Art at the Archive: An artistic response to Unforgotten Lives

Unforgotten Lives: Rediscovering Londoners of African, Caribbean, Asian and Indigenous Heritage 1560 to 1860 

London Metropolitan Archives invites artists to participate in our Unforgotten Lives exhibition, by submitting creative and captive works of art.   

We are looking for artists to create an artistic response to our archive exhibition, for display at London Metropolitan Archives. 

About the Exhibition 

Unforgotten Lives presents the stories of Londoners of African, Caribbean, Asian and Indigenous heritage who lived and worked in the city between 1560 to 1860. The work stems from our ongoing research project Switching the Lens which aims to reveal London’s complex and long-standing diversity. Immersed in hundreds of years of London’s archives, Unforgotten Lives reveals glimpses of some of the 3300 people discovered by the research project to date, presenting their stories and their importance in the history of London.  

Our free exhibition opened on Wednesday 5 April 2023 for a full year until March 2024. 

London Metropolitan Archives is a public research centre which specialises in preserving and sharing records of the history of London. The documents and books that London Metropolitan Archives cares for, and provides access to, date from 1067 to the present day and collections are constantly expanding. The archives are free to use and open to everyone. 

Why are we looking for an artistic response? 

Art provides an opportunity to critically and creatively fill archival gaps and silences. The exhibition content is mainly archival documents including parish registers, court records, and burial records. We are hoping to compliment the archive records with commissioned artwork to bring to life the stories of people of colour across time.  

Also, one of the challenges of this time period is the racist misrepresentation of people of colour in caricatures and colonial art. To counteract the harm, we would rather display artwork that respects and dignifies the lives of people of colour. 

What are we looking for? 

A new piece of artwork (or series of work) which responds to, reflects on, or is inspired by the exhibition ‘Unforgotten Lives’. 

Artists are free to explore and respond to any exhibition themes or stories. Exploring a range of experiences, these multi-layered stories speak of love, enterprise, wealth and family life; discrimination, hardship, resilience, and resistance. Be inspired by the remarkable lives of well-known figures like writer and abolitionist, Oloudah Equiano; or newly discovered Londoners including a Muslim man from Bengal known as John Morgan who escorts a cheetah to London in the 1760s. 

All mediums such as painting, photography, sculpture, digital art and more accepted.  

Additional scope to provide a complimentary interview about your artwork and/or contribute to exhibition programming events or activities. 

What will we offer? 

• The selected artist(s) will receive a sum of £1,200. This is all inclusive of artist’s fee, material costs, and any other expenses involved in creating the work.  

• Public display of artwork, fully credited, in central London. 

• Support from archivists on the exhibition material including biographical information about the stories of people of colour, historical context, and unique access to the original archive documents. 

• If desired, an opportunity to deposit your artwork for permanent preservation in our archive. 

Who can apply? 

Artists based in the UK, preferably in London.  

Aged 18 and over. 

We welcome artists without formal qualifications, including students, young artists, and hobbyists.  

We encourage applicants from African, Caribbean, Asian or Indigenous backgrounds to apply.  

What is the process? / Timeline 

Wednesday 5 April 2023  - Exhibition Opens  

Friday 30 June 2023  - Deadline for Submitting Proposals to LMA 

Monday 31 July 2023  - Committee select and inform successful candidates  

Wednesday 1 November 2023 - All completed works to be delivered to London Metropolitan Archives by close of day 

December 2023 – March 2024 - Display Period of work at LMA 

Visit LMA to visit the exhibition and start thinking of ideas for an artistic response. Opening times can be found at LMA opening times - City of London 

Three successful candidates will be chosen by a panel of archive professionals across various departments at LMA and the wider City of London team. 

Terms and conditions apply: City standards conditions September 2022 (cityoflondon.gov.uk) Module A 

How to apply? 

• A summary of your proposal for an artistic response. Including why your idea would work for this exhibition response, an aspect of the exhibition and how you would use this as an inspiration for public art. (500-word limit) 

• Share a bit about your background and why your personal experiences drew you to the exhibition 

• CV or artist statement  

• Examples of previous work: 3 images max, 10 MB limit per image 

• Please email submissions to myles.mears@cityoflondon.gov.uk with the subject line: ART AT THE ARCHIVE: (Your name).     

IMPORTANT: Please note that emails sent not following this format in the subject line and with the requested info may not be considered.