My Words

Celebrating 250 years of British poets of colour My Words exhibition brings you a unique opportunity to meet some of the remarkable poets and spoken word artists of colour who have changed the UK’s poetic landscape and influenced its culture.

Museum of Colour’s My Words online galleries are a rich and wide-ranging exploration of the contribution and voices of poets from the 18th and 19th century through to the twenty-first and include portraits, photography, poems, podcasts and immersive video and audio content that takes the visitor behind the scenes of this fascinating exhibition.

Visit the online gallery

My Words engaged with 35 contemporary UK poets of colour who sat for photographic portraits with photographers Derrick Kakembo and Sharron Wallace, who also captured the poets’ donations for the digital museum. Alongside this work, podcasts were made with some of the poets and performances commissioned to recognise and celebrate the contributions of poets and spoken word artists of the global majority to British cultural heritage. The project included participatory workshops, audience development, research, and curatorial and archival expertise.

The exhibition is co-curated by Museum of Colour founder Samenua Sesher, Melanie Abrahams of Renaissance One and Joy Francis from Words of Colour and features contemporary poets including Nikita Gill, Ben Okri and Benjamin Zephaniah.

Portraits Gallery

A curated selection of poets and spoken word artists who have influenced and shaped the UK’s poetic legacy from the 18th century to present day.

In the first gallery poets are grouped by the time period that they emerged as poets, spoken word artists and orators, spanning 1780 to 2016 in a rich exploration of how culture and society are influenced by the poets and orators of the day, and to recognise those who collectively have had an impact on poetry and spoken word in Britain. Specially commissioned portraits by artist Naki Nath bring some of the featured poets from the past to life and featured poets include Robert Wedderburn, Sarojini Naidu and James Berry.

Museum of Colour worked in partnership with the British Library and it’s researcher Heather Marks to select 18th and 19th century poets to feature in the gallery.

Response Gallery

The My Words Response Gallery, curated by Melanie Abrahams of Renaissance One, features ten new written works by internationally renowned writers and poets. The artists were invited to explore, reimagine, and respond to the collections at Exeter’s Royal Albert Memorial Museum (RAMM), either through a physical or online visit, and chose aspects to respond to in their work.

The ten artists are: Mona Arshi, Victoria Adukwei Bulley, Fred D’Aguiar, Jennifer Lee Tsai, Adam Lowe, Shivanee Ramlochan, Jacob Sam-La Rose, John Siddique, Yomi Sode and Yusra Warsama.

To find out more about the objects donated by the artists, visit the ‘Collections’ page. Audio interviews with the artists where they describe the items they have donated, the stories behind them and why they chose to share them are contained in the ‘Donation podcasts’ section and explore how each artist approached the process of creating their response poems in the ‘Process podcasts’ section.

Northern Poets – Manchester Poetry Library

My Words Northern Poets gallery showcases nine audio recorded poems, performed by nine nominated poets, all of whom are based in the north of England. Their performances have been captured for Museum of Colour and the Manchester Poetry Library's archives. Co-curated by Words of Colour and Manchester Poetry Library.

Live launches

The My Words Response Gallery was showcased at two events in September 2022. A private launch event held at Royal Albert Memorial Museum and Art Gallery was attended by a diverse and invited audience while a live event open to the public was held at Manchester’s Poetry Library - attendees listened to the ten poets’ responses accompanied by Matthews’ live music and vocals.

The My Words launch at Manchester Poetry Library included performances from local poets, live readings of 19th century poems, a presentation from the researcher and a conversation between co-curators Samenua Sesher (Museum of Colour), Joy Francis (Words of Colour), and Melanie Abrahams (Renaissance One). It was attended by around 200 people, including local community members, poets and spoken word artists of colour and leaders of arts and cultural organisations.

Both events form part of Museum of Colours’ mission to gather together artists and creatives of colour and to showcase and recognise their talent – placing this contemporary work in the context of shared UK culture and history. All poems, artefacts, and podcasts are available in Museum of Colour My Words galleries.

It was an honour to be a part of the My Words launch. This project is colossal. Sharing the stage with such forces of nature was truly inspiring and I cannot wait to share this resource (Museum of Colour) with other people. The quality and the scope of the collection will go on to inspire generations to come.

- Keisha Thompson, writer and performer

My Words continues - public engagement and new exhibits

My Words also involved public engagement with two poetry writing workshops held at RAMM with Louisa Adjoa Parker, and a workshop on archives at the British Library with 15 young creatives of colour. In May 2023 a My Words Listening Party was held at Manchester Poetry Library, which saw the launch of an archive project in collaboration with Words of Colour. It celebrated the work of 10 Northern poets of colour and was a powerful sharing of personal experience and live recitals. The final element of the exhibition, My Words Encore, is a collection of new portraits and podcasts, and is set to launch in Autumn 2023, to coincide with the first anniversary of My Words.

My Words is a full artform exhibition celebrating the power of poetry, spoken word, and oral history, and the work of British artists of colour over the last 250 years. Co-curated by Museum of Colour, Words of Colour, and Renaissance One. Funded by and with thanks to National Lottery Heritage Fund, Arts Council England, and Foyle Foundation.

Collaborators