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A look back at a powerful evening celebrating the Black Creatives Hub 1-year anniversary

People speaking at a panel event
  • Written byStudent Communications
  • Published date 12 August 2025
People speaking at a panel event
Black Creatives Hub anniversary event, May 2025, UAL | Photo: Tessy Cooper 

To mark one year of UAL’s Black Creatives Hub, we hosted a vibrant and inspiring evening of conversation, creativity and connection at London College of Fashion, bringing together some of the most exciting and influential voices across the arts. Held on Wednesday 28 May, the event saw an incredible line-up of creatives, including some of our very own UAL alumni, reflect on the richness, resilience and ongoing influence of Black culture today.

The evening was a great success, with over 80 attendees present and overwhelming feedback from guests. The event highlighted the power of community, with many guests leaving inspired, energised and keen to partake in future discussions that centre Black creative voices.

We were joined by:

  • Lanre Bakare - arts and culture correspondent at the Guardian and author of We Were There
  • Jade Pearl - multidisciplinary artist, designer and art therapy practitioner
  • Yolanthe Fawehinmi - senior lifestyle reporter at PA Media and host of Black Prose podcast
  • Ayo Ojo - fashion commentator and content creator known as ‘Fashion Roadman’
  • Ken Nwadiogbu - multidisciplinary visual artist whose practice spans painting, sculpture, installation and video
  • James Barnor Hon. FRPS, OV - world-renowned photographer whose career as a studio portraitist, photojournalist and Black lifestyle photographer spans 6 decades

The evening was chaired by Maureen Salmon (Associate Dean of Knowledge Exchange) and Professor Paul Goodwin (Director at Research Centre for Transnational Art, Identity and Nation - TrAIN - and chair of Contemporary Art and Urbanism). The event also featured a captivating performance from talented spoken word artist and UAL student, Clio Chinyama.

Through powerful storytelling and discussion, speakers reflected on their creative journeys, explored the realities of representation and sparked vital dialogue on what it means to build space, own narratives and shape the future of the creative industries.

Some feedback from the event:

"It was really heartwarming to see so many Black artists in one space with the same goal, supporting and empowering each other."

"It was great to see Black people from across the organisation have a space to come together, network and celebrate the incredible work completed through the UAL Black Creatives Hub."

Catch the event highlights from the evening in the video below.

The Black Creatives Hub continues to grow as a space to explore, collaborate and champion Black representation in the creative industries.

Want to get involved or collaborate?