Phenomenal Women: Portraits of UK Black Female Professors

A unique free outdoor exhibition celebrating Black British academics.

Commissioned and curated by Dr Nicola Rollock, and photographed by Bill Knight, the exhibition features portraits of 45 professors across a broad range of subjects including law, medicine, creative writing and sociology. The exhibition coincides with Black History Month and is presented along the Southbank Centre’s very popular public riverside promenade The Queen’s Walk.

Amongst the 45 women being celebrated in the first-ever public exhibition to honour Britain’s Black female professors are award-winning author Bernadine Evaristo, poet and playwright Joan Anim-Addo and the first woman ever to be appointed head of a UK dental school, Cynthia Pine.

The exhibition results from the work of Dr Rollock who undertook academic research examining the career experiences and strategies of Black female professors at UK universities over the past three years. The portraits were taken by photographer Bill Knight, who travelled across England, Scotland and Wales to capture the images.