Cephas Williams’ photographic archive returns to the city with 228 portraits exploring Black life across the UK…
Portrait of Black Britain, the large-scale photographic archive created by Cephas Williams, will return to Manchester this October with an expanded exhibition at Aviva Studios.
Running from 1 to 31 October in The Social, the free exhibition will bring together 228 portraits of Black people living across the UK, including nine new photographs.
The project was originally commissioned for Manchester International Festival in 2021, when 116 portraits were displayed as a public exhibition in Manchester Arndale.
It has continued to grow since then, documenting people from a broad range of backgrounds and professions. Rather than focusing solely on prominent figures or traditional measures of success, the project aims to present a wider picture of Black life in contemporary Britain.
Williams created Portrait of Black Britain following the murder of George Floyd and the conversations around race and representation that followed, with the project designed to place Black people at the centre of how their experiences were documented.
Cephas Williams said: “Since MIF commissioned the exhibition in 2021, it’s been great to see how many people have resonated with the work. Revisiting the photographs and exhibition has been both nostalgic and enriching and sharing it once again at Factory International’s new home offers audiences an opportunity to experience the scale and significance of the project in a new way.
“I think of the child who experienced Portrait of Black Britain for the first time in 2021 and how much can change in 5 years. Someone who was 5 is now 10; someone who was 15 is now 20. I often wonder how the exhibition may have inspired kids and adults alike, encouraging someone to pick up a camera or bring an idea they’ve had to life. As well as how the portrait series introduces its viewer to what it means to be Black through a positive and powerful lens.”
Among those photographed for the 2026 exhibition are Manchester-based visual artist and graphic designer Jasmin Issaka, filmmaker Baka Bah and poet, mentor and author Shirley May.
Issaka first encountered the project when it was displayed in Manchester Arndale during MIF21, before later applying to become part of it herself.
She said: “The first time I saw Cephas’ work was when I was walking through the Arndale during MIF and I just saw these amazing, beautiful portraits of Black people. It felt great to be represented and seen because it feels like you’re supposed to and allowed to be in the space. Then flash forward a few years later, I saw an application opening up for people that wanted to be involved, and I signed up right away.
“It’s just really important to have shows like this, not just for Black representation but for any kind of representation, because people need to be seen and heard. That’s what creativity and art is about – it’s a reflection of our society and how we can improve from it. But we can only do it if we get to see it up close.”
The exhibition forms part of a wider body of work by Williams, whose previous projects include 56 Black Men, Letter to Zion and the Black Network. His longer-term aim is to build an archive of 1,000 photographic portraits of Black people living in the UK.
Portrait of Black Britain will be on display in The Social at Aviva Studios, home of Factory International, from 1 to 31 October 2026. Entry is free.
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