They Came Before Us: History of Women of Colour in the UK

New Heritage Lottery project highlighting the role that women of colour have played throughout London’s history, specifically the Tudor Period, the Second World War period and the era of the Cold War.

We will run a series of practice-based workshops with young women to develop creative responses to five significant women of colour from the historical eras chosen. The creative responses will be in photography, videography, poetry, visual art and set design. The responses created will then become installations within an exhibition.

The project will be led and facilitated by young women of colour and there will be a focus on skills development and long-term career development. We want to unveil the fact that many women from different ethnic minorities have been present in London for centuries, through archival research and the development of creative work that connects both the participants and audiences to this history.

Our immersive exhibition also aims to encourage interaction from members of society that don’t usually visit museums/galleries of feel represented in such spaces. Our immersive angle is to challenge the traditional way the public participate in these institutions, we want to create an interactive experience.

www.theycamebeforeus.com

Funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund

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