Respect Due

Respect Due was born out of the loss and uncertainty of the recent Covid 19 pandemic. At a time when older people and people of African, Caribbean and Asian heritage were particularly and seriously affected by the virus and a higher proportion of whom lost their lives, the Museum of Colour team saw that there was a need to take this moment and make a positive declaration by marking and celebrating the contribution made by older creatives and artists of colour.

Emeritus and older creatives and artists of colour who live or work in the UK have always been at the centre of the vision for Museum of Colour; these are the artists and creatives that Museum of Colour wants to celebrate and showcase, to ensure that they achieve appropriate recognition and to raise awareness of their work so that they can take their place in the pantheon. These creatives, if showcased, can act as an exemplar and role model for current and future generations of artists and creatives of colour in the UK.

The Respect Due exhibition was created by inviting 18 UK creatives, journalists and heritage organisations to nominate an individual who had a big impact on their creative journeys and who they wanted to draw attention to. Both nominators and those they nominated are of global majority heritage.

Visit the online gallery

The creative professionals nominated for Respect Due are people who have inspired and innovated in their field, who have demanded change and who helped pave the way for generations to come. Each nominee was invited to select a significant personal item which would be catalogued, photographed and its story captured as a donation to the museum.

Their achievements are showcased in the gallery by a specially commissioned portrait, an accompanying narrative and photographs of some of the donated items.

To accompany the exhibition, audio interviews and podcasts were created by director Samenua Sesher and producer Stella Sabin, which are available to download in the gallery alongside each subject-exhibit and portrait.

Commissioning the portraits

Three artists of colour were selected through an open call – and Grace Lee, Naki Narh and Erin Tse were commissioned to each create individual portraits of six nominees. Nominators shared a short description of their reason for nominating that person to accompany the portrait.

Respect Due – in person launch:

Respect Due was launched at Oxford’s the Pitt Rivers Museum WHEN with a positive and lively event that was a rare point of light in the grim years of the pandemic. The gallery reflects this hope and optimism.

“Respect Due was conceived at the height of the Covid 19 pandemic – a significant and uncertain time for our nation. This special gallery focusses on creatives and artists who can offer rare and precious views of creative lives. It was crucial that their work was captured for future generations, particularly as creatives such as these are largely invisible from the nation’s permanent collections, and their stories are heritage that is at risk.”

“The exhibition uses original photographs to create new artworks in combination with interviews with the subjects and photographs of some of the treasured items that the subjects selected and donated to the museum. This creates an insightful, intimate portrayal of a very special group of people.”

- Samenua Sesher, Founder of Museum of Colour

Collaborators