An artist from Kendal acclaimed for recreating the cover of classic novel 'The Color Purple' has been chosen to work on a project telling the stories of enslaved people who lived in Lancaster.
Lela Harris will work on the Facing the Past project that will redisplay the story of Lancaster's famous furniture making firm Gillows and engage with the city's troubled history with slavery.
The Judges’ Lodgings Museum in Lancaster has teamed up with Lela to create four new portraits of historic Black Lancastrians.
The portraits will be displayed alongside the Judges' Lodgings' existing fine art collections, which include works by George Romney, Thomas Lawrence and Joseph Wright of Derby.
The museum also holds the largest collection of Gillows furniture currently on public display in the world.
The new commission is part of a collaborative project to reveal the stories of the enslaved people who came to or through Lancaster and will involve workshops and an exhibition by young people at the museum.
In the 18th century Lancaster was the fourth largest slave trading port in the country.
Facing the Past is a partnership project between Judges' Lodgings, Lancaster Black History Group, Lancaster University and the University of Central Lancashire (UCLan), and will explore the legacy of the city's involvement in the Slave Trade and West Indies trades.
Lela said: "I’m absolutely delighted to have the opportunity to work on such an important project in partnership with Judges' Lodgings, Lancaster Black History Group, Lancaster University and the University of Central Lancashire.
"It will be such an honour to shine a light on the lives of historic Black Lancastrians who have, for too long, been hidden by history.”
Lela was personally selected by Pulitzer Prize winning novelist Alice Walker to produce illustrations for the new illustrated edition of her classic novel, The Color Purple.
Her book cover for The Color Purple was recently shortlisted for the prestigious V&A Illustration Awards. Her selected portraits have also been successfully exhibited at the annual Pastel Society Exhibition 2022 and short-listed for the Derwent Art Prize 2022.
Lynda Jackson, museum manager of Judges' Lodgings, said: "We're excited to work with Lela Harris, who managed to stand out from a number of very high-quality submissions.
"The panel was hugely impressed both with Lela's artistic skill and her ability to create portraits based on historical archival material.
"We cannot wait to see what she will create for visitors at Judges' Lodgings."
County Councillor Peter Buckley, Lancashire County Council’s cabinet member for community and cultural services, said: "Facing the Past is a culturally significant project that will reflect on the role Lancaster played in the transatlantic slave trade and of the enslaved people who came to the city.
"It is important that we choose the right artists to work with in order to tell the story of Black Lancastrians forgotten by the history books.
"We were really impressed with Lela Harris' previous work, and we feel like this project will provide her the platform to produce some of her best work yet.
"We're excited to partner with Lela and I am looking forward to seeing her work on this project."
Beyond Radio recently visited the Judges' Lodgings Museum for a tour of the museum's exhibits and to find out about the Facing the Past project.
You can hear our interview with Lynda Jackson, museum manager, here. Lynda is pictured below.
Nestled below Lancaster Castle, the Judges' Lodgings dates back nearly 400 years on a site that has been at the centre of Lancaster's history for nearly 2000 years.
The current house was built around 1625 by Thomas Covell, Keeper of the Castle and famous for locking up the Pendle Witches during the infamous Lancashire Witch Trials.
From 1826 the house became a lodgings for the travelling 'Red Judges' of the Assizes Courts.
Dressed in their scarlet robes, the Judges decided the fate of murderers, forgers and highwaymen at Lancaster Castle.
Today the house is home to beautiful Georgian furniture by Gillows of Lancaster, elegant period rooms and the popular Museum of Childhood.
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