Five into a Hundred

Pawlet Brookes MBE

As one of five portraits of Pawlet Brookes MBE, the curator of 100 Black Women Who Have Made A Mark, it provides a snapshot of what the exhibition sought to achieve, with each portrait acting as the artist’s signature and an introduction to their individual technique and style.

Gayle Ebose embraces her style of portraiture of light, warmth and radiance, amplified by loose brushwork that encapsulates movement and spirit.

Medium: Acrylic and oil pastels on canvas
Size: 68cm x 56cm x 3cm

Mahalia up Close

Mahalia

Grammy nominated singer, songwriter and actress, Mahalia has had a passion for music from an early age and has been writing songs since the age of eleven.  At thirteen, she was signed with Asylum Records and has grown her artistry and platform ever since.  Mahalia received Best Female Act and Best R&B/Soul Act at MOBO Awards, 2020 and was also nominated for a Grammy for Best R&B Performance, 2021.

Medium: Watercolour and graphite pencil on canvas
Size: 78cm x 48cm x 3cm

Joy of the Carnival Queen

Carmen Beckford MBE

1928 – 2016

Carmen Beckford began her journey training to become a nurse and midwife in Kent.  In 1965, Beckford moved to Bristol where she became the first Race Relations Officer at Bristol City Council.  She focussed on integrating different ethnic groups in the city and building young people’s self-esteem.  Beckford is best known for co-founding St Pauls Carnival in Bristol in 1967.  Upon establishing St Pauls Carnival, Beckford created a West Indian dance team, which travelled nationwide and throughout Europe.  She also became the first Black recipient of an MBE in the South West in 1982.

Medium: Acrylic, watercolour and oil pastels on unstretched canvas
Size: 126cm x 98cm x 4cm

• Podcast

An Intimate Look at Her

Baroness Valerie Ann Amos LG CH PC

Baroness Valerie Ann Amos is a Labour Party politician and diplomat.  She is the current Master of University College, Oxford.  Amos is committed to creating a culture that encourages people to drive change, especially young people.  She was the first Black female cabinet minister and first Black person to be appointed as Companion to the Garter.

Medium: Acrylic and oil pastels on canvas
Size: 61cm x 45.5cm x 5cm

• Podcast

The Quiet Leader, Nezrine Hudson

Nezrine Hudson MBE

Nezrine Hudson has been a key figure in community development across Derby and the Midlands.  She founded the East Midlands Caribbean Carnival Arts Network (EMCCAN) and worked as Community Centre Manager of Derby West Indian Community Association (DWICA).  Hudson has been a strong advocate for her community for a number of years and also represented the National Federation of Community Organisations in reviewing the constitution for emerging communities in the 21st century.

Medium: Acrylic, watercolour and oil pastel on unstretched canvas

Size: 113cm x 110cm x 2cm

• Podcast

Forward Lady

Griselda Togobo

Griselda Togobo is an entrepreneur and international corporate consultant.  Her work is driven by her experience as a Black woman in the corporate world and using it to help large companies and corporations to create inclusive workplaces.  Togobo is also the founder of Forward Ladies, a professional women’s network on supporting women to reach their leadership potential.

Medium: Acrylic and oil pastel on unstretched canvas

Size: 167cm x 78cm x 3.5cm

• Podcast

Compassionate Warrior

Mavis Best MBE

1939 – 2022

Mavis Best was a social activist who was a key figure in overturning the Vagrancy Act / ‘Sus’ law, which allowed police officers to apprehend and search young Black people if they believed they looked intent on committing an arrestable offence.  Alongside this pivotal role, Best also worked within her local community in various ways including working for the North Lewisham Project, which set-up a supplementary school for African Caribbean children who were underachieving in the Deptford area.  In 2002, Best was awarded an MBE for her services to the community.

Medium: Acrylic and watercolour on canvas
Size: 33cm x 2cm

• Podcast

Education is the Key

Gertrude Paul

1934 – 1992

Gertrude Paul was responsible for several innovations in the North of England and is regarded as one of the most important Black women visionary activists in the UK between 1957 and 1992.  Paul was the first Black teacher and Headteacher in Leeds and she organised the UK’s first Saturday school to teach cultural history, literacy and numeracy.  Paul also co-founded the United Caribbean Association in Leeds, founded St. Kitts and Nevis Association of Leeds and was one of the founders of Leeds West Indian Carnival.

Medium: Acrylic, watercolour and pastel on canvas

Size: 40.5cm x 30.5cm x 3.5cm

• Podcast

Vaudeville Sweetheart

Evelyn Dove

1902 – 1987

Nationally and internationally recognised as a contralto singer and actress, Evelyn Dove is known as ‘Britain’s Black cabaret queen’.   As well as starring in television and West End productions, Dove was the first Black singer to feature on BBC radio, three years after it had launched in 1922.

Medium: Pencil on paper
Size: 32cm x 26cm x 5cm

• Podcast

Two Distinct Disciplines

Kathy Williams MBE OLY

Kathy Williams is an artist, gymnast and da.  She was the first Black British artistic gymnast to represent Great Britain at the Olympics.  After Williams’ Olympic career, she trained at Northern School of Contemporary Dance where she received her BPA in Performing Arts (Dance).  Williams is co-founder and Director of award-winning RJC Dance and Developer of its Youth Division.  The organisation is committed to developing the Black British dance language as a narrative more than a style and building a legacy through the recognition of ancestry data and cultural ancestry.

Medium: Watercolour on paper
Size: 72cm x 54cm x 3.5cm

• Podcast

This Woman is a Star

Dr Peggy Brunache

Peggy Brunache is a historical field archaeologist and anthropologist, who advocates for more inclusivity in archaeology, especially for Black women.  Brunache is also a Lecturer of Atlantic Slavery at the University of Glasgow, Director of the Beniba Centre for Slavery Studies and Founding member of the European Society of Black and Allied Archaeologists.

Medium: Acrylic on canvas
Size: 98cm x 65.5cm x 2.5cm

• Podcast

Raceophillia

Annie Yellowe Palma

1962 – 2022

Annie Yellowe Palma was a poet and author, who also worked as a social work consultant specialising in child protection.  Yellowe Palma coined the term Raceophilia which is the theory that racism was a system of indoctrination that is taught from childhood, usually by parents and other influential adults, that if left unchecked leads to the child repeating the pattern in their adult life.  Yellowe Palma also aimed to raise the profile of Black people in Ireland through writing, social work and public speaking and planting the seeds for positive and substantial change.

Medium: Acrylic, watercolour and oil pastel on unstretched canvas
Size: 115cm x 63cm x 3cm

• Podcast

HRH

Gina Yashere

Gina Yashere is a comedian, actress and writer who challenges the white-centric view of comedy.  Yashere has appeared in UK television shows such as Live at the Apollo, Mock the Week and The Lenny Henry Show and also US shows including The Daily Show and The Tonight Show.  Yashere’s comedy explores cultural differences.  She won the Best Female award at Black Comedy Awards and Best Female STand-Up at the Chortle Awards.

Medium: Acrylic and watercolour on unstretched canvas
Size: 66cm x 61cm x 2cm

The Face of a Community

Pamela Campbell-Morris

1958 – 2021

Pamela Campbell-Morris supported her community in many ways, from working as project manager for Ajani Women and Girls Centre, which supported the education and care of young girls and parents, to raising awareness of prostate cancer within the African Caribbean community.  Campbell-Morris also supported the Leicester carnival scene by organising and touring troupes across the UK and won the Leicester Carnival Queen competition twice.

Medium: Acrylic, watercolour and oil pastel on canvas
Size: 58cm x 48cm x 3cm

• Podcast

Charlene Uncoded

Charlene Hunter MBE

Charlene Hunter is a software engineer, technical architect, software developer and tester.  She has been a major influence for Black women in technology.  As the CEO and Founder of Coding Black Females, Hunter has provided new opportunities for Black women in coding with plans to continue to diversify the technology sector.  Hunter is also co-organiser of Black Devs UK and co-founder of Meet Up and Code, providing more opportunities for networking, collaboration and mentoring for Black software developers.

Medium: Watercolour on canvas
Size: 49.5cm x 37cm x 6.5cm

• Podcast

Lighting the Trail Behind Me

Lisa Williams

Lisa Williams is an author, poet and curator who focusses on addressing the hidden histories of Edinburgh, which supports the growing institutional decolonisation of Scottish involvement in the British Empire and Transatlantic Slave Trade.  Williams encourages intergenerational conversations about the richness of Black life in Edinburgh.  Williams is also the founder of the Edinburgh Caribbean Association, curating arts events in Scotland to promote Caribbean culture.

Medium: Acrylic and watercolour on unstretched canvas
Size: 66cm x 67cm x 2cm

• Podcast

Skin Just Like Pearls

Olive Morris

1952 – 1979

Olive Morris was a radical feminist and political activist, who is is recognised for her activities in organising the Black community in London in the 1970s.  She was a member of the British Black Panthers and founding member of Brixton Black Women’s group.  She also became central for the squatters movement in taking over 121 Railton Road, Brixton.

Medium: Acrylic and oil pastel on canvas
Size: 90cm x 90cm x 4cm

• Podcast

The Health of my Sisters

Professor Bertha Ochieng

Bertha Ochieng is a community activist who focusses on addressing the health and social needs of socially disadvantaged groups and building relationships with communities and practitioners in the sector.  Ochieng also works as a Professor of Integrated Health and Social Care at De Montfort University, where she also is the Lead Investigator of Talent 25, a 25-year study that explores the impact of childhood participation in creative activities.

Medium: Acrylic, watercolour and oil pastel on canvas
Size: 60.5cm x 46cm x 3.5cm

• Podcast

Oft I Have Heard of You

Josette Simon OBE

Josette Simon is an actress on stage and screen.  She is a trailblazer whose work is paving the way for the next generation of young African Caribbean people to excel in a diverse range of professions.  Simon was the first Black woman in a leading role at the Royal Shakespeare Company, playing Rosaline in Love Labour’s Lost.  She has also featured as Maggie in After the Fall for which she received Best Actress awards and Joanna in Milk and Honey again, receiving Best Actress awards and had numerous roles in theatre productions.

Medium: Acrylic on circular wood panel
Size: 70cm x 1cm

• Podcast

Her Way with Words

Stella Kanu

Stella Kanu is the current CEO of Shakespeare’s Globe.  She has worked in the theatre, festival, and cultural sector for over 30-years.  Kanu is the founder of The Pivotal Place coaching programme, which helps to kickstart careers for creative leaders and she also worked as Chief Executive of the London International Festival of Theatre (LIFT).

Medium: Acrylic on canvas
Size: 90cm x 90cm x 4cm

• Podcast

Sixty-Nine Point Five Six Metres

Tessa Sanderson CBE

Tessa Sanderson is an athlete who specialises in the javelin throw.  Throughout her career, Sanderson has set five Commonwealth records and ten British national records in javelin.  She also competed at the 1984 Olympics where she won Gold and set a new record of 69.56m.  Sanderson went on to win Gold at the 1990 Commonwealth games. When she retired from competing, she founded the Tessa Sanderson Foundation and Academy, which helps to educate young people through sport.

Medium: Acrylic, watercolour and oil pastel on circular wood panel

Size: 70cm x 1cm