Black History Month 2025: Standing Firm in Power and Pride
Black History is now; it is alive, it is who we are, and who we will be. It cannot be contained within one month. This month is a time to celebrate our resilience and the richness of the Global Black Community. We celebrate our culture, heritage, and experiences. We all have a unique lived experience, and we are emphasising that we are not a monolith. We are encouraging each other to stand tall in our culture and identity with unwavering confidence.
Through this exhibition, our students share their powerful exclamations of creativity for all to see. This is their time to take up space and be proud of their creative practices as the future of Black British artists and designers. In our pursuit of equity and social justice, we recognise the importance of making space for joy, celebration and education.
Join us in celebrating our celebrating our diverse we hope this inspires you to retell your narrative.
Curated and produced by
Charmiane Chikiwa (CCW and CCI Officer) and Ayon Ghosh (CSM Officer)
See the full Black History Month schedule
Student Groups and Community Support
Arts SU is committed to creating a thriving social and support network for our members and our Black students. We have a wide array of student-led groups and community forums students can access throughout the year in the Students’ Union.
UAL:ACS Arts SU Buddy Up
Discover this year's artists:
Winnifred Ahupa
Course:
Story of Things gathers memories and reflections from workshops where participants shared meaningful objects; fabrics, journals, heirlooms, handmade items acting as vessels of memory that connect us to people, places, histories, and identities.
Celebrates storytelling as a way to honour lived experiences, preserve cultural memory & value everyday life. Centring participants’ voices, it shows how personal histories become sources of pride, resilience & belonging. Standing Firm in Power & Pride, it affirms our stories and treasured objects as knowledge & testimonies of love, survival, creativity, and continuity.
Cordelia Dacocodia
Course:
Notting Hill Carnival, 2025 - As English flags are being plastered across the country, carnival offers a colour contrasted of bright coloured flags, collective culture and a community of resistance and solidarity
It was shot at Notting Hill Carnival this year and I think this political climate really influenced the event. In comparison to last year many more people flew flags from their own nation or other that they wanted to represent and this really felt like a form of resistance against the rise in English nationalism and the current “raising of flag” as we all British no matter what.
Malayika
Course:
The piece portrays the bond between brother and sister signifying identity formed by upbringing, hometown but most importantly, Family. The collage and expressions of happiness are candid and unique to them echoing the personal embrace of Home.
“Home Is Where The Heart Is” celebrates blackness through the enduring power of family and heritage. The piece reflects how family acts as a foundation of strength within the Black community. The candid expressions embody the power of familial bonds. Family represents a source of strength, pride, and continuity within the Black community, echoing the theme of standing firm together.
Leo Sioufi
Course: BA Fine Art - Central Saint Martins.
In all of the artwork I create I embed stories and narratives based on life experiences and perspectives.These messages in my work are always very social and political as these factors often shape our everyday lives and what we go through. I pride myself on my artwork being powerful and meaningful because when I make art that doesn’t it dosent feel right. I always try to show my own perspective through my work and tell narratives and stories that haven’t been historically told in fine art often.With every piece I create,due to how long it takes me to make them, I feel that each one of the art pieces reflects my mentality and me at the time.
My artwork represents the theme of black history month due to it representing my mixed heritage and the community of south London. It's not intended to be guided or structured rather unfiltered expression of time and culture .
Minnie Themba
Course: BA Fine Art - Central Saint Martins
are me, and I am them. Sculpted heads as vessels of memory and identity, exploring heritage, sexuality, diaspora, and the emotional landscape. Hair becomes archive; marking, protecting, eternalising lived experience.
These works confront personal trauma within the intersections of race and family, navigating both support and shame. They stand as acts of reclamation, transforming pain into strength passed down through generations and pay tribute to the powerful women who shaped me.