This event has now taken place.
'The Black Artisans' photography exhibition at Cecil Sharp House as part of Black History Month
In the run up to our Black British Folk Takeover on Saturday 4 October, we are hosting the exhibition 'The Black Artisans' by photographer Jo Sealy, celebrating UK-based Black craftspeople.
“This exhibition is about making visible the extraordinary contribution of Black artisans to our shared cultural heritage – and inspiring future generations to discover these crafts for themselves.” – Jo Sealy, Artist and Project Lead
Through 36 powerful portraits, 'The Black Artisans' celebrates the range of creativity and skill of UK-based Black craftspeople. The exhibition highlights both traditional heritage crafts and wider cultural practices – from weaving and woodturning to steel pan-making and calabash artistry – shining a light on makers too often left out of the story of British folk heritage.
The exhibition is on display along the stairs at Cecil Sharp House until 11 October, during House opening hours, and during the Black British Folk Takeover, which champions a more inclusive and diverse folk scene for 21st-century England. This includes commissioning Global Majority artists to explore Black British history in folk song and celebrates the Black British Folk Revival. Guest curated by Angeline Morrison, this festival-style all-dayer features traditional folk sounds, modern British music inspired by folk traditions, a live conversation on African diasporic identities and relationships with British folk, and much more.
Header image: Moussa Dembele – Balafon and Kora Maker
Exhibition ran September to October 2025
Cecil Sharp House, 2 Regent's Park Road, London NW1 7AY
Free entry
Chris Bramble – Ceramicist
Chris’s ceramics are inspired by life, harmony, rhythm, and dance and influenced by the people around him; their spirit and heartbeat are captured in his meditative process as he documents hidden aspects of today’s black culture.
Grafton Yearwood – Steel Pan Tuner
Grafton was born into a steel pan environment becoming an apprentice tuner in 1989, branching off to manufacture the full range of pan instruments. He began working in Switzerland and now supplies and blends pans for the Swiss market. He is a founder member of the UK Steelpan Tuners Guild.
Moussa Dembele – Balafon and Kora Maker
Moussa comes from a traditional Bwa Bwa Griot family of musicians and craftsmen who have been making and playing West African musical instruments for generations. He is a master craftsman of the Kora (African harp), Balafon (African xylophone), Ngoni (African lute), Djembe (drum) and Doum Doum (bass drum).
