Sharon Walter’s photographic montage Eric Huntley; Jessica Elleisse Huntley (née Carroll) (2022) is now on display in Room 28 on Floor 2 at the National Portrait Gallery!
The work was commissioned and acquired by the gallery as part of Citizen UK Ealing Rises Up commission, funded by The National Lottery Heritage Fund and Art Fund.
Sharon shares:
“This commission and acquisition truly means a lot to me due to my personal connection with the iconic, Guyanese born couple. Eric Huntley (1929-) and Jessica Huntley (1927-2013) who are celebrated for their work as political and social activists, and as founders of Bogle-L’Ouverture Publications. They first published Guyanese historian and scholar Walter Rodney’s text The Groundings With My Brothers, and went on to publish books by authors such as Linton Kwesi Johnson, Lemn Sissay and Valerie Bloom.
The Huntley’s were passionate about equal education for Black children and set up supplementary schools supporting Ealing based children. As a young child I attended the Huntley’s Saturday school and Eric remains a close friend to this day. Creating this piece is a full-circle moment and a testament to their legacy, I am truly honoured.”
August 3, 2024
