Newham raised Professor Sonia Boyce is now a Dame, reports Neandra Etienne
Artist, academic and cultural activist Professor Dame Sonia Boyce was made a Dame in the recent honours for services to art. Sonia is a Professor at Chelsea College of Arts, Chair in Black Art and Design at Camberwell, Chelsea and Wimbledon Colleges of Arts, and a member of TrAIN – Chelsea College of Arts’ research centre for Transnational Art, Identity and Nation.
She told Newham Voices: “I grew up in Newham, going to Curwen Primary School in Plaistow and then Eastlea Comprehensive School in Canning Town. From such humble beginnings I don’t think anyone would have predicted the journey I have been on to receive a damehood. So many people have encouraged me along the way, and I am deeply proud to have been a recipient of such a high honour, testament to the hard work of my parents.
“In recent years, I have worked with the community in the Docklands to produce the Newham Trackside Wall public art commission now on view, running along a stretch of the Elizabeth line across North Woolwich, Silvertown and Custom House. I hope the public artwork gives a fair sense of the many residents who contributed so generously by telling their stories.”
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