In celebration of Black History Month, the portraits of ‘100 Black Women Who Have Made a Mark’ are going on display here in Leicester.
The original paintings will be displayed from October 1 until January 4 at Leicester Gallery, which sits in De Montfort University’s Vijay Patel Building.
Created and produced by Serendipity Institute for Black Arts and Heritage in Leicester, the free exhibition will platform and celebrate the hidden histories of Black women – past and present – and their significant contributions to life in Britain and Ireland.
It features the portraits of 100 Black women, all pioneers in their areas of expertise including engineering, sport, science, music, medicine, stage and screen, politics, mathematics, academia, social reform, and more. Many of the women enjoy a high profile in today’s world; many achieved greatness in their day against significant odds; many have quietly achieved significant, positive changes in their communities.
“An open call for nominations produced an avalanche of names,” said Pawlet Brookes MBE, Serendipity CEO and Artistic Director.
“Nominations were open to the public and we were thrilled by the response. In selecting the sitters – or subjects of the paintings – we set clear parameters during the selection process. We wanted to ensure representation across the British Isles, across a range of ages and occupations. Each woman had to have made a discernible “mark”. I am grateful that I had the support of Sandra Pollock, the founder of the Women’s Awards, during the selection process.
“I am also keen to stress that this is not a definitive list, it is not a top 100, but rather a snapshot of 100 out of many Black women who deserve recognition.”
It features women like Irfan Ahmed, an anti-FGM campaigner in Ireland and Somalia and Pauline Black OBE, singer, actress, author, leader of legendary band The Selecter.
The pre-Raphealite muse Fanny Eaton, broadcaster Brenda Emmanus OBE and Booker Prize winning author Bernadine Evaristo OBE are also featured.
Brookes and the selection panel decided from the outset that a likeness of each nominee would be displayed at the Leicester Gallery and that a group of five distinguished Black female artists would be commissioned to create the work.
“We hosted an open call for artists to apply for the commission,” says Pawlet. “The selection panel, which I chaired and which included British photographer/media artist Roshini Kempadoo, shortlisted the final five artists. Our aim was to present a range of artistic practices and the work of Valerie Asiimwe Amani, Yvadney Davis, Gayle Ebose, Grace Lee and Lauryn Pinard certainly accomplishes this. These artists brought a wealth of styles and techniques to the project: traditional portraiture, textile art, collage with vintage wallpaper and even dance. The result is a wonderful, eclectic mix of portraits, each tailored to the personality of the sitter.”
An exhibition catalogue, podcast, and documentary will be available to expand on the stories of the 100 amazing Black women.
Continues Pawlet Brookes: “It’s rare to walk into a gallery and see that every portrait of a woman is by a woman artist, let alone 100 portraits where both the sitter and the artist is a Black woman. When you look at the collections of most major galleries, how many of the portraits were painted by Black women? How many of the portraits have Black female sitters? Where they do, how do the portraits represent Black women? Are the sitters even named? What are their stories? There is no parity when it comes to representation. Data gathered by Artsy on gender and representation within the galleries and auctions showed that 36% of the artworks in 2023 were by female artists.”
