Rediscovering Black Portraiture

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Margaret’s husband Addo, my 4x great grandfather, was born in around 1742, probably in Ghana. He was captured, sold and forcibly transported to Barbados where he was enslaved on one of the sugar plantations owned by the Brathwaite family. He started as a field worker, progressed to the status of domestic servant and was freed for “good conduct” at the age of 73. The Brathwaites gave Addo their surname. When I found a copy of Addo’s freedom papers (or manumission papers), it was actually Pinder who signed these off and stamped them – we can assume because of Pinder’s high status in Barbados society at the time. It's a project I'm passionate about, in the same way I'm passionate about performing music that has been marginalised.

It has been an honour to attend the festival. The singing of the Brathwaite family hymn is always a highlight. As a family we are enormously proud of how Margaret Brathwaite harnessed her freedom and education as a woman of colour in British West Indian society - at a time when freed people of colour were routinely excluded from the majority of occupations and opportunities. It’s generated stimulating conversations on social media, with people suggesting paintingsI wasn’t aware of,helping me on my mission to keep going. It's a project I'm passionate about, in the same way I'm passionate about performing music that has been marginalised. A lot of the work I do alongsidebeing an opera singeris performing the works of composers that have been banned or suppressed, and haven't had their voices heard or have had their artistic output cut short as a result of censorship.This project feels like it goes hand in hand with that, in some ways it feels like a visual representation of that work. The Brathwaite family festival has just celebrated its 200th anniversary. Can you tell us more about this? My experience of the cultural scene in Newcastle really shaped who I am today as an artist and performer. When I was a student, the Baltic and Sage had only recently opened. It was really exciting to have a contemporary art venue as big as that, and as diverse, on my doorstep. And I was fortunate enough to perform at Sage Gateshead as part of the University choir (a performance which made me sure that singing was what I wanted to do as a career!)

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King's Health Partners Navigation link in category Research & Innovation. Press escape key to return to main menu Everything is from my house. I’ve collected a lot of junk over the years. Some things were made. At the very start of the project, I was reluctant to make things, but I gradually became more amenable as the costumes became more complicated. I also used the portraits as a platform for objects that have existed in my family for generations.

Natural, Mathematical & Engineering Sciences Navigation link in category Our faculties. Press escape key to return to main menu Governance, policies & procedures Navigation link in category About. Press escape key to return to main menu The Getty Museum set a challenge for people across social media to recreate their favourite pieces of art using only what they had in their homes. I'd seen that this had been going on for a few weeks, it was the weekbefore Easter that I decided to take the plunge and do one myself. In the lower portion of this work, we read a scribbled recollection alongside a list of Afro-Caribbean and British foods, and above the faded scrawl is Boyce herself, positioned in front of what looks like floral-patterned wallpaper. Spoon clutched awkwardly in her raised hand, she looks out to us, lips closed, eyes wide, hair tied. The portrait is striking and complex. Boyce has re-created herself in a stylised way. But there is a defiance in her penetrating gaze, as if challenging the viewer. Boyce is dictating the terms of how we view her, how we judge her, how we know her. What’ s next for you? Will you continue to research your family history? Are you still working on the

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Pinder reported directly to the Bishop of London and the Archbishop of York. The most surprising aspect of my research has been finding out that my own ancestors are mentioned in reports detailing Pinder’s progress in converting the local population.The records show that John Hothersall Pinder considered my ancestors to be useful Christian role models for his enslaved workers. Things really came full circle when I was last in Newcastle, performing at Theatre Royal with Opera North. One of my core memories from University is seeing Opera North perform ‘La traviata’ on the very same stage. Our Family Station in St Pancras is open from 10.00-12.00 every Friday and we're continuing to welcome schools, as well as families and adult learners to our courses and access events. All our in-person and livestreamed events are going ahead. Other services