British Subjects

Fanny Eaton the muse – a soft sculpture by Marina

Since the Windrush Scandal emerged in 2017, the British public has learned a bit more about Commonwealth immigration particularly from Jamaica. But of course Afro-Caribbean people did not arrive for the very first time on these shores in the 1950s. Black Britons have formed part of our society for hundreds of years, even if there has previously been less cultural and historical evidence of their lives in our museums. However if you walk through the quintessentially British Tate Britain, in the middle of the height of English art in the 1840s gallery, you will see a Jamaican face. It’s the (partially obscured) face of Fanny Eaton, a muse to the Pre-Raphelite painters. In this episode I speak to textile artist Marina Elphick about what we know about Fanny Eaton’s life.

Fanny Eaton is featured as a historic UK champion on the They Did I Can Too website. And you can read more about her and her influence on the Art UK website.

Portrait by Walter Fryer Stocks (ca. 1859)

The Beloved (‘The Bride’) by Dante Gabriel Rossetti (1865) in Tate Britain

To learn more about Black British history, visit the Black Cultural Archives and if you haven’t already watch Small Axe on BBC iPlayer.

This episode ends with a quote from ‘It Dread Inna Inglan’ poem by Linton Kwezi Johnson, written in support of George Lindo who was wrongly jailed in 1978.

Lubaina Himid CBE is one of the UK’s leading contemporary artists, as well as a curator, writer and Professor of Painting. In this episode we explore the history of Zanzibar and the cultural context which sets the scene for Himid’s work.

The history of Zanzibar is of course much more complex than I outline in this podcast, but Wikipedia does an okay job of a historical overview, with the footnotes of course being first port of call for futher reading.

In this episode I read from Lubaina Himid in Influences, Frieze (2017). Himid was profiled in Frieze the following year also, another good read.

Professor Ansari was born in 1947 – the year when 300 years of British rule over India ended with the partition of the country and millions of deaths. He now lives in the UK and focusses his academic work on the experiences of British Muslims.

A list of Dr Ansari’s publications is available on the Royal Holloway site.

‘The Infidel Within‘ 2004 was published by Hurst & Company and you can still find copies of it eBay.

To learn more about partition, have a look here, here and here.

British Subjects is produced by Anna Rose Kerr.

Image is from the limited series ‘Black Earth Rising’

Francois came to the UK as a refugee from the Rwandan Genocide and now lives in Ipswich where he is a husband, social worker, educator and volunteer.

Speaking about being an essential worker during the Covid-19 pandemic, Francois said to East Anglian Daily Times “I felt a sense of responsibility to make sure that those I am supporting are safe and have all the support they need… Some of them live alone in the community and I always understand that I might be the only person who will speak to them the whole day… I feel so happy that I have been able to give my contribution to my community during this time of crisis.”

You can read Francois’ full story and others thanks to Suffolk Refugee Support. And donate to the work they do here.

British Subjects is produced by Anna Rose Kerr.

A character written and performed by Sani Muliaumaseali’i

Sinelai is a fa’afafine Samoan who comes to London to make it on the West End. She encounters transphobic violence, makes friends and rivals. Her fictional story is central to Sinelai and the Kava Girls a “play with songs” that toured Britain in 2016.

You can hear the full Radio NZ interview with writer and star Sani Muliaumaseali’i here. And you can read Muliaumaseali’i’s biography and learn about upcoming events on his website.

To learn more about fa’afafine check out this article on Te Ara.

British Subjects is produced by Anna Rose Kerr.

The Kingdom of Eswatini, more commonly known as Swaziland is where Noma Dumezweni was born to South African parents in 1969. They soon moved to Botswana, Kenya, Uganda before coming to the UK as refugees when Noma was still a child. In this minisode we relook at how racists on Twitter responded to her being cast as Hermione in Harry Potter and the Cursed Child and talk about her latest role in The Undoing.

British Subjects is produced by Anna Rose Kerr.

Born in Brunei and raised around the world, Christina Koning draws on her experience to create the settings for her novels – which often reference colonisation.

You can follow Koning on Twitter, and her website is ChristinaKoning.com

British Subjects is produced by Anna Rose Kerr.

Sir Iqbal Sacranie came to the UK with his parents from Malawi to seek education, and has gone on to be one of the most prominent Muslim leaders in this country. In this minisode we learn a little more about his work.

The British Muslim TV interview referenced is here.

And there is a lovely photo of him in the National Portrait Gallery also.

British Subjects is produced by Anna Rose Kerr.

Geraint Jones is an incredibly common name in this country and if you search it you’re likely to find professors, poets, personal tax accountants, but probably at the top of your search results will be the cricket player who has played for England and Papua New Guinea (the country of his birth). Jones has now retired from the sport and alongside his teaching career, has taken up a new role in the community of Sandwich, Kent…

Full BBC interview with Jones is here.

British Subjects is produced by Anna Rose Kerr.

Vanessa Mae was born in Singapore and moved to the UK at the age of four, with her mother and adopted father. She is one of the world’s most famous violin players and an Olympic skiier! In this minisode we learn about her accomplishments and also what her classical performances taught me as a child.

The TV show referenced is BBC1’s The Making of Me:

British Subjects is produced by Anna Rose Kerr.