Our Hair Stories
Our Hair Stories
Stop Press November news
Face X Horniman: Hair Untold Stories began with discussions on the socio-cultural significance of Black hair. Initially conceived as a student competition, it grew into a collaborative academic project which was initially led by Davina Hawthorne and facilitated by the FACE network. Academics and students across the UK were invited to submit creative works that reflected hair narratives from Black, Brown, and Asian perspectives. This culminated in a permanent online exhibition, Face X Horniman: Hair Untold Stories, launched in collaboration with the Horniman Museum in March 2022. By highlighting stories from racialized communities, the exhibition challenges dominant narratives and emphasizes the importance of racial identity and the colonial legacies embedded in hair politics.
FACE X Horniman Online Exhibition
Academic Space FACE X Horniman: Academic Space - Horniman Museum and Gardens
Student Space FACE x Horniman - Student Space - Horniman Museum and Gardens
The project has further expanded through critical panels on race and identity, such as those at the 2022 and 2023 FACE Summits at Central Saint Martins, supported by CHEAD and the British Fashion Council, view here
The Lunar Society’s Black History Month event in 2023, titled *A Better Future: Health Activism, Hair, Race, Beauty, and Practical Wisdom* and The Culture, Costume and Dress Conference in 2023 at Birmingham University.
FACE founding member Sharon Lloyd, along with council members Davina Hawthorne and Max Kandhola, co-curated the *Face X Horniman: Hair Untold Stories* exhibition at Kent University in March 2024.
See further updates below in the news section.
Coming soon…
WeAreFACE Journal will publish Our Hair Stories in one publication a month for a year, starting in October 2025. We will be doing a call out for writers to write a foreword for each story early 2025. Read more here
November - On the Record
On the Record is a series of photo-interviews encouraging interviewees to examine their relationship with hair - their own as well as the hair of others - while using this photography to elicit descriptions, explanations, and trigger memories.
Click on the individual images below to access each interview.
On the Record features oral responses of 12 leading academics: Curated by Sharon Lloyd co-founder of FACE who is in conversation with artist, Peter Lloyd ARE other contributors are Andrew Ibi, Liverpool John Moores University, Benita Odogwu-Atkinson, University for the Creative Arts, Davina Hawthorne, De Montfort University Ezinma Mbeledogu, University for the Creative Arts, Jacob Goff, artist Lorraine Henry, University of the Arts London, Max Kandhola, Nottingham Trent University, Mylinh Nguyen, University of Brighton Sadie Clayton University for the Creative Arts, Sharon N Hughes University East London and Teleica Kirkland University of the Arts London.
On the Record exhibition will launch at the FACE Summit Nov 2024 at the RCA 7th and 8th Nov 2024.
FACE Summit News and Eventbrite booking here:
Max Kandhola. The Craft of Life.
Mylinh Nguyen. The Bowl. Self Portrait.
Benita Odogwu-Atkinson. My Wig Story. Self portrait.
Andrew Ibi. The personal is political. Photographed by Samuel Ibi.
Teleica Kirkland. Happy Me. Photographed by Agenda
Lorraine Henry King. My Hair
October - Black Hair Day
Andrew Ibi’s ‘Black Hair Day’ - A condensed history of modern Black music through the lenses of Black hairstyles, fashion trends and global, political activism, will be showcased in the Oct Month at Horniman JukeBox here: Hey Jukebox! - Horniman Museum and Gardens
Read Andrew’s full essay here
Coming soon: WeAreFACE Journal
WeAreFACE Journal will publish Our Hair Stories in one publication a month for a year, starting October 2024. Watch this space…. !
Andrew Ibi photographed by Samuel Ibi