seeking a graphic designer for the zine, and local (Herts, Beds, Bucks, and London-based) suppliers of shop products with African-Caribbean diaspora heritage – such as jewellery, gifts, and stationery to support the project.

For more information, visit St Albans Museums’ website.

 


 

References

St Albans Museums , 2025. Artist Call Out. [Accessed 26 JAN. 2025].

Banner Artwork : “Couple from the West Indies” · Newspaper announcement of Miss Marcelline Torrence and Mr Charles Elsworth Clarke on their wedding day in St Albans, 1958.

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