If a picture is worth a thousand words, then Paula Ogun Hector’s Tapestry of Black Britons series is a cascading, visual proclamation of the Black presence and contribution to the UK and other African diaspora communities over time.

A series of 12 works,  the project’s motto ‘Out of Many Threads We are One Fabric’ combines woven material with poetry, literature, and sculpture forged by varied collaborations to showcase history.

“I wanted to put something positive out there. For me, this is my attempt to help with the fact that a lot of us don’t know much about the Black contribution to Britain. This project is a way to try to disseminate truthful narratives so that we can all better understand that this is not just Black history, it’s British history.”

Hector unveiled the first two tapestries in 2025 – one depicting World War II, which she designed herself, featuring Caribbean, African, and African-American soldiers, and the second, the Yoruba Creation Story tapestry, created by the Adeche Atelier. Two more are in the works. The first, being co-designed with artist Alvin Kofi, is about African Romans and draws on the research of noted historians, including Dr. Hakim Adi and David Olusoga. Meanwhile, the carnival tapestry, based on African and Caribbean carnival, is timed to mark the 60th anniversary of the Notting Hill Carnival in 2026.

Acknowledging the shared experiences of people of African descent across the world, Hector says, “It’s very important that this project is exploring British stories, but at the end of the day, this is a global history. That connection to America, to the Caribbean, the Continent, the whole diaspora is fundamental to what I’m doing.”

Born in Jamaica to a Pan-Africanist artist father from Haiti, Hector is a former TV producer, public relations expert, and English teacher. She explained that the tapestries aren’t academic essays but artistic reflections. “I can’t just take a book and put it into a tapestry. All I can do is give a flavour. My key thing is not to enforce inaccuracies, and luckily, because it is a living artwork, I can always make amendments.”

She began working on the concept after the COVID-19 pandemic, using her own funds to launch the project in 2024. Early support came from ancient livery companies such as the Haberdashers’ Company, the Company of Weavers, and the Company of Broderers. Collaborations have helped Hector expand her reach to schools and, in 2025, to a co-creation workshop at the Black Cultural Archives.

In 2026, Hector has arranged an exhibition at the Crafts Study Centre in Farnham to mark 100 years of Black History Month in America. Called the Black Atlantic Makers Conversations Exhibition, it will feature work by pioneering Black British designer Althea McNish, her new African Romans tapestry, as well as work by Jamaican-born sculptor Ronald Moody, a member of the Caribbean Artist Movement.

“I love the idea of these conversations. It’s a conversation between living artists and people in the collection. They’re literally woven tapestries because they’re a metaphor about the connections between us. I’ve chosen a medium that is the reflection of what it’s trying to do.”

Touring the country, the tapestries have been displayed not only in large cities such as London, Manchester, and Bristol, but also in smaller locations, including Wells in Somerset. In 2026, they will continue to travel with stops in Hastings and Stirling, Scotland amongst others.

For Hector, who has lived in Devon, Derbyshire, and Hampshire, outside the traditional hubs of Black communities, it is “very important to get out to more rural places where those diverse populations aren’t seeing themselves and to shine a light on our shared history. Once people see that shared history, it’s hard to say, ‘What are you doing here?’ The project is like a rebuttal to racism.”

The mobility of the work has made spreading her message easier, Hector said. “The fact is, with these tapestries, I can tour them. I can roll them up and take them out to people. These tapestries are on the move. They are going all over the country. When they go to places, I’ve already worked with those communities, so what’s coming to them is something that they are already part of, so it’s relevant to them, and it’s special to them.”

For information, visit https://www.tapestryofblackbritons.com/