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Miss Black and Beautiful Sybil McLean with fellow contestants , Hammersmith Palais, London, 1972. From the portfolio 'Black Beauty Pageants'.Courtesy of © Raphael Albert/Autograph ABP
Exhibition
Raphael Albert. Miss Black and Beautiful
21 Apr 2018 – 1 Jul 2018
Regular hours
- Saturday
- 09:00 – 22:00
- Sunday
- 09:00 – 22:00
- Monday
- 09:00 – 22:00
- Tuesday
- 09:00 – 22:00
- Wednesday
- 09:00 – 22:00
- Thursday
- 09:00 – 22:00
- Friday
- 09:00 – 22:00
Address
- Midlands Arts Centre (MAC)
- Cannon Hill Park
- Birmingham
England - B12 9QH
- United Kingdom
Travel Information
- Bus routes with stops close to MAC include: 1, 35, 41, 45/47, 61/63. Check NX West Midlands for more information.
- MAC is situated near to four train stations; Five Ways, University, Selly Oak and Birmingham New Street. The closest station is Five Ways - being 1.3 miles away, followed by University (1.4), then Selly Oak (1.5) and finally Birmingham New Street (1.7).
MAC and Autograph ABP are proud to present the first major solo exhibition of photographs by the late Raphael Albert – cultural promoter, entrepreneur and photographer.
About
For more than three decades from the late 1960s, Albert organised and documented numerous black British beauty pageants and other cultural events, while creating a portfolio of photographs of aspiring models in his home studio. His long and successful career as a promoter and chronicler of pageants included the establishment of Miss Black and Beautiful, Miss West Indies in Great Britain, and Miss Grenada.
These competitions celebrated the global ‘Black is Beautiful’ aesthetic of the 1970s in a local west London context: paired with the obligatory bathing costumes and high heels, Albert’s contestants often sported large Afro hairstyles, inventing and reinventing themselves on stage while articulating a particular and multifaceted black femininity as part of a widely contested and ambiguous cultural performance.
Albert’s photographs serve as testament to this profound moment of self-articulation and collective celebration in London’s pan Afro-Caribbean communities, and beyond.
